Faraway Bay can be reached solely by air, and it is located 280 km to the northwest of Kununurra along the Kimberley Coast.
Before European arrival, the Miwa Aboriginal language group inhabited the area. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, this region remained largely uninhabited by Europeans due to its challenging terrain, poor soil, and inaccessible nature.
In 1911, explorer Charles Conigrave, on a private expedition, reached and christened the King George Falls. By the 1970s, the vast area had been divided into million-acre properties leased by the Western Australian government to individuals willing to develop the land. Then, in 1986, Bruce Ellison identified Faraway Bay's potential and secured a lease over 28 hectares of the rugged coastline. Over the subsequent decade, Bruce and Robyn Ellison, with the assistance of friends, dedicated themselves to constructing the resort, utilising local materials as the remote location made importing materials from Kununurra nearly impossible.
The camp, known as Faraway Bay – The Bush Camp, officially opened in 1996. However, Cyclone Ingrid struck in March 2005, completely demolishing the camp with winds reaching 280km/hr. Remarkably, it was rebuilt within three months. And in 2011, Bruce and Robyn Ellison retired, passing the camp to the current owners, Kevin and Kathie Reilly.
Faraway Bay is a resort that can only be accessed by plane, making it one of those remote destinations that require air travel. The drive from the airstrip to the camp is challenging and characterised by rough and harsh terrain. Nonetheless, the view from the resort, which overlooks the Gumboot Bay with its strangely inappropriate name, is breathtaking and comparable to paradise in its beauty.
King George Falls
When you stay at Faraway Bay, you get to take a boat trip to the stunning King George Falls. The falls can vary in intensity depending on the season, with a gentle flow in the dry season and a powerful rush during the wet season. The falls originate from the King George River and cascade down two narrow gorges over 50 meters tall. The narrow gorge and the beautiful red cliffs create a breathtaking view. Interestingly, sometimes the boat from Faraway Bay will travel alone to the falls, but upon arrival, they may find one of the many exclusive cruises along the Kimberley coast already moored nearby. The falls were named after King George V in 1911 by an explorer named Charles Conigrave, who is not very well known.
Bradshaw or Gwion Gwion Aboriginal Art
Faraway Bay is a great destination for anyone interested in Aboriginal art. Among the examples of rock art found there are the ancient Bradshaws, which are believed to be the earliest artistic expressions of human beings on the planet, with a minimum age of 17,000 years according to carbon dating. These paintings have been a subject of controversy since their discovery and recording by Joseph Bradshaw in 1891, which is how they got their name.
Grahame Walsh, an amateur archaeologist, dedicated his life to the study of this unique form of rock art and by the time of his death in 2017, he had identified 1,500 rock art sites and amassed a database of 1.5 million images. His findings sparked controversy as he argued that the images predated the arrival of the current Kimberley indigenous community. The academic community remains divided on the age of the images, but it is generally agreed that they ceased being drawn around 5,000 years ago, and some evidence suggests they may be as old as 45,000 BP.
Distance from Perth: 2,308
Founded: 1986