Dampier Peninsula camping options can get a bit lost in the conversation around the Kimberley, and Gibb River Road. It absolutely should be on your list of places to visit if you’re in the vicinity though. Amazing colours, beach side free camping, and epic sunsets. It should not be missed! Following on from our Gibb River Road adventure, and following a quick refresher in Broome, we made our way north to spend a week exploring and camping on the Dampier Peninsula.
Willie Creek Pearl Farm
Packing up camp in Broome after some well needed showers, our first stop was to check out the Willie Creek Pearl Farm. We weren’t so interested in the pearls here, but the utterly amazing blue water! With temperatures in the high 30’s this is the biggest tease of them all. Water inviting you in to cool off with a refreshing swim – and nearby a statue of a huge crocodile reminding you what also calls these waters home
Barred Creek
Slightly further north, we popped out onto the beach to have a look. White sands and crystal clear waters – its an awesome looking beach. I do have a regret that we didn’t drive north on the beach up to Barred Creek, where you can camp on the beach. Instead we decided to hook around the north side of Barred Creek and check out the fishing opportunities on the spit. This was a pretty cool drive, that took us through a tight cut out in the mangroves before we eventually popped out…. opposite the camping area at Barred Creek!
There were plenty of people camping on the other side, and it looked pristine. We had a quick look at the fishing possibilities, but were much too concerned about the tide coming in and trapping us out there, so did a U-Turn and continued north, looking for a place to camp. In hindsight, I’d have definitely spent a night at Barred Creek though.
Dampier Peninsula Camping – James Price Point (and beyond!)
From Barred Creek, we followed some slow going 4wd tracks up to James Price Point, a popular free camping area. This area is where the bright red dirt meets the white sands, and blue sea – creating some awesome contrasting colours. It was extremely busy though (we went in June). Each little nook and cranny that could fit a caravan in, had a caravan in it.
We were almost giving up hope, when we got right up to the next point, where the beach widens right up and the camping atop the small red cliffs ends. There was an expansive area of rocky outcrop, which had enough dirt in areas to get some tent pegs in the ground. With some nice rocks to explore and fish off, it was perfect.
We spent a few nights here, fishing off the rocks as the high tides come up. A few Queenfish, and what I think are called “Long Toms” were landed, but we threw them back in as we weren’t sure on the eating qualities. We had a few big hookups too, but unfortunately busted off or the fish spat the hooks on each occasion.
After many weeks of not seeing much ocean on the Gibb River Road, I really enjoyed this spot. We cooked some pizzas on the Weber Q, and sat around the fire at night (at a great distance, because it was so hot!). It certainly helps when you’ve got near perfect conditions.
Banana Well and Middle Lagoon Camps
With no plans of where to go, we cut back in to Cape Leveque Road and headed north. Wikicamps suggested a decent campsite at Banana Well campground, so we went for a look. This had a nice camping area nestled amongst the trees. We were keen to get by the water for some fishing though. The owner said we could go have a look at the creek area and see if we wanted to camp there. This wasn’t really a creek, but an enormous inlet from the sea. Apparently warships came in to hide during the war as it is so deep and protected. There was very little shade, and the heat was repressive off the white salt and sand. We carried on north to the next likely looking spot on Wikicamps: Middle Lagoon.
Middle Lagoon is well set up for tourists, perhaps a little bit too much for our liking. Getting on in the day, we booked a night to stay. We got squeezed into some fairly small designated sites which felt a bit crammed amongst all the other caravans and campers. It is a nice spot though. We went for a walk out to the point, and then back along the beach. We saw a huge shark fin start thrashing around in the shallows followed by a lot of yelling and shouting. People were swimming on the beach, and making a hasty exit! If crocs weren’t enough of a worry, we now had sharks coming in to the shallows. I went for a ‘cold’ shower instead. Showers are never really cold up here, as the ambient temperature has the water lukewarm anyway.
Finding the Perfect Dampier Peninsula Camp
Since Middle Lagoon was a bit crammed, we sought out somewhere to camp with a bit more space. At this point, we cracked the Wikicamps code. A place on the eastern side of the peninsula called “Bullys Camp” had a one star review. Reviews say the amenities are ‘dated’ but we are camping, so any amenities at all is luxurious to us!
We had a theory that all the grey nomads on Wikicamps, liked the opposite of what we considered good camping.
The photos looked good, so we headed on over to have a look. Winding through some tight and bumpy tracks, we rolled into a very rustic looking place. A man with a big, long, grey beard greeted us and said we could set up camp under some tin shelters he had. These were basic concrete pads, with a tin roof on it. They were overlooking the beach, perfect! We were right about wikicamps!
Bully’s Camp
We set up our tents under the shelters, which was brilliant for keeping the direct sun and heat off them during the day. At night the dew dripping down on to the tin woke as at times, but it was a small price to pay for such an awesome spot.
Geoff was the owner, and would pop over for chats now and then and give us some tips on collecting oysters, and swimming. “The salty was here a few days back and swam around the point, so it’ll be fine for a few days now” he reassured us.
Needless to say, we didn’t go swimming. There was a very nice beach with clear water out front though, so it would probably be possible to safely swim in the shallows and keep an eye on any dark shadows approaching!
Kym and I tried fishing off the beach and rocks for no success. Geoff lent us some tools to try for mud crabs amongst the mangroves. We’ve never done this, so weren’t too sure what we were looking for. After an hour or so of prodding around muddy holes, we came up with nothing. The mangroves seemed even sketchier than swimming on the beach. I could just imagine a croc hiding in the mud!
Seafood Bonanza
The girls went out looking for Oysters at low tide (again, on Geoff’s advice) and had massive success. We had Oysters, and Oysters Kilpatrick by the dozen for lunch. Well, everyone apart from me did. I am not putting those things anywhere near my mouth!
Other campers set up, and took their tinny out on the water for the day. They came back with some Spanish Mackerel and gave us a good portion for dinner. I’m not a big fish eater, but Spanish Mackerel is pretty damn good. Very generous from strangers in the middle of no where.
We considered going right up to the tip at Cape Leveque, but we were having such a good time at Bully’s Camp that we stayed for three nights. Cape Leveque appears to be a bit more of a commercial operation, and the rustic, seclusion of where we were suited us much more.
After our three nights, we got the call from Nissan Broome that parts were ready to fix Kym and Sally’s airconditioner, so we headed back. The Cape Leveque-Broom Road was quite smooth for the most part, but it has huge bumps, like driving over a big swell in the ocean. Up and down, Up and down. Fun… for while!
Dampier Peninsula Camping – I can’t recommend this enough! There is no doubt a heap more great spots that we didn’t get to. Any recommendations? Let us know in the comments.
