West Kimberley
Derby
The gateway to the Gibb River Road and home base for Kimberley Car Hire. Most travellers pass through Derby on their way to the wider Kimberley rather than staying, which makes it the natural place to collect a well-prepared vehicle and get proper local advice before heading out.
Derby sits on King Sound at the western edge of the Kimberley, and for most visitors it's a starting point rather than a stopover: the place where the sealed highway ends and the real Kimberley driving begins.
That's exactly why Kimberley Car Hire is based here. Collecting your vehicle in Derby means picking up locally, from people who drive these roads themselves, rather than from a capital-city counter hundreds of kilometres from where you're actually headed.
Things to Do in Derby
- Derby Wharf: a long jetty out over the mudflats of King Sound, home to some of the largest tidal ranges in the world (up to 11 metres) and a good spot to watch the sunset.
- Boab Prison Tree: an ancient, hollow boab a short drive south of town, once used as a staging point for prisoners in the late 1800s.
- Mowanjum Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre: a gallery and cultural centre run by the Worrorra, Ngarinyin and Wunambal people, and a genuinely worthwhile stop for understanding the country you're about to drive through.
- King Sound mudflats: vast tidal flats visible from the wharf, a distinctive feature of Derby's coastline and part of what makes the tides here so extreme.
Derby town itself is easy driving on sealed roads, but almost everyone collecting a vehicle here is heading straight out onto the Gibb River Road or into gorge country. See vehicle access and suitability if you're unsure what your route needs.
From Derby, the Gibb River Road, Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek and the wider West Kimberley are all within reach. See our self-drive itineraries for suggested routes of three days or more.
