In the far north of West Australia, the Buccaneer Archipelago is a land full of natural beauty, incredible rock art and mesmerising sunsets.

For those contemplating an island wilderness getaway, the 'thousand islands' of the Buccaneer Archipelago are almost as remote as one can get in Western Australia. The dramatic landscape of the Buccaneer Archipelago consists of between 800 and 1000 islands scattered amongst Yampi and King Sounds in the Kimberley region. 

Travelling to this remote wilderness, with its imposing sandstone cliffs and rugged vegetation, is an adventure in itself, with access only available by air or sea. Towns and communities are few and far between: big city infrastructure is pretty much non-existent once you leave the relative civilisation of Broome behind. However remote does not mean discomfort: cruising the archipelago aboard one of the vessels that ply these waters is simply a matter of choosing your level of luxury. Located north of Broome, and south west of Wyndham, the Buccaneer Archipelago is accessible only to intrepid travellers who enjoy their islands with a dash of ancient art and culture.

In this distant and mostly uninhabited region visitors will discover, scattered throughout the archipelago, pristine rock art galleries dating back at least 17,000 years. The ancient treasures of this inhospitable land are considered by some to be the eighth wonder of the world. Known as Gwion Gwion by the traditional people, the cave art is sometimes known as Bradshaw paintings, after the European explorer Joseph Bradshaw documented his discoveries in 1891. He noted that these paintings represent a highly sophisticated art form, thought by some to have been painted by ice-age hunter-gatherer tribes.

At Raft Point, (so named because the traditional people used mangrove tree rafts to travel out to their fishing grounds on the falling tide and return to land on the incoming tide) upon climbing a short but steep track up from the rocky beach, an astounding gallery of paintings can be found. High up in the sandstone cliffs, overlooking the sheltered waters of Doubtful Bay, the walls and roof of the cave have been intricately cloaked in scores of paintings depicting the unique halo heads of the Gwion Gwion, as well as dugongs, turtles and other marine creatures.

This area is known for its phenomenal tides and the subsequent water turbulence induced by up to 12 metres of water rising and falling every six hours. In Talbot Bay visitors can witness this phenomenon, and even ride the white water in inflatable boats if they are game, as the sea rushes through the gap in the islands at the Horizontal Falls. Montgomery Reef also produces an astounding sight after high tide, as prominent waterfalls gush down the outer edge of the otherwise submerged reef.

Cruising through the Buccaneer Archipelago, it's easy to imagine the rest of the world does not exist. The country evokes such a sense of timelessness, days just glide by seemlessly from one magnificent tropical sunset to another. The Kimberley is such a mesmerising place, it should be on the 'must do' list of everyone seeking a true wilderness experience.

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