Things to do in  Dampier Peninsula

One of Australia's most stunning stretches of coastline, Cape Leveque, located on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, has been home to Aboriginal communities for some 7,000 years. Visit to see the area’s brick-red cliffs, pearl-white sand, and clear blue water, explore the remote landscape, and learn about the local Aboriginal communities.

Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm is Australia’s oldest operating pearl farm and one of the few open to the public. Touring the farm gives visitors insights into the evolution of pearl farming in Australia, from its Indigenous beginnings through the four generations of the Brown family, who have been running the business since 1946.

Western Australia isn’t short of remote settlements, and the Aboriginal community of One Arm Point (Ardyaloon) is another beautiful spot to add to your off-the-beaten-path travel itinerary. On the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome, the village rewards intrepid travelers with great views of the Indian Ocean and the Buccaneer Archipelago, and an interesting hatchery.

You would think that a place with the world’s largest amount of rock carvings would be popular and swarming with visitors. Murujuga National Park, however, in Australia’s northwestern corner, wasn’t even protected until 2013 (when it became Western Australia’s 100th National Park), and even today is sparsely visited because of its remote location. Located on the Burrup Peninsula outside the town of Dampier, Murujuga National Park spans 12,000 acres and houses rock art up to 30,000 years old. As is the case with ancient drawings, there’s far more here than what meets the eye when briefly glancing at the drawings—which in this case often depict wildlife and plant life that lived on the Burrup Peninsula. Look a little bit deeper, however, and visit with a local guide, and it’s possible to weave a human history of tens of thousands of years, from the types of weapons and tools used to hunt, to the changing proximity of land from the coast, caused by a rise in the seas. This corner of Australia—while largely industrial, with nearby chemical and gas plants —is truly fascinating for its wealth of drawings and windows into the past, and still remains largely under the radar, just waiting to be enjoyed.