The Kimberley region of Western Australia is one of the world’s last true wilderness areas and a place of dramatic and rugged beauty.
It is also where you will find Australia’s oldest Aboriginal rock art. Known as Gyorn Gyorn (as spelt Gwion Gwion), or the Bradshaw Paintings, they’re believed to be up to 50,000 years old – which is at least five times older than the Egyptian pyramids.

According to Indigenous legend, the paintings – revealed to the rest of the world by explorer Joseph Bradshaw in 1891 - were created by birds using their tail feathers. The paintings show extraordinary sophistication and are widely considered to rank in significance with Nefertari's tomb in Egypt.

View some of the Gyorn Gyorn paintings while staying at the Kimberley Coastal Camp. Located on the Mitchell Plateau the camp can only be reached by helicopter.  

Close to the town of Derby, the new Mowanjum Art Centre - Spirit of the Wandjina - has been designed to create a genuine meeting point between local people and visitors to the area, and is remarkable both inside and out.

Housing stunning works from the local area, the building is particularly impressive when viewed from the air - in the shape of a striking face, with head-dress and enormous eyes set against the rich red earth and green scrub. www.mowanjumarts.com

Roam through the many art galleries dotted throughout the coastal town of Broome and discover some of Western Australia’s most well known Indigenous artists such as Denise Walker - a local artist and educator whose artwork magically captures the light, colour and space of Broome and the Kimberley region. www.denisewalkerart.com 

Further east in the outback town of Kununurra you'll find several Indigenous art galleries including Red Rock Art, home to contemporary Aboriginal art of the East Kimberley. A range of paintings, metal sculptures and basketwork are showcased in this stylish gallery. www.redrockgallery.com

Its artists-in-residence program means visitors can watch Indigenous works in progress, including those by leading artist Nancy Noonju. A unique aspect of the gallery is that the ochres used are collected and ground by hand, with methods and sources handed down through the generations.

There are Indigenous art galleries and showings in many remote towns and Aboriginal communities throughout Western Australia. Contact your local visitor centre to find out more.

For more information on authentic Indigenous outback tourism experiences, visit Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Committee (WAITOC). www.waitoc.com.