The newest addition to WA’s Camping with Custodians network of campgrounds, the Djarindin Campground, is due to open next month.
Located about 200 kilometres north of Broome on the Kimberley’s Dampier Peninsula, the Aboriginal-owned-and-run campsite offers visitors the chance to connect with traditional owners of the land.
The local Bardi people invite visitors to share cultural experiences, campfire stories and much more.
“Camping with Custodians is a great way to make a real and personal connection to Aboriginal people and their culture,” says Bardi traditional owner and Djarindjin chairman, Brian Lee. “Sitting down and sharing time together in a relaxed and friendly way is perfect for fostering understanding between people.”
The campsite – accessible off the newly sealed Cape Leveque Road – will cater for large RVs and caravans. The 37 powered sites and 10 unpowered sites will have a range of amenities including extra-wide drive-through sites, hot showers, a large camp kitchen, a sheltered barbecue area and a communal firepit.
The Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation’s (DAC) chief executive, Nathan McIvor, told the West Australian late last year that the campground would provide a place for tourists to base their activities while holidaying on the Dampier Peninsula.
A lot of clearing and building work took place at the new campground last year. PIC: West Australian
“Kooljaman does not allow caravans but many tourists travel through with caravans, so the campground will provide for some of these tourists,” he said. “DAC recognised the road was coming through, we had the land and we knew we needed to monopolise on what was happening as far as tourism was concerned, the exposure to our roadhouse was also a big drawcard for us.”
And Mr McIvor said he hoped the campground would reduce illegal camping in the region.
“Tourists camp all along the Cape Leveque road, down bush tracks, at the airport, in front of the roadhouse, wherever they can find a place to park up,” he told the West Australian. “All along the road, tourists are dumping their effluent and you can see toilet paper dotted all along the road … the amount of waste during the dry season has quadrupled.”
A powered site for two adults at Djarindin will cost $50 per night, and an unpowered site will cost $30 per night for two people.
Djarindjin is one of six Camping with Custodians sites, located across the Kimberley and in the Pilbara, and supported by Tourism Western Australia. The others are at Imintji Campgound and Arts Centre on the Gibb River Road; Mimbi Camground, south-east of Fitzroy Crossing; Violet Valley Campground near Warmun; Doon Doon Campground near Kununurra; and Peedamulla Campground near Onslow, in the Pilbara.
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This sounds wonderful for the community in such a beautiful area. I wish you well at all of the sites and look forward to visiting.
when you consider no one from outside WA was allowed don’t blame it all on outsiders
$50 a night puts it in the top tier, I wonder if it has a swimming pool and jumping pillows, but I suppose they have to take advantage of the WA taxpayers who funded the bitumen.
It looks great pity about the price of diesel fuel in Australia cheers
It sounds great to be in connection with the custodians and the history to be learnt but you must remember a lot of the people on the road are nomads and these guys are on pensions so in saying that the price per night is a little high. I don’t think many of these guys will stop in I think mainly tourists only just my opinion but I think it is a great idea.
Not sure what this new park will offer of course but for the rest of the peninsula effluent dumping is a problem all along the peninsula but it is self inflicted. Nowhere else can you have 20 or 30 (or more) campsites with absolutely no dump point provided. (obviously the shires and health inspectors have no say in what happens on the Dampier Peninsula, a law on their own.) Some of them don’t even provide a rubbish dump. For $50 a night you are expected to drive back to Broome to dump your toilet and empty your rubbish bin every few days. Fabulous place but charging top dollar without meeting the health requirements enforced on every other camp/caravan park in WA leaves them with a long way to go and exposes the authorities to some criticism. (Why dont your the rules apply to this region?)