Explore Travel Live

This Kimberley experience takes visitors beyond the scenery to a story of survival and loss

A riverboat journey, a smoking ceremony and a family sharing the legacy of their ancestors.

Picture by Mark Daffey
Picture by Mark Daffey
By Mark Daffey
November 2, 2026

Ngarinyin country spans millions of hectares in the northern Kimberley region of WA. It includes the southern section of El Questro Station, just over an hour's drive from Kununurra.

It's an area the Ngarinyin refer to as Marlabu. Years ago, Josephite nuns christened Shonelle O'Reeri's (pictured) grandmother with the name Mary. But to her own people, she was known as Injiid, and it's her story we hear about during an immersive cultural experience close to Chamberlain Gorge.

Get exclusive travel tips, hidden gems & expert insights: delivered to your inbox

Already today, we've joined Shonelle and her parents, Nelson and Mary, on a riverboat cruise along the gorge, known as Munbala to them. As well as spotting rock wallabies and scanning for crocs, we learned of their deep connection to country.

Now, after a smoking ceremony lit by sunbeams, we hear about Injiid being carted down to Perth to testify in a murder case where the accused was acquitted, then left to find her own way home, which took her two years. It's a harrowing account of injustice.