We were three days off the Gibb, still shaking bulldust out of everything we owned, when we pulled into Barn Hill Station south of Broome. It shows up on a lot of “best campsites in Australia” lists, and it’s the kind of claim you assume is overstated right up until you’re standing on the cliff above the Indian Ocean with a cold drink, watching two hundred kilometres of undeveloped coastline turn gold, wondering why we only booked two nights.
What It Is
A working cattle station 120km south of Broome on the Great Northern Highway — a short gravel run off the highway to the homestead and campground. Book a cliff-top site if you can; they’re elevated above the beach with a view south that seems to run on forever, and the light show at dusk is worth the whole detour.
The Dinosaur Trackway
This is the thing nobody tells you about before you arrive. At low tide, the rock shelf below the cliffs exposes one of the largest dinosaur trackways in the world — sauropod and theropod footprints preserved in 130-million-year-old rock, right there on the reef flat if you know where to look (the station points you in the right direction). James, who has been dinosaur-obsessed since he could talk, was completely undone by this. We stood out there for the better part of an hour with the tide creeping back in, tracing footprints older than almost anything else we’d see on the whole trip.
Camp Life
The homestead has a bar and basic supplies, which on a stretch of coast this remote counts as genuine luxury. Powered sites are available if you need to run the fridge properly. Fires go in the designated pits only. And on our second morning, we had company: a big goanna strolled straight across the camp table mid-breakfast, entirely unbothered by three humans frozen mid-bite. Ten minutes of quiet fascination, one dropped piece of toast, and it wandered off again like nothing happened. That’s Barn Hill in one photo.
Gear Notes: What Earned Its Keep
With wildlife wandering through camp at will, we’ve gotten religious about closing everything up between meals — a proper zip-close storage tote for food and rubbish, rather than the open-top tote we started the trip with, keeps curious goannas (and further south, foxes) out of things they shouldn’t be in. Small thing, saved us more than once.
The cliff-top breeze here is constant and cooling, which is glorious at sunset and a little much once the sun’s properly down — a packable fleece throw kept the kids on their chairs instead of retreating to the van early, which meant we all got to watch the full sunset together instead of half the family missing it.
Practical Info
Location: Barn Hill Station, Kimberley Coast, 120km south of Broome Access: 2WD, short gravel section off the highway Sites: ~100 powered and unpowered Facilities: Flush toilets, hot showers, basic camp kitchen, bar at the homestead Fires: Permitted in designated fire pits Nearest town: Broome (120km) — stock up before arriving Book ahead for: Peak season (June–August) — this one fills
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We came from a hard few days on the Gibb. Next: 80 Mile Beach, and a very different kind of vast.