Kimberley: Lonely Planet's Second Best Region To Visit In 2014
The Kimberley region in Western Australia's northern part was recently hailed Lonely Planet's second best region to visit in 2014.
Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guide book publisher, makes an annual list of top 10 destinations, including best countries, cities and regions for travelers. In 2014, Kimberley made it to the top 10 regions of Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2014.
A comment on the beauty of Australia's Kimberley region can be found on the Lonely Planet's Web site.
"The Kimberley is one of the most sparsely populated regions on the planet and one of the most starkly beautiful, carved by giant gorges, dimpled with deep, cool pools, and home to a coastline that could make Australian east-coasters weep," the Web site cited.
Lonely Planet advised travelers to visit the area as soon as they can, before developers discover it and put up large businesses that can mar its pristine beauty.
"It just confirms we've got really amazing places," Tourism Council of Western Australia Chief Executive Evan Hall said.
"It's the shot in the arm that tourism in that region needed," Hall added.
Tourism Minister Liza Harvey said it would help promote Kimberley in a big way.
"The Lonely Plant endorsement is a huge boost for the Kimberley's global profile, and will hopefully inspire a new wave of visitors to this extraordinary and unique wilderness region," Harvey said.
Also known as Australia's Last Great Wilderness, the Kimberley region of North Western Australia is filled with beautiful places, including gorgeous beaches like the eighty-mile beach and cable beach, cascading waterfalls, picturesque parks and the Geikie gorges. It also features the Bungle Bungle Range, Home Valley Station, Gantheaume Point and the El Questro Wilderness Park.
As one of the nine regions in Western Australia, it is home to a lot of exotic animals such as birds like the Crimson Finch, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Pacific Koel, Purple-crowned Fairywren and Gouldian Finch. A lot of frogs live here, including the cave-dwelling frog, the magnificent tree frog and the flat-headed frog.
Mammals like the pale field rat, golden-backed tree-rat, northern Quoll, bilby and golden bandicoot dwell in this area. Saltwater crocodiles and turtles can also be seen here.
Other areas of interest in this vast region include the Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek, Devonian Reef National Park, Fitzroy Crossing, Roebuck Bay, Lake Argyle, Ord estuary and wetlands, Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, Halls Creek, Gibb River Road and the Derby town.
Adelaide was named as Lonely Planet's ninth best city to visit in 2014. It was the only city in Australia to be included in the travel guide's list.
Aside from Kimberley, the other regions that made the list of Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2014 - Top 10 regions are:
1. Sikkim, India
2. The Kimberley, Australia
3. Yorkshire, England
4. Hokuriku, Japan
5. Texas, USA
6. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Zambia
7. Mallorca, Spain
8. West Coast, New Zealand
9. Hunan, China
10. Ha'apai, Tonga
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