Hervey Bay Car Hire
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Broome · Western Australia

Broome: The Kimberley and the Indian Ocean coast

Broome sits on a peninsula between Roebuck Bay and the Indian Ocean, a pearling town that became a gateway. It has fuel, supermarkets, tyre repair and a hospital, and none of that is a given once you head north or east. That is why the trip starts here.

The season decides it. The dry runs roughly May to October, warm by day and cool at night; before it comes the build-up, when humidity climbs and afternoons hang heavy.

Where this depot puts you

  • Cable Beach

    The beach runs 22 km of white sand along the Indian Ocean, and the sunset is why people arrange their afternoon around it. Vehicles go north of the rocks only, via the beach ramp, and only 4WDs should try the soft sand; the shire shuts the ramp at times through turtle nesting season, and the tide here is large enough to take a parked vehicle.

  • The Dampier Peninsula

    Cape Leveque Road is sealed now, so Beagle Bay, Lombadina and Ardyaloon are reachable without low range, but nearly every side track to a beach or campground is unsealed and often sandy. This is country with communities on it: some places ask you to book ahead, and camping without permission is not tolerated.

  • The Gibb River Road

    The Gibb runs east from Derby to the Great Northern Highway near Kununurra: 660 km of mostly unsealed road, gorge country on both sides and unbridged river crossings, the Pentecost among them. It opens for the dry and closes outright in the Wet, and even then a night of heavy rain can put a crossing out of action for a day.

Worth knowing before you book

  • Work the trip inside the dry season, and do not plan to learn the vehicle during the build-up.
  • The Gibb wants a proper 4WD and a decision at every crossing: never wade in to check depth, and remember the rivers are crocodile habitat.
  • Tyres are what fails. Corrugations shake a vehicle apart, so slow down, set pressures before the unsealed sections, and know how to change a spare.
  • Start each leg full of fuel and carry more water than the day needs.

What you can drive

Every depot is stocked from the same national fleet — campervans, 4WD campers and a five-seat car. What is actually available on your dates is confirmed by the search, not assumed from a list.

The full fleet, with specifications · All pickup locations

The Fraser Coast has no depot, so 4WD hire for Hervey Bay always begins further south, in Brisbane.

The depot page for Broome