Entering the second week of Kununurra’s epic Ord Valley Muster I had the opportunity to witness an awe inspiring Corroborree and kick my heels up at the Kimberley Moon Experience!

The Corroboree Under the Stars brought people together from a variety of backgrounds to share in the celebration of Miriwoong Gajerrong culture. As I approached the entrance I was welcomed by huge smiles from three young Miriwoong girls who were dancing in the corroboree. Dressed in bright yellow they welcomed us to the celebration and even gave us a hug – that’s Kimberley hospitality for you! The grounds were spacious and well laid out allowing everybody a great view of the performance to come. I was fortunate to find a particularly good spot right up the front. Ground cooked beef, vegies, and homemade damper were served and the performance began. The performers told stories of love, rivalry, family and law through their song and dance. Some were funny, then there were others that were simply awe inspiring as men, women and children performed what they called their ‘Rock n Roll’ dance. This was a series of intense performances that had dust kicking up beneath their feet and sweat beads rolling of the dancers foreheads. As the end of the performance approached, the dancers invited members of the audience to join in the dancing, one for the men, one for the women, and one for both. The Waringarri Corroboree would be one of my favourite events and I’d highly recommend it to visitors and locals alike.

The following night I enjoyed watching the Mirima dancers again at the sponsors cocktail party which was held at the Kununurra Country Club Resort the night before the BIG EVENT, The Kimberley Moon Experience.

The Kimberley Moon Experience is Kununurra’s Ord Valley Muster’s signature event. Held at the Jim Hughes amphitheatre on the banks of the Ord River each year it has attracted some fantastic Australian artists over the years from Jimmy Barnes to Guy Sebastian, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, to The Living End. The concert appeals to a wide audience demographic with both casual lawn seating and an extravagant black tie dinner which is sponsored by Kimberley Fine Diamonds.       This year’s lineup was one of my personal favourites:

I was fortunate enough to have a corporate ticket (Freshwater East Kimberley Apartments is a sponsor of the Ord Valley Muster), so decked out in my Eileen Kirby frock and heels I was ferried to the event by Triple J Tours Ord River Cruises. Triple J have been sponsors of the Ord Valley Muster since its inception and every year their suit attired skippers, Dylan, Grant and Jeff ferry corporate guests to the event. We stepped off the boat onto the pink carpet and were handed a glass of champagne and our first canapé – bliss!

The Mirima dancers delighted with another stellar performance and welcome to country, Megan Washington performed as the sun set, and was followed shortly after by the Monsoon nights belly dancers. Independent band The Whitlams got the dance floor started which continued on when three time ARIA award winner Dan Sultan rocked the stage, and headline act The Living End brought the house down with their popular rock tunes. I’m a huge Dan Sultan fan (what girl isn’t), so this was my personal favourite performance of the evening, but all the acts were incredible. The crowd was still raring to go when The Living End finished, so fortunately another band – Wingman, from Broome continued the party with some great covers.

The Kimberley Moon Experience is Kununurra’s biggest event and the town usually sells out of accommodation with hotels at 100% occupancy. If you would like to visit for next year’s Kimberley Moon Experience I suggest you book your Kununurra accommodation early!

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