Kununurra Total Solar Eclipse 2028

Kununurra's key decision: stay in town or drive south for more totality?

Kununurra has the most reliable sky on the path but sits near the northern edge. Stay in town for services and shade, or drive south toward Lake Argyle or Warmun for a minute and a half more.

• Every town site measured has the Sun at least 49 degrees clear of the terrain.
• Lake Argyle (about 4m 18s) and Warmun (about 4m 32s) are 70 and 200 km south.
• Kununurra Aero averages 19 clear and 1.2 cloudy July days (1986–2010).

Eclipse times in Kununurra

First contact

9:27 a.m. AWST

Maximum

11:01 a.m. AWST

End

12:33 p.m. AWST

Totality

2 minutes, 55 seconds

Magnitude

1.005

In UTC on 22 July 2028: first contact 01:27, maximum 03:01, eclipse ends 04:33. Add to calendar (.ics)

Kununurra in the path of totality

Kununurra sits only about 20 km inside the northern edge of the path, which is why its totality is shorter than places further south. Inside the town the difference is a few seconds: Celebrity Tree Park on Lily Creek Lagoon measures 2 minutes 59 seconds, Kelly's Knob 2 minutes 51 seconds and Mirima National Park 2 minutes 48 seconds, because every step north-east is a step closer to the edge. Driving south buys time fast. Lake Argyle, about 70 km away, gets about 4 minutes 18 seconds, and Warmun on the Great Northern Highway, about 200 km south, about 4 minutes 32 seconds.

What you will see in the dark sky

During totality the sky over Kununurra darkens to deep twilight. Look for Venus, 38 degrees up in the northwest; Mercury, 52 degrees up in the north, only 4 degrees from the eclipsed Sun; Jupiter, 27 degrees up in the east-northeast; Saturn, 10 degrees up in the west-northwest. From Kununurra the brightest stars likely to show are Sirius (west), Canopus (south-southwest), Alpha Centauri (south-southeast), Capella (north-northwest).

Positions for Kununurra at 03:01:07 UTC, from JPL's DE421 ephemeris, listing objects brighter than magnitude +1 and at least 5 degrees up.

What makes Kununurra distinctive for the 2028 eclipse?

The Western Australian Government has made the East Kimberley the centre of its eclipse planning. Its May 2026 budget committed $24.6 million to infrastructure and public safety for the eclipse, including upgraded camping and water facilities in Kununurra, better regional telecommunications and a proposed public viewing site on the Great Northern Highway inside the path. Regional Development and Kimberley Minister Stephen Dawson called the East Kimberley the best place in the world to see it. Source.

4 Kununurra viewing sites, measured

With the Sun 53 degrees up, terrain is not a problem anywhere in Kununurra: the highest measured horizon toward the Sun is 3.6 degrees, inside Mirima's sandstone walls. Choose for shade, parking and how long your group can sit outside in a 31-degree July day. The lagoon parks have shade and toilets; the lookouts have the view but little of either.

Each chart traces Kununurra's terrain 30° either side of azimuth 12°, where the Sun stands at maximum; it shows hills, not trees or buildings (how the sites were measured).

• Kelly's Knob Lookout

  Thegoowiyeng in Miriwoong. A sealed road and short walk lead to a lookout above the town, free and open at all hours. Parking is limited, so on eclipse morning expect to walk up from the base. Facilities and access.

• Celebrity Tree Park and Lily Creek Lagoon

  A shaded park on the lagoon, opened in 1984, with a paved path along the water and a boat ramp with its own parking. It measures the longest totality of the town sites. Facilities and access.

• Kununurra Leisure Centre grounds

  Shire-run ovals and open ground on Coolibah Drive in the town centre, a short walk from shops and accommodation. Facilities and access.

• Mirima National Park (Hidden Valley)

  About 2 km from town, with an 800 m return walk to a lookout over the Ord valley. A park pass is needed. The sandstone walls raise the horizon to 3.6 degrees, still far below the Sun. Facilities and access.

July weather in Kununurra: the station record

The long-term July record at Kununurra Aero shows 19.0 clear days and a mean 3 p.m. temperature of 30.1°C.

Kununurra Aero, on the edge of town, has a 25-year cloud record. Sources: Kununurra Aero, whose averages describe past Julys rather than the sky on 22 July 2028.

If you want more totality: drive south, decided the day before

Cloud is rarely the problem here. Kununurra Aero averages 19 clear and barely one cloudy July day, and satellite records show cloud below 10 per cent along the track from the coast to the Northern Territory. The real decision is duration. Lake Argyle Road leaves the Victoria Highway east of town and reaches the lake village in about an hour, for about 4 minutes 18 seconds; Warmun is two and a half hours down the Great Northern Highway for about 4 minutes 32 seconds. If you go, leave by 7 a.m., carry water and fuel, and expect road trains and the proposed state viewing site to draw traffic on the highway.

Eclipse day in Kununurra

First contact is at 9:27 a.m. AWST and totality begins just before 11:00 a.m., so be set up by 9:15 with water, hats and seats; looking 53 degrees up for long is hard on necks, and a camp chair that reclines helps. Totality ends about 11:02 a.m. and the partial phase runs until 12:33 p.m., by which time the temperature will be back near 30 degrees.

Getting to Kununurra

Kununurra Airport has flights from Perth and Darwin. By road it is about 1,040 km from Broome on the Great Northern Highway and about 510 km from Katherine on the Victoria Highway. Driving in from the Northern Territory, you pass the Western Australian quarantine checkpoint at the border, where fruit, vegetables and honey are taken, and clocks go back an hour and a half from ACST to AWST.

Who Kununurra suits

Kununurra suits people who want the most reliable sky on the whole path and a high Sun, and who can combine the eclipse with the Ord River, Lake Argyle or Purnululu. It is less suited to anyone needing city services or last-minute bookings: the town has limited accommodation and July is the middle of its dry-season tourist peak.

Safety in Kununurra

The Kimberley hazards are heat, sun and water. July afternoons reach about 31 degrees, so drink water and keep children in shade between looks. Stay back from lagoon and river edges, where crocodiles live, and watch for road trains on the highways. See the eye safety guide.

Questions about Kununurra

Further reading

• Kimberley regional guide
• First-timer's eclipse plan
• Eclipse weather strategy
• Build your eclipse-day plan — turn Kununurra's contact times and your fallback route into a printable checklist.

Nearby city guides

Compare Wyndham, Tennant Creek, Bourke, or browse all city guides.

• Wyndham
• Tennant Creek
• Bourke

Sources

Kununurra's eclipse times are calculated from NASA GSFC Besselian elements (path table) and compared with the Astronomical Society of Australia's timing table. The Kununurra site horizons use the terrain model behind the visibility map, with coordinates from OpenStreetMap.

• Kimberley Eclipse 2028 (WA Government)
• Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley
• Main Roads WA Travel Map