The Kimberley: Broome to Darwin Cruise- Premium Adventure

Embark: On the day of your departure, arrive at Broome Civic Centre (Jimmy Chi Hall – 27 Weld Street, Broome) at 2pm to meet the Coral Expeditions team and check in for your expedition cruise. A complimentary transfer will be provided to Deep Water Port, where boarding will begin from 4pm for a 5pm departure.

Board your Coral Expeditions ship and settle into your stateroom before departure. Also take the time to become acquainted with the facilities as we cruise northwards towards Cape Leveque.

As dusk falls, meet your fellow travellers, the captain and crew at the Captain’s Welcome Drinks.

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The Lacepede Islands are a protected nature reserve and an vital nesting rookery for brown boobies and roseate terns. Other species often sighted here include Australian pelicans, frigate birds, egrets and gulls. The four low-lying islands are also an important breeding and nesting habitat for green turtles.

If weather and tide conditions are suitable, we will explore the lagoons by Xplorer and Zodiac tender vessels.

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The Horizontal Falls are one of the biggest attractions in The Kimberly and are a result of the mammoth 36ft (11m) tides for which the region is renowned. Naturalist Sir David Attenborough described the Horizontal Falls as ‘one of the greatest natural wonders of the world’.

The Horizontal Falls are created as the ocean thunders through a narrow gorge in the McLarty Ranges. Water builds on one side and is forcibly pushed through the bottleneck, creating a rushing horizontal waterfall of swiftly flowing seawater. Riding the rapids on our Zodiac inflatable tenders is one of the highlights of our Kimberley expedition cruises.

Talbot Bay is at the heart of the Buccaneer Archipelago, where rocks on the 800 or so islands are estimated at more than 2bn years old. At Cyclone Creek, you will see evidence of massive geological forces in the impressive rock formations and cruise through the Iron Islands, past Koolan Island, before enjoying sunset drinks at Nares Point.

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Raft Point guards the entrance to Doubtful Bay, a vast body of sheltered water harbouring significant sites, including some of the finest ancient Wandjina rock art galleries in The Kimberley. If a Traditional Owner guide is available to accompany us, we can visit the galleries.

Doubtful Bay is the traditional country of the Worrora people who follow Wandjina, their god, lawmaker and creator. Images of Wandjina are found throughout The Kimberley, recording their stories, knowledge and culture in stone.

Other sites we aim to visit in Doubtful Bay include the mighty Steep Island and Ruby Falls at Red Cone Creek.

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Montgomery Reef is a biologically diverse area covering more than 154sqmi (400sqkm) and was named by explorer Phillip Parker King. Twice daily, as the sea recedes in mammoth 36ft (11m) tides, Montgomery Reef rises from the Indian Ocean in a cascade of rushing water revealing a flat-topped reef pockmarked with rockpools and rivulets.

As the reef emerges, we get up close in our Xplorer and Zodiac inflatable tenders to witness the spectacle as our Expedition Team share their knowledge on the formation of the reef and the myriad wildlife. Opportunistic birds take advantage of the emerging reef, feeding on the marine life exposed in rock pools. Turtles and dolphins are also attracted to feeding opportunities as the ocean recedes.

The ocean is awash in a swirl of eddies and whirlpools as the gravitational force of the moon takes hold. Then, a few hours later, the entire water-borne drama is reversed as the tide comes in and Montgomery Reef disappears below sea level.

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King Cascade is a classically beautiful, terraced waterfall and one of the most photographed waterfalls in The Kimberley. Falling from a considerable height and around 165ft (50m) across, water tumbles down a staggered terrace of Kimberley sandstone. Layer upon layer of the ochre-coloured and blackened rock sprouts grasses, mosses and ferns in a sort of lushly vegetated hanging garden.

We reach King Cascade after cruising in our Xplorer tender vessels down the Prince Regent River, which is a remarkable anomaly as the river runs dead straight along a fault line.

Phillip Parker King named nearby Careening Bay after he beached his leaking vessel HMC Mermaid to effect repairs. While stranded on this remote coastline for 17 days, the ship’s carpenter carved ‘HMC Mermaid 1820’ into the bottle-shaped trunk of a boab tree near the beach. Two hundred years later, the Mermaid Boab Tree has since split into two trunks and sports a mammoth girth of 39ft (12m). Significantly, the bulbous tree is listed on the National Register of Big Trees and the carpenter’s careful inscription now stands almost as tall as a person.

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Prince Frederick Harbour, at the southern end of York Sound, is one of the most spectacular locations in The Kimberly. The harbour is dotted with islands lined with mangroves and monsoon rainforests, set against a backdrop of ochre escarpment.

White-bellied sea eagles and other birds of prey are often seen here, and at low tide, expansive mudflats reveal large populations of mudskippers and mangrove crabs. We take our Xplorer tender vessels on a cruise up Porosus Creek to view striking rock formations.

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Tumbling down the Mitchell Plateau in a series of tiered waterfalls and emerald-green rock pools, the Mitchell Falls are the photogenic poster child for the Mitchell River National Park. Take a scenic helicopter flight (additional cost) over it to see the rock pools cascade down the escarpment.

Mitchell River National Park is inhabited by significant numbers of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, which are lured by a year-round water source. Sandstone terraces beside tiered rock pools make a terrific viewing platform from which to savour the serenity of this ancient landscape.

An alternative option to Mitchell Falls is exploring the sandstone caves of Hathway’s Hideaway, a labyrinth of weathered tunnels, arches and columns. Another option while anchored at Winyalkan Bay is a visit to a series Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock art galleries at Swift Bay.

In the evening, we enjoy watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean and a gourmet barbecue.

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Vansittart Bay is home to many cultural and historically significant sites, including remarkable Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) Aboriginal rock art galleries estimated to be up to 20,000 years old. Jar Island is so-named after the pot shards found here, brought over by Macassan fisherman harvesting sea cucumbers.

On the nearby Anjo Peninsula lies the well-preserved wreckage of a US Air Force C-53 Skytrooper aircraft, the result of a pilot losing his bearings while flying from Perth to Broome in 1942 and putting down on a saltpan near present-day Truscott Airbase.

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Fed by the King George River draining across the Gardner Plateau, the 262ft (80m) tall King George Falls are the highest twin falls in Western Australia. Before reaching the misty spray that rises from the base of the falls, we cruise through steep-sided gorges carved by a flooded river system that carved a swathe through the Kimberley landscape 400m years ago.

Early in the waterfall season, we may cruise around the base of the falls, while in later months we take the opportunity to view the honeycomb erosion patterns of sandstone cliffs up close.

On our last evening aboard the ship, we enjoy the captain’s farewell drinks among new-found friends.

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Disembark: Arrive and disembark at Darwin’s Fort Hill Wharf at 8.30am.

Our incredible adventure along the Kimberley coast concludes in Darwin this morning at 8.30am. Bid farewell to your fellow travellers, the captain and crew. Post-cruise transfers to the CBD hotels or the airport are included (you must advise and pre-book with Exodus at least one month before departure if you wish to have a departure transfer).

If you’re not transferring directly to the airport, why not spend the day enjoying the tropical city of Darwin with its landscaped waterfront and harbourside wave pool?