The Kimberley – Cruising on the Oceanic Discoverer
The Kimberley is truly a special place located in the North West of Australia and covers more the 400,000 square kilometres. This is an area three times larger than England and is acknowledged as one of the world’s last and possible most beautiful wilderness areas.
Last year my husband and myself travelled from Darwin to Broome through the Kimberley for 10 days on Coral Princess Oceanic Discoverer and it was one of the most amazing holidays we have ever had. There really is no better way to experience the sites, history, wildlife and culture of the Kimberley than by small ship sailing. The Oceanic Discoverer was built in 2005 and only takes a maximum of 70 people. She is beautiful and so comfortable with all on suite rooms, large windows and comfortable beds. She also has a number of outdoor areas to admire the amazing scenery and the food was fabulous. The staff are all Australian and included in your cruise are guest lecturers whom accompany you each day and explain the region’s landscapes, history and culture which is fantastic. Without their knowledge the trip would not have been so amazing.
Each day we had a morning and afternoon excursion and even a few night excursions to spot crocodiles plus an amazing beach BBQ to view the incredible Kimberley sunsets. These excursions are conducted on the purpose built X-plorer which is a flat bottom boat that you board from the back deck and is lowered into the water and this took us to the most amazing places in the Kimberley. Even if you are not that mobile this boat allows you to participate in most daily excursions.
Each day we were able to follow the footsteps of some of the early explorers such as Phillip Parker King who first charted this spectacular coastline almost 200 years ago. We travelled down the King George River just as he did to view the 80 meter twin falls, cruised right up to the King Cascades Falls, travelled through the Horizontal Falls in a zodiac. An optional extra was to fly in a helicopter over the Mitchell Plateau and falls and land at the top for a walk along the rim.
One of the highlights for me was landing at Bigge Island seeing the mysterious Bradshaw Art which is some of the oldest known Aboriginal Art and having it explained by an expert. It was magically seeing this art in such a remote area and in wonderful condition. This art is only accessible by boat.
The other was witnessing the rise out of the ocean of Montgomery Reef. We arrived in the morning and all you could see was water but within half an hour the reef started to rise out of the ocean as the tide changed and the waterfalls coming of the reef were amazing. The bird life was beautiful as they hunted for fish and one section between two parts of the reef was full of turtles feeding.
We woke up every morning ready for a new adventure and we were never disappointed. Each day we discovered a new part of the Kimberley in the way of rivers, icons, Aboriginal history, amazing wildlife and rock formations. Then at the end of each day we had a recap of what we had seen including a slide presentation from our lecturers, a chance to ask questions and a brief on the following day. Then it was off to a fantastic dinner and to talk to other guests about what a wonderful day we all had just had.
I could not recommend this trip more highly and it really is a must do at some stage of your life as the Kimberley is amazing, untouched and so rich in Australian history.