Ponant Kimberley Cruise - Day 6 – Ashmore Reef Technical Stop
As this ship is French flagged, and this itinerary starts and ends in Australian ports, Maritime Law requires that at some point every 30 days the ship leaves Australian waters – and by sailing to Ashmore Reef we enter International Waters (which is also why passport is required/preferred on this cruise)
600km northern of Broome, on the edge of the continental shelf, Ashmore Reef consists of 3 low lying tropical islands surrounded by coral reef. The islands have a combined land area approx. 54 hectares and are a designated Important Bird Area. Visitation to the reef and islands is strictly controlled and most of the reef is designated as a sanctuary zone where access is prohibited. Zodiac tours in this stop are dependent on weather, sea and tide conditions on the day.
The island is known to have at least 750 species of fish including 8 species of shark, 30 species of sea birds (over 100,000 breeding individuals), 17 species of sea snake, Giant Triton Snails (The only predator of the Crown of Thorns starfish). There are also 11,000 nesting turtles including Green, Loggerhead and Hawksbill.
Unfortunately there was a medical incident on board involving a crew member so we did not sail today as planned – around 6am a helicopter evacuation happened with the crew member (it was the cruise director) being winched up into the chopper which was holding still in 25knot winds – it was quite a sight to see according to those who watched. We just got up when we woke this morning, and then about 7am headed to the gym for some treadmill work and put in 2km of fast walking then showered and headed to breakfast. A goat cheese omelette was the egg special of the day, then the usual second course of a plate of fruit, cheese and nuts with some crackers and smoked salmon.
The delay due to the evacuation meant that instead of arriving and seeing Ashmore Reef mid morning, it was mid evening in the pitch black so there was nothing to see. Due to the regulations, this technical stop is done on every Darwin – Broome itinerary to tick all the boxes. This does mean a lack of time to see the wreck of the DC3 WWII aircraft also in Swift Bay, but you do see this on the Broome – Darwin itinerary as the Ashmore Reef stop is not required. So in a perfect world when choosing direction of travel, pick what you like the most – the natural world and chance to see the Reef wildlife, or the history and chance to see the wreck.
After breakfast I went to 2 enrichment lectures – one on tides and tidal waters and one on birdlife. I knew that tides were controlled by the moon, and to a lesser degree the sun, but when you take into account phases of the moon, the geography of the land, the bathymetry (landscape of the underwater – my new word for the day), underwater canyons, outcrops and the effects of two tidal flow amplifying or nullifying each other (tidal harmonics) plus the draft of the ship needing to be accounted for, then here in the Kimberley with 12 meter tides happening, the calculations and accuracy required are mind-blowing – I did not understand much of what was discussed other than tides are a really big deal on a cruise like this, and the timing of the itinerary each day to match the tides is a REALLY really big deal and way more complex than I ever thought – plus there are so few ships in the Kimberley on the whole, the anecdotal tales and experience of locals is something that cannot be counted on.
The next enrichment seminar for the day was presented by our favourite zodiac driver so far, Jade, and she spoke about sea birds and their adaptation for the lifestyles they lead. Did you know, for example, that the frigate bird can fly for 2.5yrs without touching land? And that the Emperor Penguin has body adaptations to allow it to dive to 500m safely? All its feathers compress to prevent air pockets for buoyancy, and as it dives the oxygen flow to its non-essential organs cease. Then when its ready to ascend, a few quick flaps to gain a couple of meters and the change in atmospheric pressure as its depth changes is enough to have the feathers fluff up, air bubbles start to form and the bubbles cause propulsions and its almost like a jet stream that pushes them to the surface allowing them to expend basically no energy doing so.
The intricate structure of the sea-birds feathers with little hooks that latch onto each other to hold them together like a webbing was the inspiration for the development of Velcro. And did you know that when you see seabirds “sneezing” they are expelling a salty brine filtered by their salt glands that removes the salt from their bodies that they have consumed whilst hunting and eating.
As the medical evacuation had to be done in calmer waters and closer to land, we were delayed in starting our progress to Ashmore Reef. So, the crew quickly flew into action in putting on events through the day to keep everyone occupied. At 11.30am Ilaria hosted a quiz of fun (and difficult!) facts about places around the world. We managed to score 9/16 and got closest guess to the post for the tiebreaker, so were declared winners! Ours to take home was a leather Ponant keychain and a couple of pens, and the USB charging cable in a nice Ponant bag we shared with teammate Greg.
We had lunch on deck today – Nemo casual dining. The same salad bar and cheese plates as every day, a few new salads in bowls that were a bit fancier, and as always, a different desert selection. There is also a changing menu to order from in addition to the buffet, so today I had a very nice serve of Calamari with capsicum and a spicy sauce – it was very good.
We headed downstairs to the Blue Eye after lunch for a talk on sharks which was quite good – a bit of a shame that the AV was not working so instead of seeing it on the two big screens on the walls, we watched it on the crew laptops as they talked us through. We decided to skip another bird ID talk – 3 lectures in one day (no matter how interesting and entertaining they are when well presented) was enough for me. In hindsight we should have gone, but the brain can only soak up so much information in a day, and we were also on board to relax and enjoy the facilities and service and some down time as well.
Todays photo is one of mine, taken at the daily afternoon tea in the main lounge on Deck 3
We spent the afternoon reading, visited the sauna for a sweat, and then although food is the last thing we need more of, today’s afternoon tea is themed “US Style” so there were cookies, brownies, raspberry marshmallows all on offer, plus croissants with ham and cheese for a savoury option - of course as we are on a French ship with a French chef!
Tried to talk Steve into Line Dancing lessons this afternoon, but that was a hard no!! Decided to sit in the fresh air on the back deck with some cold beverages and just watch the wake, listening to the sounds of the sea. There is some easy-listening music wafting out from the Main Lounge which is nice, and the clouds are just starting to go a light shade of pink as the sun is getting ready to set on another day.
Dinner tonight was White Night on board. I chose the prawn and cucumber starter with Red Snapper for main – the dishes are certainly beautifully presented and taste really nice. No complaints here at all. There is a selection of wines on the “Chef’s Selection” page of the menu each night, but you can also just ask for what you want. The whites suggested are always a bit sweet for me, so last night I asked for the Sav Blanc and tonight I opted to try the Tasmanian Pinot Noir which was delicious.
We dropped anchor at Ashmore Reef to say it was “Done” and then turned around and set sail for Careening Bay. The winds picked up a lot tonight and by the end of dinner there was significant “rock and roll” and it was not just on the dance floor, so we sacrificed the White Night Party on the dance floor from 9pm and chose to get horizontal, heading straight for bed. Even so, there was still a lot of movement but once I was asleep, I was fine. How this sailor forgot to pack sea sick tablets I will never know! Also what was not thought of in the last minute was cash for the potential art purchases (coming later in the itinerary) which was cash only. We had assumed that there would be no shopping stops on this cruise because of where we were.