Kimberley Expedition Cruise: Australia’s Wild and Beautiful Northwest
- Kerry Graham
- Oct 29
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 29
In July, this year Murray and I cruised with a small group of family, friends and clients to the Kimberley region of Australia onboard an expedition cruise. We had a wonderful time exploring the area and getting to know each other and the 254 guests on board. Because of the nature of expedition cruising – small ships, zodiac expeditions, walks and explorations, talks by a passionate expedition team you do tend to mingle more than you might on a cruise in the Mediterranean, where people tend to go ashore and do their own activities during the day.
The Kimberley has become incredibly popular, and more ships are starting to operate in the area. My advice, go soon before it gets too busy! This is an appealing destination to those looking for soft adventure close to home. This is the area of Northwestern Australia stretching between Darwin and Broome. It’s remote and hard to access and while there is some four-wheel drive tours overland it’s best explored from the sea. In fact, many of the best attractions are only possible to reach by boat.
The first morning at sea is always exciting as you pull open the curtains to see where you are and anticipate the day. I was up early and greeting by a spectacular sunrise with gorgeous soft light casting a glow. It was one of those rare calm days where the water is almost oily. My camera was put to good use on this day and all the following. Just stunning landscapes.
A typical day involved heading ashore or off on a zodiac excursion after breakfast. Back onboard for lunch and then off the ship for another activity. Afternoon lectures and a review of the day and preview of what might happen tomorrow. There was an excellent expedition team on board. Many are specialists in their own area but also have an impressive range of knowledge for the region you are visiting. We reconnected with a guide we met in the Ross Sea whose passion was crocodiles – not much for him to share about that in Antarctica but in the Kimberley, he was in his element!
We saw a number of crocodiles on the banks of the rivers and inlets we visited, or swimming in the water, including a giant Salty the length of our zodiac in clear waters! Our guide was so excited. It’s wonderful to have a team of specialists onboard that get so excited about everything – sometimes more so than the guests as we don’t always appreciate how rare a particular sighting may be.
Crocodiles, turtles, sharks, birdlife, geology, indigenous rock art, some estimated to be up to 30000 years old. Out of respect for the indigenous people of the area they ask that we don’t take photos. But take my word for it they are incredible and remarkably clear, telling tales of ancient lives.
The rocks in this region are so old there are no fossils– they predate life on earth! There are incredible rock formations, and they change colour with the light during the day, glowing gold, and rich reds.
We made a technical stop, outside Australian waters to visit Ashmore Reef. The clarity and the turquoise of the water, sea and bird life was incredible. No landing permitted.
The tides in this area are extraordinarily strong rising and falling several metres creating the Horizontal waterfalls at sea where the waters rush in and out with the tides. These is a zodiac exploration of Montgomery Reef. Here the water cascades off the reef and forms rapids as the tide falls, creating the illusion of this vast reef rising out of the water.
We travelled with Le Jacques Cartier, a Ponant French small expedition ship. In this area all announcements are in English, in other parts of the world there may be French and English spoken. The quests on board were mainly Australian and New Zealanders with a smattering of other nationalities. There is a French inspired menu along with Australian dishes served with local and international wines. This is a fully inclusive expedition, so the only extras onboard were premium wines if you wanted to indulge, spa treatments and boutique purchases.
If you are looking for a close to home ‘soft’ expedition this is a cruise I would recommend. It’s exciting and interesting without taking most people out of their comfort zone. Wonderful sights and fun filled days. The great time to visit the Kimberley in June through August - a nice time to be away from the cooler temperatures of New Zealand.
The Kimberley is truly one of the world’s great expedition destinations — close to home, yet unlike anywhere else.
If you’d like to experience it for yourself, I’d love to help make it happen.
Kerry
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