Final frontier
Final Frontier
King George Falls.
The ancient Kimberley is one of Australia’s most isolated locations, perched in the north-west corner of the country. The region’s remoteness has helped preserve its beauty and the many tales that its Indigenous art, geography and wildlife have to tell.
Words: Jeremy Rochow
Two land masses dramatically colliding, millions of years of folding and crumpling, rocks weathering and erosion created the Kimberley. The striking region is the culmination of more than 3000 unique islands dotted along the coastline, a muddled patchwork of sandstone and volcanic rock, and rivers carved through escarpments and jagged cliff faces.
Only minutes after boarding the Coral Adventurer in Broome, Wayne – our expedition leader – sets the tone for the trip.
“This isn’t just a cruise, it’s an expedition,” he announces to the 80 or so passengers on board.
While this 12-night voyage to Darwin has all the creature comforts of a cruise – including three-course dinners and a queen-size bed – the picturesque Kimberley and its stunning surrounds are the best attractions any ocean journey can offer. A Kimberley cruise also provides a unique perspective that travellers can’t experience when exploring the region by road.
Steaming to our first snorkelling destination the vibrant reds, oranges and pinks of the setting sun reflect Broome’s ochre-tinted landscape as it slowly dips below the horizon and out of sight. The adventure begins.
AN UNDERWATER WORLD
Snorkel and mask fastened, I take a step into the warm Indian Ocean and a whole new world opens before me. Tiny fluorescent blue fish glimmer in the sunlight. They dart to the surface, pecking on some sort of protein, before fluttering back towards the reef – and relative safety – below. The coral at Ashmore Reef – about 320km from the Australian coast and no more than 150km from Indonesia – is the healthiest I’ve seen during our journey.
Fire coral burns a bright orange, and blue and pink spaghetti-like sea sponges cover the reef. Clownfish hesitantly leave their home among the staghorn coral, peeking for any predators. Angelfish, with their black, white and yellow uniforms and elongated bodies, swim elegantly
along the reef, and a stingray glides through the water unaware of the many snorkellers floating on the surface.
Suddenly, I see a shadow – no, it isn’t a shark. “Turtle,” says one of the expedition guides. I look closer, and towards the ocean floor, a large turtle moves through the water. On the beach, these creatures might look slow and slightly clumsy, but in the ocean, the turtle uses all four of its limbs to gracefully propel itself through the water.
Ashmore Reef is one of three locations where travellers can snorkel on Coral Expedition’s Kimberley Icons cruise. We also make stops at Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef. The latter destination in the Timor Sea, about 270km from the Australian mainland, is home to 25 varieties of sea snakes, and where I’m set to face my fear of these reptiles. Sandra, the ship’s guest lecturer and resident marine expert, assures us that sea snakes are more docile and less aggressive than their land-based counterparts.
“Leave them alone, and they’ll just swim by,” she says. “Thousands of years of living among the coral means they’re used to bumping into things.”
While they’re abundant on the reef, I only meet one after leaving the water. Watching from the boat, I see the snake rise to the surface for a gulp of air before slinking back into the deep unknown.
Clownfish at Ashmore Reef.
Clownfish at Ashmore Reef.
AN UNDERWATER WORLD
Snorkel and mask fastened, I take a step into the warm Indian Ocean and a whole new world opens before me. Tiny fluorescent blue fish glimmer in the sunlight. They dart to the surface, pecking on some sort of protein, before fluttering back towards the reef – and relative safety – below. The coral at Ashmore Reef – about 320km from the Australian coast and no more than 150km from Indonesia – is the healthiest I’ve seen during our journey.
Fire coral burns a bright orange, and blue and pink spaghetti-like sea sponges cover the reef. Clownfish hesitantly leave their home among the staghorn coral, peeking for any predators. Angelfish, with their black, white and yellow uniforms and elongated bodies, swim elegantly along the reef, and a stingray glides through the water unaware of the many snorkellers floating on the surface.
Suddenly, I see a shadow – no, it isn’t a shark. “Turtle,” says one of the expedition guides. I look closer, and towards the ocean floor, a large turtle moves through the water. On the beach, these creatures might look slow and slightly clumsy, but in the ocean, the turtle uses all four of its limbs to gracefully propel itself through the water.
Ashmore Reef is one of three locations where travellers can snorkel on Coral Expedition’s Kimberley Icons cruise. We also make stops at Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef. The latter destination in the Timor Sea, about 270km from the Australian mainland, is home to 25 varieties of sea snakes, and where I’m set to face my fear of these reptiles. Sandra, the ship’s guest lecturer and resident marine expert, assures us that sea snakes are more docile and less aggressive than their land-based counterparts.
“Leave them alone, and they’ll just swim by,” she says. “Thousands of years of living among the coral means they’re used to bumping into things.”
While they’re abundant on the reef, I only meet one after leaving the water. Watching from the boat, I see the snake rise to the surface for a gulp of air before slinking back into the deep unknown.
Snorkelling at Ashmore Reef.
NATURE’S ARK
I wake to the sound of the anchor sinking to the ocean floor and can’t resist the temptation to look out my large promenade window. After a night of steaming back from our snorkelling adventure, we’re now surrounded by rocky islands. It’s still dark, yet the moon illuminates the jagged landmass before me. As the sun begins to rise, the many features of Talbot Bay come into focus.
Later, we board a small Xplorer boat and tour nearby Cyclone Creek and the renowned Garaanngaddim/Horizontal Falls. Towering cliffs rise from the water’s edge, telling the Kimberley’s story. Layers of colourful rock, which have been moulded and bent like plasticine, create some of nature’s best artwork. The wet season’s rain has left its mark, with black streaks running down the rock faces into the water below.
Described as nature’s very own ark due to their isolation, the Kimberley’s many islands are home to birds, marine animals and other wildlife. In Talbot Bay alone, we witness pods of humpback and bottlenose dolphins playfully ducking, weaving and diving.
In the shallows, a crocodile warms itself in the morning sun. The ancient-like creature’s movements are slow, but its eyes sit just above the water line as it waits for its next prey when it will fly into full force and show its true power. As the boat approaches a muddy bank, I notice hundreds of red speckles. Tiny fiddler crabs scamper across the brown sludge.
An osprey.
An osprey’s nest sits precariously atop a rocky outcrop. The large bird has piled hundreds of sticks with the finesse of an architectural engineer, creating a sturdy home that can withstand the strongest winds from the west.
Further afield, we tour the likes of Adele Island and the Lacepede Islands. It’s a twitcher’s heaven, with several bird species calling these atolls home. Thousands of brown boobies – a bird that resembles a large seagull but looks as if it has a brown bayonet fitted to its beak – swoop on the ocean, scooping up fish for their lunch. Others hover over our small Zodiac inflatable boat, inspecting the vessel. Meanwhile frigatebirds soar high above, with their bow-shaped wings and forked tail, circling other birds before stealing their food.
The Coral Adventurer.
David Attenborough once described Yowjab/Montgomery Reef as one of the “greatest natural wonders of the world” and sitting on a boat watching water rush off the rocks, I understand why. As the tide falls, the coral reef looks like it’s rising from the ocean as torrents of water cascade across the surface. Sandra explains that birds will use the streams of water like their very own Sushi Train, grabbing mouthfuls of fish as they cross the reef. Watching the water gush across the reef is a true spectacle that you’ll only find in the Kimberley.
Raft Point.
Raft Point.
ANCIENT TALES
I scramble over large boulders before passing through a narrow gap between several rocks. Following a small path, I cross a field of spinifex. Suddenly an opening appears before me, and I see one of the world’s oldest art galleries.
The Wandjina rock art in Wollaston Bay offers visitors an insight into the Indigenous people who have lived in the region for thousands of years. A large sandstone slab overhead is the canvas, with several well-preserved Wandjina figures – the most significant creation spirit for the First Nations people of the Kimberley region – painted on the cave roof. I’m given an insight into the thousands of years of First Nations storytelling in the Kimberley.
A nearby island is home to Gwion Gwion rock art. These dark red ochre stains are said to be up to 20,000 years old. A true gauge of how long people have called the Kimberley home.Some of the locations mentioned here are within the state’s magnificent national parks, so make sure you arrange a parks pass before you head off on your motoring adventure.
Raft Point from the Coral Adventurer.
THE FINAL PLUNGE
Our Zodiac cuts its way through a glass-like river with the boat’s wake washing up against the gorge’s dramatic rouge cliffs. It’s just before sunrise as we make our way up the King George River towards the Oomari Falls – our final highlight on this voyage.
Rounding a corner, we’re met with nature’s full intensity as water rushes 80m into the emerald pool below. A mist hangs in the air as we approach the smaller of the two waterfalls. Once we’re directly under the surging torrent, I plunge my head under the falls, feeling the Kimberley’s true power – a reminder that forces such as this have shaped and moulded this stunning region for millions of years.
This capped off a stunning cruising experience with the Australian-owned, operated and flagged Coral Expeditions. The voyage included comfortable lodgings, exceptional service from a dedicated crew and knowledgeable guest lecturers.
IMAGES: Coral Expeditions; RAA/Jeremy Rochow.
