10 DAY PRINCE REGENT CRUISE broome-broome

"This cruise does a loop of the Kimberley between Broome and the Prince Regent River (home of the King Cascades). Highlights are similar to the Mitchell Plateau cruise, but do not include a visit to the Mitchell Falls or Bigge Island, and light aircraft and helicopter flights are not offered on this cruise".

DAY 1 7:00 am Welcome Aboard

Your crew are looking forward to meeting you on the beach at Gantheaume Bay at around 10:30am. Lorie will greet you aboard the Charter bus at 11am so please make sure we have your transfer details 7 days prior to your departure. Please wear wet shoes and shorts. The first of many trips in the tenders. We’ll ferry you out to the Odyssey where you will settle into your new home for the next 10 days. You can watch a DVD movie, enjoy the sea air and views from the fly bridge or have a nap in your bunk as we cruise North towards our first stop at the Lacepede Islands. Here we’ll view a major sea bird and turtle breeding ground. The Lacepede Islands and their surrounding waters have a rich history in guano mining, turtle farming and the pearling industry. Even today many operators still dive for our native pearl shell in these waters. It’s then back on the boat for a 5hr cruise to Cape Leveque for the night. 

DAY 2 Buccaneer Archipelago, Crocodile Creek & into Myridi Bay for the night

Up early for a beach walk (often good shells to be found here) and a “quick” dip at Cape Leveques beautiful Beach. Relax, sit back and enjoy the scenery as we cruise throughout the magnificent Buccaneer Archipelago. The Buccaneer Archipelago consists of more than 800 islands, this area undergoes a tidal range of over 10 metre. Named by Phillip Parker King in 1820 in memory of William Dampier, a supposed Buccaneer for the King of the time. We’ll visit Silicon Beach for a scenic bush walk then onto Crocodile Creek. We’ll zip up the creek in the tenders and have a swim in a safe fresh water hole at the base of a lovely little waterfall. Then into beautiful Myridi Bay to watch the Kimberley Sun set over the Yampi peninsula. 

DAY 3 Montgomery Reef, Collier Bay, Sampson Inlet for the evening

Packing camp (or boat) we make an early start as we head towards the top end of Montgomery Reef. A chance to spot whales and dolphins at play and perhaps catch a fresh fish for dinner. We’ll aim to get you ashore to one of the many amazing islands in our path for a quick explore, before we cruise into the magnificent and very scenic Sampson Inlet. Located at the top end of Collier Bay, Sampson makes a perfect natural harbour for our evening stop. We might even find a few very tasty large Kimberley black lipped oysters in Sampson. 

DAY 4 Cruise into St George Basin and up the Prince Regent River

From Sampson Inlet we’ll cruise for several hours into the St George Basin. Standing tall on our arrival will be Mt Trafalgar and Mt Wellington, Named by P.P. King in 1820. If the tides and time are on our side we’ll have an unforgettable evening arrival within the Prince Regent River. 

DAY 5 Prince Regent River including King’s Cascade and Camp Creek

On high tide we can go ashore to walk and swim in the magnificent Camp Creek fresh water pools. We will take you to view the lovely King’s Cascade where we’ll remind you to respect the local Crocs and their environment. If the tides are on our side we may be able to show you some easily accessible Aboriginal art and the spectacular Cathedral Falls. The breathtaking scenery will have your camera working overtime. Leaving Prince Regent River on high tide we will cruise to the clean sands of Hanover Beach for the night. 

DAY 6 Hanover Beach, Camden Harbour then south for the evening

Hanover is a great beach to have a little dip and stretch our legs. It was from here, in 1838 that Lt George Grey set out on the first land based expedition of the North West of Australia. His expedition had planned to trek in search of the great inland sea and later arrive in Perth. Unfortunately his party of 12 got no further than the head waters of the Genelg River and returned to Hanover Bay after being speared by Aboriginals. However he later report the area to be “Lush and fertile”. Several years later, in 1864, based partly on Greys enthusiastic report, an association of optimistic farmers and workers attempted to establish new settlement within Camden Harbour. With the tides on our side we may be able to visit this ill-fated site and relive the little known history of this area. 

From here we’ll pass the major pearling operation of Kuri bay, Australia’s first attempt at Cultured Pearls. In 1857 a poor season of Pearl farming in Japan resulted in 17 tonnes of pearls being lost. Following this a joint Australian, American and Japanese effort established Kuri Bay Pearls, now very successful venture culturing Pintata Maxima. From Kuri bay we steam South into Collier Bay for the night. 

DAY 7 Raft Point then up the Sale River for the night

A casual hike to one of the best aboriginal rock art galleries on the coast. Spectacular scenery and endless views across Doubtful Bay to Steep Island. At the Raft point gallery we will learn about the local Aboriginal beliefs culture, the Wandjina that shaped their land and their lifestyles they once enjoyed. From Raft point we take an unforgettable passage up the Sale River for our over night stop. 

DAY 8 Sale River, Montgomery Reef & Talbot Bay

On the high tide we’ll hop in our tenders and zip up to where the fresh water from the Sale River meets the tidal salt water. We will walk within some heavenly country and enjoy the crystal waters of the rainforest creeks feeding the Sale. Time to leave this awesome country. We cruise back out of the magnificent Sale. Pending a low tide, our tour will include a fascinating reef exploration on part of the 400 square kilometres of Montgomery Reef. With one of the biggest tide ranges in the world, on a high spring tide this reef is more than 4 meters underwater , then within 6 hours it’s exposed by more than 4 meters. A marvel not to be missed. 

DAY 9 From Talbot Bay and the Horizontal falls to Cape Leveque then down the coast

We’ll experience the awesome power of the Horizontal Falls in the morning. When its safe your crew will take you through the falls then continue on for a magnificent exploration of the geology located within Talbot Bay. About 1800 million years ago a piece of continental crust, which we now know as the Kimberley, impacted with Northern Australia. A succession of lava flows together with massive up lifting and faulting of the once horizontal layers of sandstone have given rise to the amazing display of geology we can now enjoy in Talbot Bay and the rest of the Yampi Peninsula.

We’ll then cruise from Talbot Bay past Koolan Island, where you can view the heavily mined iron ore islands. After lunch we’ll cruise to Cape Leveque for a swim or visit the Resort. Back to the Odyssey where we’ll have an evening cruise down the coast to a safe anchorage for the night, possible at Beagle Bay. Our last night within this magnificent stretch of Australian coastline.

DAY 10 To Broome

A hearty breakfast to start the day as we make our way back to Broome. Sit back and reflect on the last 10 days of your beautiful Kimberley expedition as we steam home. Now is the time to swap your details with the crew and your friends aboard the Odyssey. We should arrive in the mid afternoon at Gantheaume Bay where you will be ferried ashore. 

Please note times and locations will vary to make the most of weather and tidal conditions.