Travelpack

Darwin • The Lacepede Islands • Talbot Bay • Horizontal Falls (Garaanngaddim) • Buccaneer Archipelago • Montgomery Reef (Yowjab) • Prince Regent River • Careening Bay (Wunbung-Gu) • Prince Frederick Harbour • Bigge Island • Mitchell Falls • Winyalkan • Vansittart Bay (Banjal) • King George River • King George Falls (Oomari Falls) • Tiwi Islands • Broome

Embark on a spectacular journey from London to Australia, beginning with a stay in Darwin at the Ramada Suites by Wyndham. From there, you'll set sail on a luxurious cruise aboard the Coral Discoverer to explore the best of the Kimberley and Tiwi Islands. This immersive expedition highlights natural wonders like the Horizontal Falls and Montgomery Reef, alongside visits to ancient Aboriginal rock art sites and the majestic King George Falls. Concluding your adventure in Broome, you'll relax at the Pinctada McAlpine House, enjoying its unique charm and a chance to explore the historic town before your return flight.

Day 1: Darwin
Flights from London Heathrow Airport to Darwin Airport
Stay at Ramada Suites by Wyndham Zen Quarter Darwin for 2 nights

Day 3: Best of the Kimberley and Tiwi Islands Cruise
Darwin, Australia
Arrive at Darwin Fort Hill Wharf for boarding at 8:00 am, with time to settle into your stateroom before our 9:00 am departure. Take the time to become acquainted with all the facilities onboard before joining the expedition team in the Bridge Deck Lounge for an introduction to the Kimberley. As dusk falls, meet your fellow travellers, the Captain and crew, for the Captain's Welcome Drinks.

Day 4: The Lacepede Islands, Australia
The Lacepede Islands are a protected class-A nature reserve and are significant as a seabird nesting rookery for brown boobies and roseate terns. Other species often sighted at the Lacepedes include Australian Pelicans, frigate birds, egrets and gulls. The four low-lying islands are also an important breeding and nesting habitat for green turtles. If weather and tide conditions are suitable, we will explore the lagoons by Xplorer and Zodiac tender vessels.

Day 5: Talbot Bay: Horizontal Falls (Garaanngaddim) And Buccaneer Archipelago, Australia
The Horizontal Falls, described by David Attenborough as one of the greatest natural wonders of the world, are a dramatic result of the Kimberley's massive 11m tides, where seawater is forced through a narrow gorge in the McLarty Ranges to create a rushing horizontal waterfall. Located in Talbot Bay at the heart of the Buccaneer Archipelago, this phenomenon is a highlight of Kimberley expedition cruises, with guests riding the rapids on Zodiac tenders before exploring ancient 2-billion-year-old rock formations at Cyclone Creek, cruising past the Iron Islands and Koolan Island, and finishing the day with sunset drinks at Nares Point.

Day 6: Montgomery Reef (Yowjab), Australia
Montgomery Reef, a 300 sq km biologically rich area named by Phillip Parker King, dramatically rises from the Indian Ocean twice daily with the Kimberleys' 11m tides, creating cascades of rushing water that expose its flat-topped surface, rock pools, and rivulets. Guests explore the spectacle by Xplorer and Zodiac tenders, guided by the Expedition Team who share insights into the reef's formation and diverse wildlife, including turtles, dolphins, dugongs, sawfish, and opportunistic birds feeding on marine life. As the tide shifts, swirling eddies and whirlpools form before the reef gradually disappears beneath the returning sea.

Day 7: Prince Regent River And Careening Bay (Wunbung-Gu), Australia
King Cascade, one of the Kimberleys' most photographed waterfalls, is a striking terraced fall about 50m wide, where water tumbles down ochre and black sandstone covered in grasses, mosses, and ferns, creating a lush hanging garden. Reached by cruising down the steep-sided, fault-line-straight Prince Regent River in Xplorer tenders, the area also holds historic significance at nearby Careening Bay, where Lt. Phillip Parker King beached the HMC Mermaid in 1820 for repairs. During the 17-day stay, the ship's carpenter carved HMC Mermaid 1820 into a boab tree, now a massive 12m-girth landmark known as the Mermaid Boab Tree, listed on the National Register of Big Trees.

Day 8: Prince Frederick Harbour And Bigge Island (Wuuyuru), Australia
Prince Frederick Harbour is one of the Kimberley's most spectacular locations at the southern end of York Sound. The harbour is dotted with islands lined with mangroves and monsoon rainforests, set against a backdrop of ochre-hued escarpment. White-bellied sea eagles and other birds of prey are often seen here, and at low tide, expansive mudflats reveal large populations of mudskippers and mangrove crabs. We will take our Xplorer tender vessels on a cruise up Porosus Creek to view some striking rock formations. Bigge Islands' Indigenous name is Wuuyuru, and the Indigenous Group of the area is the Wunambal people.

Day 9: Mitchell Falls & Winyalkan, Australia
The Mitchell Falls, cascading down the Mitchell Plateau in a series of tiered waterfalls and emerald rock pools, are the iconic highlight of Mitchell River National Park, best viewed on a scenic helicopter flight (optional) or from sandstone terraces that provide stunning vantage points. The park teems with wildlife, from mammals and reptiles to diverse bird species, all drawn to its permanent water sources, while hidden rock art galleries add cultural significance to the landscape. For those seeking alternatives, the sandstone caves of Wollaston Bay or Wollaston Creek offer a labyrinth of tunnels, arches, and columns, once used as an Aboriginal midden, before the day concludes with a sunset BBQ overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Day 10: Vansittart Bay (Banjal), Australia
Vansittart Bay is home to many cultural and historically significant sites, like the remarkable Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) Aboriginal rock art galleries, estimated to be up to 20,000 years old. Jar Island is so-named after the pot shards found here, brought to the island by Macassan fishermen harvesting sea cucumbers (also known as trepang). Nearby, on the Anjo Peninsula, lays the well-preserved wreckage of a US Air Force C-53 Skytrooper aircraft, the result of a pilot losing his bearings flying from Perth to Broome in 1942 and putting down on a salt pan near present-day Truscott Airbase.

Day 11: King George River & Falls (Oomari Falls), Australia
Fed by the King George River draining across the Gardner Plateau, 80m tall King George Falls are the most impressive Kimberley waterfalls and the highest twin falls in Western Australia. Before reaching the mist-like spray rising from the base of King George Falls, we cruise through steep-sided gorges carved by a flooded river system that carved a swathe through the Kimberley landscape 400 million years ago. Early in the waterfall season, we may cruise around the base of impressive King George Falls, while in later months, we take the opportunity to view the honeycomb erosion patterns of sandstone cliffs up close.

Day 12: Tiwi Islands, Australia
Experience a traditional welcome ceremony and morning tea (damper and billy tea). On a guided tour, learn of the culture and history of the Tiwis as we explore the old mission precinct. Visit Tiwi Design, one of the oldest and most artistically diverse art centres in Australia and produces ochre paintings on canvas and bark, ironwood carvings, screen printed fabrics, ceramics, bronze/glass sculptures and limited edition prints.

Day 13: Broome, Australia
Our incredible adventure along the Kimberley Coast concludes. Bid farewell to newfound friends, the Captain and crew. Arrive in Broome this morning at 8:00 am. A post-cruise transfer to Broome CBD is included. If you're not transferring directly to the airport, why not spend the day visiting world-famous Cable Beach or strolling the historic streets of Chinatown in central Broome. Stay at Pinctada McAlpine House for 2 nights

Day 15: Departure

Prices & Departures
Deposit: £1275pp
A57543 Heathrow from £9569pp
A57660 Manchester from £10389pp
A57661 Glasgow from £10389pp
A57663 Dublin from £10389pp

Terms & Conditions
Based on 2 adults sharing

Offer Includes

Meal Plans