Coral Geographer: Kimberley Cruise

11 Day Cruise

As a sister ship to Coral Adventurer (which was launched April 2019), the Coral Geographer will remain true to the nature of authentic expeditions. When designing the next generation of ships, Coral Expeditions resisted the trend to go large and glitzy so they can remain small enough to go to untouched places, focusing on bringing small numbers of like-minded guests closer to nature and cultures with personal attention and professional Australian service. The 120-passenger ship will feature the same state-of-the-art specifications and expedition features as the Adventurer, however due to popular demand, she will have an increased number of 6 bridge deck suites with horizon bathtubs. Construction is well under way and we look forward to providing you regular updates on her build and future sailing schedule.

Two trademark Xplorer tenders seat all passengers and facilitate comfortable shore excursions
Six zodiacs for more intrepid exploration
Lecture lounge for daily expedition briefings and expert presentations
Small onboard library featuring books on destinations and wildlife
Shallow draft and advanced navigation and propulsion systems allowing access to locations closed to large cruise ships

Cruise Details

The 10-night Kimberley cruise takes you on an unforgettable journey from Darwin to Broome (or vv). Expert guides interpret ancient rock art, and retrace the history of Phillip Parker King who first charted this spectacular coastline 200 years ago. Later in the season, witness the Humpback Whales on their migration.

Board a Zodiac and touch the spray from the magnificent King George River and its towering 80-metre twin falls. Join an expert guide to learn about the history of the ancient Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock paintings. Witness waterfalls cascading off Montgomery Reef as it rises out of the ocean on the ebbing tide, whilst discovering the reef’s diverse marine life.

Expedition Highlights

Experience the thrill of riding the Horizontal Falls in inflatable Zodiac tender vessels
Get up close to Montgomery Reef and discover the tidal reef’s diverse marine life
Experience King George River and 80m tall twin King George Waterfalls
Cruise the Prince Regent River to the ‘hanging garden’ King Cascades waterfall
Visit Indigenous rock art galleries and learn about ancient Wandjina and Gwion Gwion art
Spot native wildlife and birdlife in their natural habitat
View the Kimberley landscape by air on a scenic helicopter flight to Mitchell Falls (additional cost)
Enjoy sunset canapes and drinks on the beach as dusk settles over the Kimberley

Reverse Destination Option Available

Accommodation

All outside-facing guest cabins with en-suite bathrooms; the majority have a private balcony
Active stabilisers to dampen sea motion
Well-equipped gym
Passenger elevator
Wi-Fi available in all guest areas
Navigator lounge in the bridge
Over 1000 square metres of open deck space including a wrap-around promenade deck with panoramic views
Engine room tours and a high level of crew interaction with guests

Coral Deck

Coral Deck Staterooms are located below the Promenade Deck and are identically furnished with a junior King size bed which can be separated into two singles. A wardrobe, desk and armchair are included. A compact en-suite has a toilet, shower and ample storage. A porthole window gives you views of the world outside

Promenade Deck

Promenade Deck Staterooms are located below the Explorer deck and furnished with a junior King size bed which can be separated into two singles. A wardrobe, desk and armchair are included. A compact en-suite has a toilet, shower and ample storage. A large picture window gives you wide views of the world outside.

Explorer Deck Balcony

Our Explorer Deck staterooms are comfortably furnished with a junior King size bed which can be separated into two singles. A wardrobe, desk and armchair are included. A compact en-suite has a toilet, shower and ample storage. Your private balcony has seating for two from which to view the passing coastal vistas. These staterooms are located on the Explorer deck.

Bridge Deck Balcony Suite

Cairns and Darwin suites are spacious and elegant retreats after a busy day ashore.
Suites are equipped with a lounge area, minibar and personal coffee machine.
King sized beds which can be separated into two singles.
8 sq m private balcony has an outdoor daybed and lounge chair for two.
A unique outside-facing bathroom with picture windows, bath and separate shower complete the suite experience.
A complimentary minibar is replenished daily.

Cuisine

Single seating dining with communal table serves buffet breakfast and lunch, and multi-course table d’hote dinners
Showcase galley with viewing window creating fresh small-batch cuisine featuring Australian and local produce
Multiple indoor and outdoor bars, including our Explorer bar on the sundeck for sunset drinks
Curated wine cellar featuring boutique wines and exceptional vintage Australian reds

Destination : Broome
Departure : Darwin
Dress Code : Casual

Included:

Accommodation
National park fees
Meals
Non-alcoholic beverages
Services of staff
Shore excursions by tender boat
Coffee & tea

Not Included:

Alcoholic beverages
Flights to/from your cruise
Souvenirs on board
Optional extra helicopter flights

Depart Darwin

Board your Coral Expeditions ship at 8.00am where there is time to settle into your cabin before our 9:00am departure. Spend a luxuriant sea day at leisure as we cruise across Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and sail into Western Australian waters. Take the time to become acquainted with all the facilities onboard and join our Expedition Team in the Lounge for an insightful introduction to the Kimberley. As dusk falls meet your fellow travellers, the Captain and crew for the Captain’s Welcome Drinks
King George River & Falls

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. 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. As our incredible Kimberley adventure draws to a close, on our last evening aboard we enjoy the Captain’s farewell drinks among new-found friends.
Vansittart Bay

Vansittart Bay is home to many cultural and historically significant sites like the remarkable Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) Aboriginal rock art galleries. Jar Island is so-named after the pot shards found here, brought to the island by Macassan fisherman harvesting sea cucumbers (also known as trepang). Nearby, on the Anjo Peninsula lays the well-preserved wreckage of a US Airforce 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.
Mitchell Falls, Winyalkan & Swift Bay

Tumbling down the Mitchell Plateau in a series of tiered waterfalls and emerald green rock pools, the Mitchell Falls are the photogenic poster child for the Mitchell River National Park. Take a scenic helicopter flight (additional cost) to multi-tiered Mitchell Falls where emerald-hued rock pools cascade down the escarpment and ancient rock art galleries are concealed in caves behind curtains of water. Mitchell River National Park is inhabited by significant numbers of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and bird species which are lured by a year-round water source. Sandstone terraces beside tiered rock pools make a terrific viewing platform from which to savor the serenity of this ancient landscape. An alternative option to Mitchell Falls is exploring the sandstone caves of Hathway’s Hideaway. This mass of weathered tunnels, arches and columns form a labyrinth-like maze and was once an Aboriginal midden. Another option while anchored at Winyalkan Bay is a visit to a series Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock art galleries at Swift Bay. In the evening we will enjoy watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean while indulging in a gourmet BBQ.
Prince Frederick Harbour

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 the 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.
Price Regent River & Careening Bay

King Cascade is a classically beautiful terraced waterfall and is one of the most photographed waterfalls on the Kimberley coast. Falling from a considerable height and around 50m across, water tumbles down a staggered terrace of Kimberley sandstone. Layer upon layer of ochre-hued and blackened rock sprouts grasses, mosses and ferns in a sort of lushly vegetated hanging garden. We reach King Cascade after cruising in our Xplorer tender vessels down the steep-sided Prince Regent River which is a remarkable anomaly as the river runs dead straight along a fault line. Lt. Philip Parker King named nearby Careening Bay after he beached his leaking vessel HMC Mermaid to effect repairs. While stranded on this remote coastline for 17 days the ship’s carpenter carved HMC Mermaid 1820 into the trunk of a boab tree near the beach and recorded the girth of the tree in the ship log- 6.6 metres. 200 years later, the Mermaid Boab Tree sports a mammoth girth of over 12m. Significantly, the bulbous tree is listed on the National Register of Big Trees and the carpenter’s careful inscription now stands almost as tall as a person.
Montgomery Reef

Montgomery Reef is a biologically diverse area covering over 300 sq km and was named by Phillip Parker King. Twice daily, as the sea recedes in mammoth 11m tides, Montgomery Reef rises from the Indian Ocean in a cascade of rushing water revealing a flat-topped reef pockmarked with rock pools and rivulets. As the reef emerges, we get up close in our Xplorer and Zodiac inflatable tenders to witness the spectacle as our Expedition Team share their knowledge on the formation of the reef and the myriad wildlife. Opportunistic birds take advantage of the emerging reef, feeding on marine life left exposed in rock pools. Turtles, dolphins, dugongs and sawfish too are also attracted to feeding opportunities as the ocean recedes. The ocean is awash in a swirl of eddies and whirlpools as the moon’s gravitational force takes hold. Then, a few hours later the entire water-borne drama is reversed as the tide comes in and Montgomery Reef disappears below sea level.
Doubtful Bay

Raft Point guards the entrance to Doubtful Bay, a vast body of sheltered water which harbours significant sites such as the ancient Wandjina rock art galleries located a short walk from the beach and are considered some of the finest in the Kimberley and we visit the rock art galleries when traditional owners are available to guide us. Doubtful Bay is the traditional country of the Worrora people who follow the Wandjina, their spirit god and law-maker. Images of Wandjina are found throughout the Kimberley, recording their stories, knowledge and culture in stone. Red Cone Creek flows gently downstream until it meets the small but impressive Ruby Falls. Named by local mariner Capt. Chris Trucker after his daughter, Red Cone Creek is carved through rock formations stacked atop each other like building blocks. These rock walls are great for climbing and clambering over before reaching a series of freshwater swimming holes and waterfalls. The falls may be a gurgling torrent or a gentle trickle, depending on the time of the year. Other sites we aim to visit in Doubtful Bay include the mighty Sale River and Steep Island.
Horizontal Falls & Buccaneer Archipelago

The Horizontal Falls are one of the Kimberley’s biggest attractions and are a result of the mammoth 11m tides the Kimberley is renowned for. Naturalist David Attenborough described the Horizontal Falls as ‘one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.’ The Horizontal Falls are created as the ocean thunders through a narrow gorge in the McLarty Ranges. Water builds up on one side and is forcibly pushed through the bottleneck, creating a rushing horizontal waterfall of swiftly flowing seawater. Riding the rapids on our Zodiac inflatable tenders is one of the highlights of our Kimberley expedition cruises. Talbot Bay is at the heart of the Buccaneer Archipelago, where rocks on the 800 or so islands are estimated at over 2 billion years old. At Cyclone Creek, you will see evidence of massive geological forces in the impressive rock formations and cruise through the Iron Islands, past Koolan Island, before enjoying sunset drinks at Nares Point.
The Lacepede Islands

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. As our incredible Kimberley adventures draw to a close, on our last evening aboard we enjoy the Captain’s farewell drinks amongst new-found friends.
Arrive in Broome

Our incredible adventure along the Kimberley Coast concludes in Broome this morning at 8:00am. Bid farewell to new-found friends, the Captain and crew. A post-cruise transfer to Broome CBD or Airport is included. If you’re not transferring directly to the airport why not spend the day visiting world-famous Cable Beach or stroll the historic streets of Chinatown in central Broome.

Pricing

2023

	May- July Peak	Apr, Aug, Sep Shoulder
Coral Deck	$12,230 pp	$10,920 pp
Promenade Deck	$14,740 pp	$13,070 pp
Explorer Deck	$19,610 pp	$17,420 pp
Bridge Deck Balcony Suite	$26,330 pp	$23,330 pp

Single Travellers *:
Limited sole use occupancy available- add 50% to twin- please enquire

Cruise Fare Includes:
Traditional Owners’ Fee, Meals; Shore excursions by tender boat; Crew; Services of expedition staff including lectures, briefings, slide/film presentations, and other group activities; 24 hour tea/coffee station. Beer / wine with dinner.

Not Included:
Scenic helicopter flights, flights before or after the cruise.

Cruise Dates

2023

29 Apr – 9 May 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
9 – 19 May 2023	Broome – Darwin	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
20- 30 May 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
30 May – 9 Jun 2023	Broome – Darwin	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
10 Jun – 20 Jun 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
20 – 30 Jun 2023	Broome – Darwin	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
1 – 11 Jul 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
11 Jul – 21 Jul 2023	Broome – Darwin	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
22 Jul – 1 Aug 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
1 -11 Aug 2023	Broome – Darwin	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
12 – 22 Aug 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome
22 Aug – 1 Sep 2023	Broome – Darwin	10 Nights Broome – Darwin
2 – 12 Sep 2023	Darwin – Broome	10 Nights Darwin – Broome