Prince Regent River

Named after King George IV before he became king, Prince Regent River runs almost dead straight as it follows a fault line to the Saint George Basin. It’s a wildlife haven, with more than half the bird and mammal species found in the Kimberley spotted in the Prince Regent National Park. A favourite destination for commercial cruise liners and private yachties, the river has incredible anchorages and swimming spots (well above the saltwater).

One such anchorage is King Cascade (Mambulbada). After idling through a gap in the mangroves, this cascade bedazzles as the view opens before your eyes. Its terraced rock face creates a tapestry of white water, cascading past rock figs and ferns from a freshwater billabong high above. Such is its grandeur that explorer Phillip Parker King gave the waterfall his own name after visiting back in 1820 aboard the Mermaid.

The best time to visit is from March to May, at the tail end of the wet season when the waterfall gushes from recent rainfalls. At the base of the cascade, your boat can nose right up under the falls to give you a freshwater shower. However, due to the presence of salties, swimming below the cascade is entirely off-limits. In 1987, American woman Ginger Meadows was stalked and killed by a crocodile after she panicked and attempted to swim to a nearby boat from the bottom ledge of the falls. For a safe-from-salties swim, the pool above the waterfall. Be careful when scaling up the rocks, as they can be slippery and dangerous.

Birdlife is abundant in the Prince Regent. The black grasswren, a species found only in the Kimberley, inhabits areas along and near the Prince Regent River, while the large-scaled grunter is unique to the Prince Regent and neighbouring waterways.

If you’re in the area straight after a good dump of rain, you may be lucky enough to see the Prince Regent Amphitheatre pumping. Tidal movements make this a tricky spot to reach, but if you push on 8km beyond the King Cascade, navigating upstream through mangroves and a narrow gorge, you’ll finally set eyes upon glorious Cathedral Falls. Cascading into the cavernous Prince Regent Amphitheatre, this stunning fall drops 75m. The fun part is when your boat cruises right up to the falls for a tropical dunking!

Backtracking towards the mouth of the Prince Regent, you’ll find Camp Creek (Banjaddoo). At Camp Creek, you can follow the freshwater upstream through rapids and billabongs and discover two deep, blue swimming holes with gorgeous, paperbark-fringed waterfalls. Swim straight up to the waterfall, take a daring leap off the jump rock (always check the depth first), or just lay back and relax. Of all the great spots to swim in the Kimberley, Camp Creek is one of the prettiest and swimmable year-round.