KCC sales manager Lou cruises the coast with Diversity III
Cruise blog from Louise’s August 2024 trip.
Day One
An early morning start rewarded us with a scenic transfer flight from Broome over Mitchell Falls, touching down onto Naturalist beach where our 8 night cruise began. A quick swim and some Wandjina art before heading back for a scrumptious duck salad for lunch, then we were off to try our fishing skills while cruising the Hunter.
Dinner was a decent portion of scotch fillet, melting at first taste, followed by panacotta on the sundeck. What a start to the trip!
Day Two
I love sunrises! One can’t do a Kimberley cruise without marvelling at the early morning sunrises reflecting the brilliant orange landscapes, contrasting the varying shades of rocks and mangroves. This morning’s glassy reflection on the still Hunter paraded such brilliance by design.
A rare opportunity let us do a Bear Grylls Jackson Gorge challenge and we were up for it! The tides ran in our favour as we made our way up river onto a rocky 90 minute (sometimes gruelling) challenge to reach our reward – a stunning waterhole still in action with cool temps. for a plunge. It was not for the faint hearted! Be prepared for the “red triangle” walk and climb that very few get to experience. Ticked it off! Was well worth it!
We enjoyed a late afternoon excursion onshore to the famous ‘Mermaid Tree’ – a Heritage listed boab tree at Careening Bay that was inscribed by a carpenter on Phillip Parker King’s survey expedition way back in 1820. The letters (and the boab) are now gigantic!
Day Three
When booking your cruise, promise yourself you’ll never miss a sunrise! Serene sparkling waters from a lingering full moon oppose a faint red morning glow emerging from the east. The crew are up and at it, preparing for an early fishing excursion and an 9am full alfresco breakfast.
Into the Prince Regent and we head to King Cascade for a “boat dunk”. Although the season has the last waters tapering out, there was still ample to enjoy! Swimming is off limits, however the rock climb to the top provided for a refreshing billabong swim. Lunch soon after on the open top dining deck made for a picturesque setting beside the cascades. It doesn’t get better than this, or does it!?
The crew did well to fit in another short trip up-river to the Ampitheatre Falls, skillfully dodging mangroves on the way in.
The tenders taking us up under the falls provided yet another refreshing drench as the late season run offs were still happening.
Exiting out and we were off to climb for some Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) viewing. It was a little challenging with a muddy landing, but we managed to pull ourselves up and through the rock escarpment to view the art, with an impressive view from the top.
What a day! A full and impressive schedule kept us wondering if this was truly as good as it gets. But, we’re told, there’s more!
Day Four
Another stunning sunrise and we’re off for an early morning onshore excursion oyster picking. The crew were keen and gave a good demo of how to spot, pick and extract them, ready to return to our brilliant chef to prime for eating. We managed about 4 dozen off the rocks and once we got the hang of it there was no stopping us! Such a rare opportunity and, as always, we are grateful for the local knowledge brought on by some of the crew who have grown up living their best lives here.
A quick conti breakfast (loving the fresh fruits served up) and out to try (again) for the ‘catch of the day’. It is true that 99.9% of the time it is impossible to come away from the Kimberley without a fish on the end of the line; at this time of the season with plenty of mangrove jack and barra hanging around it played out nicely!
Finally it was my time to shine, with a decent size mangrove jack somehow hooking onto the end of my lure. Anna the chef seemed fairly keen to plan some sushimi with my catch.
Butterfly Gorge – “You’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, right”? Wrong! This secluded access off the Prince Regent found us meandering our way on an early incoming tide towards the entry for a swim. Although it was still inaccessible due to low tide, it wasn’t long before we were able to etch the dinghies in to float our way far enough with a short rock walk to this pristine waterhole. So remote, so private and again so stunning! Another refreshing freshwater swim before heading back out and onto our next afternoon adventure.
Finally the anticipation is over with whales making themselves known. A family of 3 swam with us as we headed out toward Montgomery Reef this afternoon. It was ‘Day 4’ on the itinerary, and I was glad to see the first real sighting since the cruise began.
Notes from today:
- Timing is everything.
- Tides govern the day’s schedule.
- The crew planned well ahead
The crew’s enthusiasm ensured the ‘rising’ of the infamous Montgomery Reef on the outgoing sunset tide was the most glorious yet! The gushing channel runoffs created an escape route for marine life to find their way to safety or be hunted by birds of prey and other sea creatures lurking for their catch of the day.
To take advantage of the outgoing tide, the crew were also busy back at the mothership ferrying a dozen chairs, a smorgasbord of fresh seafood delights, sunset drinks, and enough timber for a bonfire to a ‘risen’ sand bar. How do we top this day?!
Day Five
Another early morning start to catch the elusive barra. Off in the dinghy close to shore with a local croc curiously observing our every move and awaiting his share of the barra, too. A few bites on the line, but they outsmarted us before we headed back to the mothership for another tasty breaky of fruit salad, avocado, scrambled egg and salmon.
Two swims this afternoon (after another scrumptious lunch of san choy bow) with the first being a short walk and slight climb through to Sapphire Creek, and the latter to a popular destination known as Ruby Falls. Again, the tides were worked with precision by our crew and we were able to meander our way right up on the high tide and under the falls for a good hard dump of fresh water pounding upon us. Ladies, hold onto your earrings!
Our sunset ‘raft up’ had us enjoying sunset drinks and telling childhood stories with a mix of recent croc talk as we drifted back toward the mothership on the outgoing power tide.
Tonight’s dinner featured the catch of the day – barra risotto with lemon. It was today’s catch with a record size of 81cm by one of the guests, Colby who has so far managed to hold the trip’s record!
Day Six
The elusive barra is still up for the catch and we still have time, but this morning wasn’t our morning, again! It’s always enjoyable to get out on the water, though, as no two parts of this diverse landscape is the same.
After lunch, we meandered down river and into an inlet closed in with hanging mangroves and an eery quietness. Drifting on the incoming tide we pulled in to an obscure landing with a slightly muddy climb upwards. On a shallow worn spinifex track we ventured onward toward the sound of fresh gushing water; a private oasis it was! Serendipity presented us with a full flow of fresh water cascading down the rock into our large billabong. Again, we felt rewarded for taking the challenge in the heat of the day, and as always we were all so glad we did!
Back to shore for a quiet afternoon’s rest and chill time. It’s not hard to relax on the deck under the shade cloth, absorbing the landscapes, sunshine and quietness.
Again, our chef produced a tender lamb rack on a bed of roasted cauliflower mash and brocc, followed by cheesecake with a splash of lime texture made for a smooth dessert. Another delight too hard to refuse, as always!
Day Seven
Vowing not to miss a sunrise, we awoke to still waters in the Barlee channel, sun gazing as it slowly peered over the escarpment. The water was a mild mint green display of glass with an abundance of fish popping up as they were carried away on an outgoing tide. Today is crabbing day and our decky, Dean, has prepared the crabnets for the launch. Quite a process it is, threading the bait and cable tying it down so the crocs can’t steal it!
Off for our very last fish and up a few small estuaries at the turning of the tide. I regularly assigned myself to the ‘croc watch’ and assuredly we were met with two beady unwelcoming eyes in ‘his’ territory. Accordingly we obliged and left him to his meal hunt; I think he was happy for us to do so. To compensate, and after another scrumptious fish meal a few of the blokes jumped aboard the dinghy to venture out to the crab pots. At least they were on and we looked forward to what Anna could do with her culinary skills for our 2nd last dinner.
We enjoyed another afternoon swim with a short walk to Cal’s (the skipper) secret waterhole up through a beautiful gorge. Again, the tide is everything and we had a quick dip and return walk back to the tinnies before the tide escaped out. With minutes to spare, we hurried back on board and back to the mothership for our prize dinner, duck curry. It’s been almost impossible to have a ‘favourite’, but this dish was definitely up there tonight. Our brilliant chef kept coming up with the goods and our curry was followed by the most tasty apple crumble dessert.
Kaine, the second skipper, briefed us on what was to follow for our last day of adventuring on Diversity III and it was a full day coming indeed!
Day Eight
The morning sunrise captured this stunning location set for our small boat adventure ride through ‘The Horizontals’. Set in Talbot Bay, tame tawny sharks lingered at the stern as guests boarded for their ride. Again, tide is everything, and again the skipper mastered our arrival perfectly, ready for the water.
Then it was off to Dugong Bay for our final freshwater swim in the billabong at the top of Croc Creek! The name may deter you, but with an upper (fresh water) and lower (salt water) pool, it is prudent to climb up and meander along at the top, as it is safe for swimming up there. Aqua water and fresh cascading falls off the ‘infinity’ top is stunning. After waiting and drifting slowly in to this inlet, depending on the incoming tide to allow us, it was well worth the wait. Everyone agreed.
Our final swim was the end prize as we steamed onto Silica Beach. With its crisp white sands squeaking through our toes, it met the clear aqua shore line as we all made the most of our last minute dip. A friendly catch and throw around with the crew only saw the loss of one frisby! That ‘feeling’ you get when you know it’s all coming to an end was catching as we all talked around our departure plans and plans to all keep in touch.
An indoor massaman curry with the final “chart talk” from Kaine the skipper and the mock up comedy “map talk” from our hilarious Graham “Bluey” guest had the crew and all of us in stitches. The encore, of course, was the footage edits and production put together by John and myself, which then saw the tissues being handed around; well, to the girls anyway!
Day 9
A slightly rocky stint down the final coastal leg into Broome for a sunrise breakfast put the final lid and farewells on for all of us. We said our last goodbyes at the airport and vowed to all keep in touch. I think we will!
Thank you, Diversity.
It was a privilege!
