Chasing waterfalls in the Kimberley
This is a great way to explore the dramatic and ancient landscape of Western Australia’s far north.
The amount of water tumbling over King George Falls this sunny morning is what expedition leader Mike Cusack described at last night’s preview as “reasonable”. Cusack is a hard man to impress, having seen the Kimberley in all its extremes, yet no one is quibbling about “reasonable” today, as these twin falls are spectacular enough from our vantage point at their base. Anything more might preclude us from what’s about to be the shortest, strongest and coldest shower of the trip.
Of all the stops on this cruise aboard Scenic Eclipse II in far north Western Australia, the day spent in and around Koolama Bay, the King George River and its eponymous falls is the Kimberley in a nutshell.
The long Zodiac ride – up to three hours, return – immerses us in the landscape the way earlier beach landings haven’t, mainly because our driver and guide, Angel, regularly finds subtle diversions.
The mega-view is of fiery red Kimberley sandstone lining both sides of the gorge, in places stacked as if assembled by a master stonemason, while other blocks stand in columns like an outback Sagrada Familia.
But sharp-eyed Angel also draws our attention to the detail: an abandoned osprey nest, believed to be 100 years old; a white-bellied sea eagle, Australia’s second-largest bird of prey, above us; an egret on a mangrove eyeing off a fish breakfast. “You like birds, don’t you, Angel?” a passenger notes. Turns out he is a wildlife vet from the Canary Islands, and was once the birdkeeper for the King of Morocco.
At the base of the falls we wait our turn among more SEII Zodiacs and other tour craft before moving in for closer inspection, Angel deftly keeping us shipshape in the churning water. Then there’s a choice: get wet or stay dry. Those of us who opt for the former sidle up to the prow of the boat now hoving to beside the right-hand cascade, before Angel opens the throttle and in we go for a short, sharp drenching. The return leg to the ship includes a detour to another osprey nest Angel knows. Through binoculars we spot a pair of tiny white heads above the twigs as mum swoops in to drop food into their waiting mouths.
Alongside its luxury trappings and outstanding culinary offerings, SEII is an expedition ship that’s at home even in polar waters. On its 10-night Kimberley itineraries between Broome and Darwin, it schedules at least one off-ship excursion daily. But there are other ways to leave its refined surrounds; my suite shares a deck with a helipad where I climb into a helicopter for an aerial view of King George Falls. Scenic flights are an optional extra on this otherwise all-inclusive cruise, and for 30 minutes we are treated to the river performing its bifurcated plunge in an otherwise flat, featureless landscape – a beguiling sight.
The helicopters also come to the fore early in the cruise when several Zodiac excursions are cancelled due to the current and the wind conspiring against their safe operation. For the first day’s birdwatching trip around the Lacepede Islands, there’s no plan B. But when we can’t land on Sunday Island, off the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, for a history and culture experience led by award-winning guide Rosanna Angus, the crew reverse-engineer the situation and send the choppers to collect Rosanna and her family. In the ship’s theatre, the Welcome to Country is sung and danced with gusto, and then we’re walked through the Jawi people’s millennia of culture vicariously, through PowerPoint.
When the Zodiacs can finally be launched, it’s near Horizontal Falls, a phenomenon in Talbot Bay. A narrow gap in the sea cliff can’t cope with the volume of tidal water coming through, so the levels on either side can differ by up to 4m. Then there’s Montgomery Reef, a 400sq km wonder where rushing tides create torrents in which leatherhead turtles, hammerhead sharks and banded olive sea snakes work and play.
When the shore landings begin, it’s for walks among what is regarded as the greatest concentration of ancient rock art in the world.
Over several days we visit five sites, where knowledgeable eyes detect two distinct styles, Gwion Gwion and Wandjina. The Gwion Gwion school is mainly stick figures, usually adorned with tassels and head-dresses to indicate they’re performing rituals, perhaps celebrating times of abundance. The Wandjina figures are fuller, and some almost seem anthropomorphic– are we viewing a turtle, for instance, or a human?
SEII’s itinerary includes a detour to Ashmore Reef, 620km off the coast. A protected marine reserve, we’re told it’s a place beloved by “crazy bird people”, and even non-birders are twitching with anticipation.
But again the wind is mightier than the Zodiac. Instead, as SEII returns to the coast, we get adventure boss Mike Cusack’s backstory, via a startling yet droll slide show presentation on how he and his wife, in 1987-88, spent 12 months totally alone at a spot near the Prince Regent River, on assignment for Dick Smith’s Australian Geographic. They endured many pestilences and hardships, including a severe water shortage in the Kimberley’s driest wet season in decades.
And here we are now, floating on a sea of luxury and raising a glass to the couple’s resilience. Early in our trip, Cusack had called this area “the longest undefiled coastline on Earth – you can’t say that about the east coast”. I thought there might be greater examples in, say, Antarctica or Siberia, but you get his point.
In the know
The 228-passenger, all-suite Scenic Eclipse II returns to Australian waters in 2025, and will sail the Kimberley from July 21 to September 27.
From $16,465 a person, twin-share, in a deluxe veranda suite for an 11-day cruise.
Jeremy Bourke was a guest of Scenic.
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