Every day is a surprise in this remote part of Australia

We’re drifting through turquoise water, rays of sunlight creating marbled mosaics on the reef below, while overhead, a white heron forms a paper cut-out against a cerulean sky. It’s tempting to trail a hand over the edge of the Zodiac, but this is Western Australia’s Kimberley coast, and crocs, or snappy handbags, rule.

A trail of bubbles is the first sign we have company, followed by a scaly head and pair of large, unblinking eyes. Within moments, we spot a dozen or more of these ancient reptiles.

Thrilling Zodiac excursions are included on the Seabourn cruise.Credit:

“Green sea turtles,” says expedition guide Rod Eime, as one beaked snout after another comes up for air. “Six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles are found in the Kimberley, and Montgomery Reef is one of the best places to see them.”

Today is the midway point of our 10-day Kimberley Expedition: Waterfalls and Wandjinas cruise aboard Seabourn Pursuit, and every day there’s a surprise.

But if there’s one constant along this convoluted coastline, it’s the 10-metre tides the Kimberley is renowned for. From our Zodiac we watch in wide-eyed wonder as the receding tide exposes the flat-topped Montgomery Reef, its coral surface rising like a freshly minted island. Unless you have a private yacht, an expedition cruise is the only way to score front-row seats to this twice daily “now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t” performance that plays out on the world’s largest inshore reef.

Seabourn Pursuit can explore remote and hard-to-access locations.Credit:

Nudging closer we are buffeted by the draining water as hundreds of waterfalls pour down its sides, the frothy rapids taking the turtles back to the open ocean. We learn that the Yawijibaya people also used these tidal currents, plying their mangrove rafts from their home on the nearby High Cliffy Islands.

A lecture by onboard marine biologist Emily Fosbery introduces us to the mystery of the Yawijibaya people, who had thrived on a small sliver of land for some 7000 years but disappeared in the 1930s without trace. While many theories have been put forward – from war to disease to tsunamis – research suggests the tribe of 300 people were most likely integrated into mainland communities.

It’s the depth of knowledge of the 24-person expedition team of academics, scientists and naturalists that comes to define this cruise during Seabourn Pursuit’s inaugural Kimberley season.

Launched in 2023, the 264-passenger ship – and its near-identical sister ship Seabourn Venture – is designed to explore some of the most diverse and remote regions in the world, all supported by a fleet of 24 Zodiacs, kayaks and expedition teams. Both come equipped with a pair of six-guest submarines (not deployed in the Kimberley due to the tides and crocs).

We board in Broome, where the all-inclusive luxury details the cruise line is known for are immediately obvious. Suites have full baths, private verandahs and walk-in robes and the ship’s interiors are by New York-based Tihany Design.

Our first taste of the tidal range comes at Horizontal Falls (Garaan-ngaddim) in Talbot Bay, where our Zodiac skips across the whirlpools created when 1 million litres of water per second surges through two narrow gaps in the McLarty Ranges. Captain Ertan Vasvi has timed our visit for the perfect ebb tide, and although we keep a safe distance from the entrance gap, we can still feel the pull of nature’s power streaming beneath our Zodiac.

A waterfall that flows sideways would be fantastical enough, but it’s the crumpled, red cliffs that demand my attention. To geologists, the landscape was formed 1.8 billion years ago when the separate landmass of the Kimberley collided with the ancient Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons. To the Dambeemangaddee people, Garaan-ngaddim was created by the body of the Woongudd woman, the spiritual snake. Looking up at the writhing, scaly rocks, I know which explanation I prefer.

Next morning, an optional excursion delivers a bird’s-eye view of Kuri Bay from the seat of a Grumman G-73 Mallard flying boat, an amphibious icon from the golden age of aviation. Next, we take to the Zodiacs for an afternoon tour of Paspaley Pearl Farm, where all trails lead to a pop-up bar serving chilled champagne and pearl meat.

Back onboard, the delights continue with a sunset serenade and caviar party. Not any caviar mind, but Kaluga Queen premium black caviar, a delicacy that can be ordered onboard anywhere, anytime and delivered personally with champagne and condiments.

Crumpled red cliffs near Horizontal Falls.Credit:

We sail into fiery sunsets while enjoying executive chef Mahesh Gavhane’s multi-course extravaganzas: warm potato ravioli with truffle, fresh grilled barramundi fillet, soft-centred chocolate ganache cake. Casual options include sushi in The Club, table service or buffet in The Colonnade or 24-hour in-suite dining. Anchoring it all are the staff, who are consistently friendly, efficient and attentive.

Before we get too comfortable, it’s back into Zodiacs and reef-shoe first into wilderness. We become experts on seabirds, learn to tell a spotted ray from a shovel nose and a crocodile from its more frequently seen cousin the “log-odile”. We also learn about ourselves; that we can climb higher and walk further than we thought, and that no matter how many times I ask, my husband will not wear the Steve Irwin-style expedition shirts I bought for him.

We visit Ngula Jar Island in the southern part of Vansittart Bay, a wild and remote place forever linked with Seabourn. As a sign of the cruise line’s commitment to the places it visits, the Wunambal Gaambera Traditional Owners were appointed as Seabourn Pursuit’s godparents in a naming ceremony held on Ngula Jar Island earlier this year.

In small groups we visit two rock art galleries emblazoned with Gwion (Bradshaw) figures. I linger longer than the rest, bewitched by the tasselled, dancing figures, which shimmer with a vitality, as if they are about to spring to life.

Gwion rock art on Ngula Jar Island.Credit:

On another day, we wade ashore at Freshwater Cove (Wiggingarra Butt Butt) where we are met on the beach by Neil Maru, a young man from the Worrorra tribe. After a welcome to Country, we follow Neil up a steep hill to Cyclone Cave, an overhang adorned with 4000-year-old rock art in the hauntingly beautiful Wandjina style.

Neil shares details about skin groups and marriage laws, while pointing out paintings of a turtle, a small boy and the unmistakable spiral of a swirling, twirling cyclone.

Wind and rain, time and tides have shaped the Kimberley, yet for tens of thousands of years it is the Indigenous people who have cared for it, celebrated it and passed down their stories.

“Wandjina is the one who created everything for us,” Neil says. “He gave us our laws, our songs and dance, which we still practise today. We are the people of the Wandjina.”

Five other Zodiac excursions

Lacepede Islands
This group of low-lying atolls is internationally significant for its large colonies of brown boobies. Bring your binoculars.

Hunter River
If you can’t spot a crocodile here, you’re not trying. Red rock formations, verdant floodplains and clear blue water make for the perfect backdrop.

Ashmore Reef
A sanctuary for seabirds, dugongs and marine turtles, this is the place to test out the snorkelling gear.

Vansittart Bay
A short walk leads to the skeletal remains of a Douglas DC3 WWII aircraft, which made a forced landing on February 26, 1942. Miraculously, all onboard survived.

King George Falls
An icon of the Kimberley, Western Australia’s highest twin waterfalls are best enjoyed from a Zodiac. Prepare to get wet.

THE DETAILS

CRUISE
Kimberley Expedition: Waterfalls and Wandjinas runs between Darwin and Broome from May 30 to August 24, 2025. Fares for a verandah suite on the 10-day cruise start from $14,999 a guest, based on double occupancy. This includes Wi-Fi, Zodiac excursions, complimentary in-suite bar, all dining experiences including spirits, fine wines and other beverages. There are five wheelchair accessible suites. See seabourn.com

FLY
Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar all fly regularly to Broome or Darwin from various capital cities.

The writer was a guest of Seabourn.