Australia's Kimberley

Australia’s Kimberley A Voyage to the Outback April 14 - 28, 2017 Tiwi TIMOR SEA Islands KING GEORGE RIVER Darwin Bigge Island/ Low Rocks CAMBRIDGE GULF HUNTER RIVER Montgomery Reef KING MITCHELL GEORGE Buccaneer FALLS Archipelago FALLS Raft Point Talbot Bay THE KIMBERLEY Lacepede Islands AUSTRALIA Broome WESTERN AUSTRALIA Sunday & Monday, April 16 & 17, 2017 Broome, Australia / Embark Coral Discoverer Broome was hot and humid, but a most welcome respite from the unseasonably cold and wet winters most of us have been experiencing. As we settled into the beautiful Cable Beach Club Resort, we acclimatized, rested, and met our fellow travelers. Some of us walked down to the renowned Cable Beach, while others stayed in the resort and enjoyed locally brewed beers from Broome’s very own Matso’s Brewery. In the evening, we enjoyed welcome cocktails and dinner overlooking the Indian Ocean as the sun dropped below the horizon. The next morning, packed and luggage ready for collection, we divided into two groups. Some of us visited the Broome Bird Observatory on the shores of Roebuck Bay, while others learned about pearls at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm. Birders ticked off many iconic birds of the Kimberley, as they walked from the Observatory through pindan vegetation to low red sandstone cliffs rising from the bay. Many wading birds were out on the mud flats following the incoming tide, and several birds of prey—including white-bellied sea eagles and three species of kites—soared above. Perhaps the most fun sighting of the day was not of the feathered kind; it was the pack of green tree-frogs jockeying for position on the toilets, which provided considerable entertainment for all! At Willie Creek Pearl Farm, we were shown the delicate work of extracting pearls from the Pinctada maxima oyster, and the surgical ‘planting’ of larger ‘seeds’ to grow bigger pearls. The display gave us a new appreciation of the intricacies involved in cultivating luxury pearls! In their near perfect marine environment, Broome pearls are renowned for their beauty and perfection—with prices to match! We returned to the Cable Beach Club Resort for lunch before heading out again on a tour of an almost deserted Broome. We visited China Town, Streeter’s Jetty, Gantheaume Point, the Japanese cemetery, and enjoyed a cold brew at Matso’s Brewery before boarding the Coral Discoverer, where we unpacked and settled into our home for the next ten days. Tuesday, April 18 Lacepede Islands With the ship relocated just off Cable Beach, our sleep was undisturbed until the early hours of the morning when we headed northbound to the Lacepede Islands. Following breakfast, Chris Done began our lecture series with an introduction to the region, Concentrated Kimberley. Brent Stephenson followed with, Birds of the Kimberley—An Introduction to our Feathered Friends. During lunch, we arrived at the islands situated some 25 nautical miles west of Beagle Bay on the Dampier Peninsula. We boarded the Xplorer and headed towards a channel separating two low, sandy islands. The Lacepede Islands were named by Nicolas Baudin in 1801 after the celebrated French naturalist, Count Lacepede. Baudin saw the islands from a distance but, to the annoyance of the naturalists on board, refused to go closer. From the comfort of the Xplorer we cruised the sandy spits while seeing silver gulls, white-faced and eastern reef egrets, oystercatchers, tiny bar-tailed godwits and whimbrels, a wide variety of terns masterfully flying on the wind’s currents, hundreds of mature and immature brown and masked boobies, and several lesser frigatebirds, circling overhead and waiting to relieve the terns of their catch. We were even treated to a demonstration of kleptoparasiticism when a frigatebird harassed a tern enough to convince it to regurgitate its day’s catch, not far off from the Xplorer. Around us in the water, green turtles bobbed up briefly and shovel-nosed rays flittered around in the shallows. Returning to the ship in the late afternoon, we had time to shower and dress for our captain’s welcome drinks and dinner while we steamed toward Montgomery Reef. Wednesday, April 19 Montgomery Reef / Raft Point Boarding the Xplorer just after sunrise, we made our way into the glassy waters of Camden Sound and, as we approached, the reef was emerging as the tide fell—154 square miles of reef seemed to rise out of the once quiet waters of the sound! The tidal conditions of the Kimberley coast make Montgomery Reef one of the most unique experiences in the world. Maximum tides of 33 feet hauntingly give way to previously-hidden reefs, leaving vast lagoons, sandstone islets, and cascading waters to stand where ocean once concealed them. As the tides sank lower, water cascaded from the emerging reef, shimmering in the morning sun. Green turtles, rays, and fish frantically escaped with the rushing water into deeper channels. As the reef appeared, the horizon shifted and we were left sailing in a tidal river amid an algae reef channel. The hundreds of cascading falls attracted migratory wading birds, feeding turtles, shovel-nosed rays, and tropical fish. In the afternoon, representatives of the Worrorra people ‘welcomed us to country’ as we came ashore at Raft Point. After our faces were marked with red ochre as a sign of respect for their ancestors, we clambered from the beach up to the escarpment, passing needle sharp spinifex and a large ancient boab tree. Our destination was a magnificent rock shelter painted with fish and ancestral Wandjina art. Here, our Worrorra guides told us stories about this site and of the people who lived here. After dinner this evening, we were treated to a wonderful dramatization of the Kimberley ‘Freedom Fighter,’ Jandamarra’s War. Thursday, April 20 Talbot Bay / Cyclone Creek We woke early this morning for breakfast before setting out on the Xplorer to get a close-up look at the stunning geology with tilted and highly folded 1.8-billion-year-old Pentecost sandstones and Elgee siltstone formations while Tom Sharpe provided us the geological context of the amazing rock edifices we were seeing. Mangroves lined the water’s edge as we scanned in vain for crocodile eyes just above the surface, though we did catch a couple glimpses of rock wallabies. Returning to the ship, groups boarded Zodiacs for the opportunity to experience hair-raising rides through the falls. With the falling tide, water was rushing out of the two inner ‘lakes,’ creating the phenomenon of the falls. Tidal conditions were just right to allow us to penetrate the narrow gap via Zodiac into a majestically beautiful back bay, and some of the earlier groups were fortunate enough to spot a nine-foot crocodile waiting for them back there. Those of us awaiting our Zodiac rides were entertained by five curious nurse sharks, hugging up against the ship! After lunch, we departed in groups of three to get a better view of the Horizontal Falls—this time via helicopter. Later, as the temperatures moderated, we explored Slug Island on the Xplorer where we heard more about the geology of the tilted rock features of Talbot Bay, whilst spotting a lone osprey in its nest at the end tip of the island. Friday, April 21 Fresh Water Cove / Langgi Beach We awoke to a beautiful sunrise and clear skies for our late morning trek to Cyclone Cave to see more Wandjina rock art. After we disembarked the Xplorer onto the rocky shore to again meet our Worrorra guides—Robyn, Jackie, Graham, and Derrick—we were formally ‘welcomed to country,’ our cheeks painted with ochre. The morning was already hot and humid, but we forged onward to Cyclone Cave, traversing sandstone country, that had been over- grown with fresh vegetation from the recent wet season. At the top of the trek, we dropped down into the rock cyclone shelter to bear witness to beautiful ochre paintings and listened to aboriginal stories of a woman and her son, both eventually being caught in a whirlpool on Montgomery Reef and drowning. Returning to the camp for damper and billy tea, we heard more stories about the Worrorra ancestors and had an opportunity to buy works of art depicting many of these tales. After lunch on board, we disembarked to Langgi Beach, where we were greeted by the hundreds of petrified sandstone shapes of Wandjina warriors exposed on the beach. Our Worrorra guides met us and told the story of Namarali, their Wandjina ancestor who, together with his warriors, fought a fierce battle at Langgi. The evidence of that battle was all around us as we wandered through the limestone pillars and felt the weight of this consecrated land. This evening after dinner, Terry Done gave a fascinating yet haunting lecture on Montgomery Reef, Corals, and Climate Change followed by Shirley Campbell’s distillation of Kimberley Rock Art. Saturday, April 22 Naturalist Island / Mitchell Falls / Hunter River This morning we found ourselves anchored off Naturalist Island. As most of us were enjoying breakfast, brilliant blue-and-white helicopters gently set down on the nearby beach, waiting to whisk us off to Mitchell Falls—one of the most iconic and remote sites in Australia. As we lifted off on our second heli tour of the trip, we were treated to expansive plateau views with yet more astonishing rock formations, stretching out on all sides to the horizon. We observed from altitude the Mitchell River cut through the open scrub terrain of basalt ridges and dolerite intrusions as it snaked its way towards the falls. Landing just upstream from the Falls, we had an hour to wander out to various vantage points with good views of the famed four-tiered falls, as well as take a dip in the sun-warmed pool that formed just above the cascading waters.

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