2011 Kimberley "Whales & Reefs" Wildlife Expedition Cruises
Naturalists, photographers and film makers Richard Costin and Annabelle Sandes will lead the wildlife trip of a lifetime on board "MV Kimberley Escape". The Kimberley "Whales & Reefs" trips will focus primarily on whales and dolphins, wildlife and photography, visiting outlying parts of the Kimberley seldom visited by other charter boats. We'll also explore some of the Kimberley's magnificent fringing reef systems, covered in giant clams, octopus, crabs, sponges, corals and a myriad of other marine life.
Departing beautiful Broome, you’ll travel up the "humpback highway" to Talbot Bay and Dugong Bay in the Buccaneer Archipelago, home to the iconic Horizontal Waterfalls and other stunning waterfalls. From there you'll travel out to Montgomery Reef - at 292km2 Australia's largest inshore reef - then up to Camden Sound, the maternity ward for Western Australia’s Humpback whales, the world's largest Humpback whale population.
Passing the aptly named Wildcat Reef, you'll steam up the remote western side of Augustus Island - one of the largest islands on the Kimberley coast - where we'll explore an extensive, shallow, sandy reef. From there you'll steam out to stunning Adele Island - the Kimberley’s farthest offshore island - visited by only a handful of boats every year, and home to important breeding colonies of seabirds, including Masked and Brown Boobies and Lesser Frigate birds. On the return leg to Broome down the "humpback highway" you'll visit the Lacepede Islands, another important seabird and turtle rookery. Travelling down the "humpback highway" on the 2010 expedition cruise, we counted a record 198 whales in one 11 hour period between Adele Island and the Lacepede Islands.
Note: The July trip is fully booked, but we still have 8 berths available for the August departure (1-10 August 2011)
Accommodation
Comfortable twin or double cabins with shared facilities. There is a large shaded upper deck on the boat which provides an excellent viewing platform for spotting cetaceans.
Climate
The weather should be mild with top daytime temperatures of approximately 30 degrees and night time temperatures of approximately 16 degrees.
Unique Nature
Spectacular landscapes and endemic / iconic species. Stunning Kimberley coastline. The world's largest Humpback whale population. Spinner, Snub-fin, Humpback and Bottlenose dolphins, Pygmy Killer Whales, Pilot Whales and various different species of sea turtles and sea snakes. Extensive fringing reefs with Western Australia's greatest diversity of coral species.
Other
A moderate level of fitness is required for this tour.
"The week I have spent on board the MV Kimberley Escape (16th to the 23rd August) was fabulous...everything went well beyond my expectations." - Remi (France) - passenger in 2010 and again in 2011.
Photograph © Richard Costin | Kimberley Media 2011
The Horizontal Falls, also called Horizontal Waterfalls are a natural phenomenon in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Despite their name, the Horizontal Falls aren't actual waterfalls but a very fast moving tidal flow between two narrow gorges of the McLarty Range located in Talbot Bay. The freshwater source which feeds the inner gorge is Poulton Creek. (
16°22′59″S 123°57′29″E and 
16°22′35″S 123°57′34″E) in the Buccaneer Archipelago.The northern-most and seaward gorge is 20 metres wide and the inner one is 12 metres. Above each of the gorges are natural reservoirs of between 6 and 8 km long which fill and empty with seawater through the gorge openings.
As the water cannot escape quickly enough due to the narrow openings, changing tides can give rise to a couple of metres height difference in the sea level between both sides of the gorges. The direction of the flow reverses with each turning tide with a brief period of slackwater in between. As the tides in the Kimberley can run up to 10 metres, the flow through 'The Horries' or 'The Gaps' (local names) on a large tide is spectacular, with a drop of up to 5m on a king tide.
(Wikipedia)
Various different species are found along the Kimberley coast including the fluted clam and coral clam. Giant clams are the largest living molluscs on earth, and weigh up to 227kg. Once settled on a reef, the clam is settled for life. The mantle of the clam is host to billions of algae, which find a safe haven and produce sugars and proteins which in turn fuel the growth of the clam.
No two clams have the same coloration, and the clam may live for 100 years or more.
Date: 1-10 August 2011
Berths available: 2/14
Cost: $6,750 pp twin share
Includes hotel transfers, accommodation, meals, non-alcoholic drinks onboard and shore excursions. BYO alcohol.
Berths available: 2/14
Cost: $6,750 pp twin share
Includes hotel transfers, accommodation, meals, non-alcoholic drinks onboard and shore excursions. BYO alcohol.