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Destinations
By Destination
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Essence of the Kimberley with Top End Cruising
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Trip Highlights
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Map & Itinerary
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Travel & Accommodation
Your Vacation Includes
- Experiences in 25 destinations
- The services of an expert APT driver-guide, cruise director and 12-member expedition team.
- 10 nights aboard Le Soleal with daily excursions on Zodiac vessels
- Locally-inspired dining – a total of 57 meals and a wide range of onboard beverages
- Stay at APT's exclusive network of Wilderness Lodges
- View the incredible natural phenomenon Horizontal Falls
- Join your expedition team to explore Montgomery Reef by Zodiac
- Discover ancient Indigenous rock art in a variety of Kimberley locations
Map & Itinerary
Signature Experiences
Designed Exclusively for APT guests
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
These once-in-a-lifetime moments allow you to experience an unforgettable world of exclusive moments, incredible cultures and charming surprises
Arrive Darwin
Welcome to Darwin, an ideal stepping stone to your Kimberley Coast adventure. After your arrival, we will transfer you to your luxury ship, Le Soleal. Get to know your expedition team and APT cruise director at a welcome briefing before dinner.
Stay: 10 Nights, Le Soleal
Daily :Koolama Bay, King George River and Falls
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Anticipation builds as your Zodiac approaches King George Falls, which plunge 80 metres over a soaring sandstone cliff. Edge closer to this epic cascade and learn how it turns to a raging torrent during the monsoonal wet season.
Wake this morning as your ship cruises into Koolama Bay. Hear how this harbour was renamed following the Japanese bombing of the MV Koolama in 1942. Next, it’s onto the King George River. Join your expedition team and jump aboard a Zodiac to meander through the river’s gorge system, passing mangrove-fringed coves and sheer red cliffs.
Daily :Vansittart Bay, Jar Island
This morning join your expedition team on an intriguing discovery. Walk across salt flats to view the wreckage of a US Air Force DC3 which crash-landed near Vansittart Bay during World War II. Later, visit Jar Island and discover the island’s outstanding rock art gallery. During your exploration here, you’ll see more examples of Bradshaw (Gwion Gwion) paintings, dating back more than 20,000 years.
Daily :
Ashmore Reef
Located in the Timor Sea, the Ashmore Reef Marine Park is a sanctuary for many marine species and a designated important bird area (IBA). Every year, more than 100,000 seabirds breed here, including crested terns, white-tailed tropicbirds and greater frigatebirds. It was recognised as a wetland of international importance in 2003 for its vital role in providing a haven for the tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds which turn up to feed each year. In addition to the prolific birdlife, beneath the clear tropical waters, the coral reefs, seagrass meadows, sandflats and lagoons of Ashmore Reef are home to a colourful array of marine life including 255 species of reef building coral, the greatest number of any reef on the Western Australian coast. Ashmore Reef provides a unique opportunity to combine a zodiac tour to view the abundant birdlife and marine life with the opportunity to experience a magical moment snorkelling or a refreshing swim.
Daily :Careening Bay
Visit Careening Bay, the home of the historic Mermaid Boab Tree, where in 1820 Lieutenant Phillip Parker King used the area’s massive tides to beach his damaged ship, the HMC Mermaid to repair a leak in the ship’s hull. One of King’s crew members carved the ship’s name in a Boab Tree that overlooks the bay, and today you have the chance to see for yourself a living piece of Australian colonial history.
Daily :Swift Bay
Explore this maze of islands, inlets and peninsulas, believed to have been named by explorer Lieutenant Phillip Parker King after novelist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels. Most significant here are extraordinary examples of Wandjina and Bradshaw (Gwion Gwion) rock art, estimated to have been created between 5,000 and 13,000 years ago. They can be seen in caves close to the water’s edge, mainly painted on rock overhangs.
Daily :Prince Frederick Harbour, Hunter River, Mitchell Falls
You are transported to Prince Frederick Harbour today, which is home to towering red cliffs and tangled mangroves. With its extreme tides and pristine ecosystems, the harbour is rich in wildlife including mudskippers and saltwater crocodiles. Keen birdwatchers should keep a careful eye out for kingfishers, egrets, herons and white-bellied sea eagles. Stepping out from the sleek comfort of Le Soleal to your trusty Zodiac, it’s hard to believe you’re at Australia’s final frontier, this time to explore the Hunter River and Naturalist Island. As your day of discovery draws to a close, you might choose to set out on a thrilling helicopter flight to see the Mitchell Falls in all its splendour from above (flight at own expense).
Daily :Raft Point, Montgomery Reef
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Depart with your expedition team to discover Montgomery Reef by Zodiac. The reef ‘rises’ out of the ocean as the tidal waters cascade rapidly down into the surrounding channels. By Zodiac you’ll get up close to see this natural phenomenon for yourself.
Step onto dry land at Raft Point to visit an ancient Wandjina rock art site. The unique figures depicted in these artworks are ritually repainted each year, but scientific estimates date the originals as far back as 5,000 years. You’ll be joined by a local Indigenous guide when available.
Daily :
Talbot Bay, Horizontal Falls
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Today your ship cruises through to Talbot Bay, known for its massive 12-metre tides that create the unique Horizontal Falls. Subject to tidal conditions, board a zodiac with your Expedition Team to view this incredible natural phenomenon.
Explore Talbot Bay and Cyclone Creek. Accompanied by your Expedition Team Leader, you’ll weave nimbly past the dramatic folds of rock formations, keeping a look out for local wildlife. You might also choose to take a thrilling ride through the falls aboard a high-powered fast boat (own expense).
Daily :Buccaneer Archipelago, Lacepede Islands
This morning, your ship charts a course into the stunning Buccaneer Archipelago on route to the Lacepede Islands. Made up of more than 800 islands, and filled with stunning scenery and an incredible array of wildlife, the remote region remains relatively untouched. The Lacepede Islands are Western Australia’s most important breeding habitat for Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) and have been named by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. The breeding colony of Brown Boobies is possibly the largest in the world. Up to 20,000 Roseate Terns have also been recorded here. Other birds breeding on the islands include Masked Boobies, Australian Pelicans, Lesser Frigatebirds, Eastern Reef Egrets, Silver Gulls, Crested, Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns, Common Noddies, Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers. Join your expedition team for a guided Zodiac tour to view the prolific wildlife.
Daily :Disembark Ship, Broome
Arriving in Broome today means it’s time to say goodbye to your ship. You’ll disembark and we’ll transfer you to your hotel for an afternoon and evening at leisure before setting off on your land journey tomorrow morning.
Stay: Broome, Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa
Daily :Gibb River Road, Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek
Visit the Boab Prison Tree before traversing the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Later, continue to Fitzroy Crossing.
Stay: Fitzroy Crossing, Fitzroy River Lodge
Daily :Geikie Gorge, Purnululu National Park
Travel to Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park and explore Geikie Gorge. Head to Halls Creek, before arriving at Purnululu National Park.
Stay: Two Nights, APT's exclusive Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge
Daily :Purnululu National Park, Piccaninny Creek, Cathedral Gorge
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Toast an enthralling and wonderful day with a glass of bubbly as the sun sets over the Bungle Bungle Range.
Today starts with a walk along Piccaninny Creek, before stopping at Cathedral Gorge. You might like to take a helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungle Range (own expense). Tonight, enjoy a special Signature Experience.
Daily :Echidna Chasm, Kununurra
Enjoy a hike to Echidna Chasm. Afterwards, travel to Kununurra.
Stay: Kununurra Country Club Resort
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Ord River, El Questro
A wildlife cruise on the Ord River provides a front-row seat to the area's unique wildlife this morning. Later, travel to El Questro.
Stay: El Questro, Emma Gorge Resort
Daily :Emma Gorge, Home Valley Station
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Soak in the thermal pools of Zebedee Springs, tucked away in a secluded pocket of rainforest.
Hike to Emma Gorge before a relaxing Signature Experience. Tonight, head to a spectacular viewpoint just in time for sunset. Soak up the views with a glass of bubbly and watch as the ever-changing colours dance over the Cockburn Range.
Stay: Home Valley Station
Daily :Manning Gorge, Galvans Gorge, Gibb River Road
Enjoy lunch at Manning Gorge then continue to Galvans Gorge to admire the rock art.
Stay: Two Nights, APT's exclusive Bell Gorge Wilderness Lodge
Daily :Bell Gorge
Travel to Bell Gorge today, where stunning cliffs surround a series of tiered waterholes.
Daily :Danggu Geikie Gorge
Travel to Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park and board a unique cruise. Flooding of the river has bleached the walls white over time – an intriguing sight that makes it popular with photographers.
Stay: Broome, Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa
Daily :Depart Broome
Our journey comes to an end. After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport, bound for home.
Daily :Our people are passionate about dreaming up once-in-a-lifetime experiences for our guests and making them possible
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