Reef Prince – 8 Day ‘Majestic 8’ Kimberley Cruise

Day 1

Welcome Aboard. Cruise up the Dampier Peninsula.

Our Cruise Director will greet you aboard our Broome charter bus at your accommodation. We arrive at Gantheaume Beach for the first of many trips in the tenders. We’ll ferry you out to your home for the next 8 days – MV Reef Prince.

On board you can enjoy, morning tea meet your crew and be introduced into your cabin. We’ll be steaming North on our Broome cruise as soon as possible.

You can enjoy the sea air and views from the decks, spot for whales, turtles and dolphins, explore the boat or have a nap as we cruise north up the Dampier Peninsula.

Day 2

Buccaneer Archipelago, Crock Creek, Myridi Bay for Lunch and into Sampson Inlet for the evening.

Relax, sit back and enjoy the scenery as we cruise throughout the magnificent Buccaneer Archipelago. The Buccaneer Archipelago consists of more than 800 islands, this area undergoes a tidal range of over 10 metre. Named by Phillip Parker King in 1820 in memory of William Dampier, the 18th century English explorer.

We’ll visit Silica Beach for a scenic beach walk then onto Crocodile Creek. We’ll cruise up the creek in our Tenders and view a lovely spring fed waterfall. For some a climb to the top of the falls reveals a safe swimming hole fringed by Pandanus. Then into beautiful Myridi Bay to enjoy a scrumptious lunch.

Enjoy our second sun set, tonight over Montgomery Reef as we cruise towards Sampson inlet. A chance to spot whales and dolphins at play and perhaps catch a fresh fish for dinner.

Located at the top end of Collier Bay, Sampson makes a perfect natural harbour for our evening stop. We might even find a few very tasty large Kimberley black lipped oysters in Sampson. Perhaps some Aboriginal art or the fishermen might like to drift a bait for a Spanish Mackerel on the high tide.

Day 3

Hanover Beach, Camden Harbour & Cruise into St George Basin.

From Sampson Inlet we’ll cruise through the pearling operation of Kuri bay, Australia’s first attempt at Cultured Pearls. In 1957 a poor season of Pearl farming in Japan resulted in an estimated 17 tonnes of pearls being lost. Following this a joint Australian, American and Japanese effort established Kuri Bay Pearls, now very successful venture culturing Pinctata Maxima.

Next we cruise to Camden Harbour. In 1864, an association of optimistic farmers and workers attempted to establish a new settlement within Camden Harbour. With the tides on our side we may be able to visit this ill-fated site and relive the little known history of this area.

Hanover Beach is next for a little Kimberley dip and stretch our legs. It was from here, in 1838 that Lt George Grey set out on the first land based expedition of the North West of Australia. His expedition had planned to trek in search of the great inland sea and later arrive in Perth. Unfortunately, his party of 12 got no further than the head waters of the Glenelg River and returned to Hanover Bay after being attacked by Aboriginals. However, he later reported the area to be “Lush and fertile” as well as “harsh, dry and inhospitable”. Several years later the Victorian Pastoralist Assoc. used his report to sell the Kimberley to many hopeful Victorian farmers as a new beginning and hence the failed Camden Harbour settlement was formed.

From Hanover we cruise through the picturesque Munster Waters on our way into the St George Basin. Standing tall on our arrival will be Mt Trafalgar and Mt Waterloo, Named by P. P. King in 1820 after the recent Napoleonic wars.

Day 4

Prince Regent River including King’s Cascade.

With the tides and time on our side we’ll have an unforgettable morning arrival within the Prince Regent River. We will take you to view the lovely King’s Cascade where we’ll remind you to respect the local crocs and their environment If the tides are on fair we may be able to show you some easily accessible Aboriginal art or the spectacular Cathedral Falls. The more adventurous can climb to the top of Kings Cascade. The breathtaking scenery will have your camera working overtime. Leaving the Prince Regent River on the falling tide we will cruise to a safe anchorage for another magic Kimberley sunset.

Day 5

South into Collier Bay and the Sale River.

Up early to make the most of the incoming tide to take us down into Collier Bay. Our aim today is to begin our exploration of Doubtful Bay including Raft Point and the Sale River or Ruby Falls.

On the low tide, we enjoy a fascinating reef exploration of the 400 sq km’s of Montgomery Reef. With one of the biggest tide ranges in the world, on a high spring tide this reef is more than 4 meters underwater, then within 6 hours on low tide it’s exposed by more than 4 meters. A marvel not to be missed.

Day 6

Raft Point then up the Sale River & Talbot Bay for the evening.

A casual hike to one of the best Aboriginal rock art galleries on the coast. Spectacular scenery and endless views across Doubtful Bay to Steep Island.

At the Raft point gallery we will learn about the local Aboriginal beliefs culture, the Wandjina that shaped their land and their lifestyles they once enjoyed.

From Raft Point we take an unforgettable passage up the Sale River for our over night stop. On the high tide we’ll hop in our tenders and zip up to where the fresh water from the Sale River meets the tidal salt water. We will walk within some heavenly country and enjoy the crystal waters of the rainforest creeks feeding the Sale Time to leave this awesome country. We cruise back out of the magnificent Sale on our way to Talbot Bay and the Horizontal Falls.

Day 7

Talbot Bay including the amazing Geology of Cyclone Creek and the Horizontal Falls.

Today we’ll experience the awesome power of the Horizontal Falls on high tide. When its safe, your crew will take you through the falls then continue on for a magnificent exploration of the geology located within Talbot Bay. About 1800 million years ago a piece of continental crust, which we now know as the Kimberley, impacted with Northern Australia. A succession of intrusive lava flows together with massive up lifting and faulting of the once horizontal layers of sandstone have given rise to the amazing display of geology we can now enjoy in Talbot Bay and the rest of the Yampi
Peninsula.

Day 8

To Broome.

A hearty breakfast to start the day as we continue our cruise back to Broome. Sit back and reflect on the last 8 days of your beautiful Kimberley expedition as we steam south. Now is the time to swap your details with the crew and your friends.

We should arrive in the mid-morning at Gantheaume Bay where you will be ferried ashore and transferred to your accommodation.