Orion Expedition Cruises
‘’ICE
CREAMS ARE SERVED AS THE CROCS CIRCLE IN THE DISTANCE – SURREAL!’’
Day
1 – Embarkation, Darwin, Australia
Upon arrival we are kindly met by the
crew and served orange juice (welcome in the Darwin heat). Luggage is taken
care of and I am introduced to Melvin my lovely cabin steward, leaving me free
to explore my new home for the 10 day voyage.
Whilst Deck 3 is mainly for guest
accommodation, Deck 4 features a mixture of guest accommodation, the Atrium
area (with reception, shop and health spa) and the bar. At the back of the ship
on Deck 4 is the al fresco dining space, used for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The top Deck of the ship features a
fabulous observation lounge, a fully equipped lecture theatre, a small gym, and
an outside deck area for relaxing, sunbathing and enjoying the whirlpool.
First impression is VERY good, with
plenty of space and lots of smiling friendly faces. My Junior Suite is spacious
and relaxing with lots of wardrobe space (thank goodness!), an extremely
comfortable queen size bed and a marble bathroom with a large shower. I have
all the mod cons I need from iPod decking station to flat screen TV and DVD
player.
We have our introduction in the Leda
lounge - this is where all the main expedition presentations will take place -
it has a very comfortable, casual feel and we are greeted with glass of
champagne. Darrin Bennett was our chief expedition leader on this trip – an
expert in the Kimberley Region of Australia – and other qualified experts also
making up the expedition team. After the mandatory drill there’s more champagne
on the sun deck and we wave goodbye to Darwin as the sunsets – a beautiful
sight. We meet the Captain and his crew; the Captain is a fantastic German
character with a fabulous sense of humour - I think we’re in for a good trip.
Straight away onboard Orion you get
the feeling of a very sociable and relaxed atmosphere and by the time dinner is
served in the Constellation Restaurant everyone is chattering away to each
other. We officially meet Clinton who is in charge of the restaurant dining
arrangements (and I will discover throughout the cruise just how fantastic he
is) and he has arranged for us to be seated with a wonderful Australian couple,
and instantly a friendship is forged.
For dinner you can either choose to
eat in the more formal restaurant or dine outside under the stars in the
Delphinus Cafe, either with others or at a table for two. The menu is designed
by Serge Dansereau who owns Sydney’s Bathers Pavilion.
The guests are predominantly
Australian, with some Americans and British to give an international feel.
There is also a real mixture of ages and interests. Some are onboard for
complete relaxation; some have been purely inspired by the incredible Rock Art;
others for the whale and shark watching opportunities; and all have chosen
Orion for the authentic experience, a mixture of the wildlife, scenery,
exploration and sensational onboard service and amenities.
Days
2 & 3 – Days at sea - days to learn and relax
At 9.30am we have the briefing of the
10 zodiacs on board, I can feel the buzz of excitement in the room - this is
what it’s going to be all about on board Orion and we get an insight as to what
lies ahead.
There is plenty to occupy us this
afternoon - we decide to head to the lecture theatre for Harry’s (expedition
team) presentation on the Wanjina Aboriginal Rock Art. All the Orion Expedition
Crew have such extensive knowledge and their passion is infectious - they are
such a huge part of what makes this cruise so special.
We later head to the lecture theatre
for Darrin Bennett’s talk on the Bradshaw Rock Art. This presentation is
fascinating as we learn that the Bradshaw Art possibly dates back to over 50,000
years, quite incredible and there is debate as to where this art originates.
Darrin shows us how the Kimberly region would have looked thousands of years
ago, making it accessible for Indonesian tribes searching for food. This is an
ongoing mystery and I’m looking forward to discovering this vast land even more
now.
The rest of the day is spent mainly
eating relaxing and catching different lectures throughout the day with either
the expedition team or the guest speaker Professor Skinner a geologist specialist
from Yale University. You don’t have to attend these, though most seem to as
it’s generally full - we’ve all come onboard Orion to learn and explore.
Day
4 - The Bungle Bungle's
We are in Wyndham today, the
northernmost town in Western Australia, and the gateway to the Kimberley
region. It is surrounded by spectacular landforms, rivers and wetlands. The
actual shire of Wyndham covers 121,000 square kilometres, making it almost
twice the size of Tasmania, with a population of around 7,300 people. Close by
to the Wyndham port is the town of Kununurra (about an hour inland), a green
oasis thanks to the wetlands, and the largest man-made lake in Australia – Lake
Argyle.
10.30am we disembark for our
adventure! Most people have chosen to do the complimentary Bungle Bungle
flight. They split the guests into 2 different departures which is great as it
actually gives you the opportunity to travel overland and catch a glimpse of
some real Aussie Out-Back Towns, and have a great packed lunch provided by the
ship. We catch our flight from the town of Kununurra with Alligator Airways.
The Bungle Bungle Range spreads over
45,000 hectares, and became famous after a 1982 documentary was shown on
Australian television. Just 5 years later National Park status was granted, and
in 2003 the Purnululu National Park was granted World Heritage Site status for
its outstanding geological value, and exceptional natural beauty.
The famous Bungle Bungle ranges are a
series of tall sandstone towers formed by a series of prolonged erosion over
many millions of years. The skin of the towers has a striped appearance, layers
of orange and grey (looking like Tiger skin). Thanks to the rainy season, the
area is great for bird watching, with over 130 species.
The best way to see the true splendour
of the Ranges is by plane, and it is one of the highlights of the whole trip.
The flight is nearly 2 hours with plenty to see as we fly over the biggest
man-made lake in Aus – Lake Argyle, which holds 10,763,000 mega litres - which
makes it around 23 times larger than Sydney harbour. It is actually so large
that it has been classified an Inland Sea – and the view from our plane is
spectacular. We also pass over 2 pastoral cattle stations, one of which is
called Texas Downs Station - just a small farm only 163,500 hectars with 10,000
cattle!!!
6.45pm we have our evening
presentation in the Leda Lounge. I have to say that the expedition leaders have
a great way of running through the day’s events with photo’s and humour and
although this is our first really action packed day, I realize that this is a
major part of the trip. Tonight is the Seafood Banquet no less, so we all eat
outside under the stars of the Southern Hemisphere – tucking into tasty lobster
and king prawns – life doesn’t get any better than this!
Day
5 - King George Falls
Last night in the Leda Lounge Darrin
gave us various zodiac options to choose between so that all guests get the
choice of their daytime experience…everything from a grand hike to the top of
the waterfalls or a full morning exploring the King George River by Zodiac to a
more sedate river trip, and even a helicopter ride. This way, guests get to
create the experience that is right for them.
I have breakfast surrounded by the
majesty of Koolama Bay, with the mighty King George River and the twin falls at
the end of the deep sandstone gorge. We boarded the Zodiacs and made our way
across a slightly choppy Koolama Bay to the mouth of the King George River. As
our flotilla of Zodiacs snaked its way along the river, we saw the stunning
beauty of the gorge and the natural colours of the sandstone, exposed by the
erosion taking place. As we journeyed upriver, we observed osprey nests,
brahminy kites, brown falcons and eastern reef egrets. The sandstone canyon was
spectacular and we took a plethora of pictures that we knew would not do the
scenery justice. Close to the edge of the river and the falls, we saw great
examples of ‘honeycomb erosion’ where water whipped up by the wind has dried
within the sandstone structure, dislodging particles one at a time.
We set off listening to our expedition
leader recap from the previous night the tales of Koolama Ship that was bombed
in War World II as we pass the beach where it was breached, and the inlay where
the munity took place and the amazing journey that the survivors took across
this barren land with Aboriginal Guides. After our walk today I can only
imagine with little water and food what a struggle for survival this must have
been.
To reach the King George falls it
takes nearly 2 hours along the river, but what amazing scenery, it is truly
breathtaking. The King George Falls are the highest single-drop falls in the
Kimberley at 83m or 260ft. The spectacular gorges display varying degrees of
sandstone weathering. Red rock formations that have been eroded over the years
emerge from the water toppled precariously on top of one another - they remind
me of a giant Jenga game and this instability is what makes them look even more
beautiful. We meet our first crocodile after just a few minutes, his jaw is
wide open in an aggressive stance so we keep well back. What amazing creatures.
As per Darrin’s advice the previous
evening the hike to the top of the King George Falls is fairly steep in places
and sensible footwear is needed, but everyone really enjoys themselves. In
parts the climb is quite tough, but we take it steady and there is quite a
sense of community as we all chat and help each other in the places that are
difficult.
When you reach the top it is really
rewarding. We trek a little further over the first waterfall to the second, to
several inviting fresh water pools – a great chance to really cool off and
enjoy the spectacular views. After some quality time relaxing in the sun and
taking beautiful shots of the gorge it’s time to head back down.
Once we are all safely in our zodiacs
we head to the falls and waiting around the corner is Clinton our Maitre’d with
champagne and canapés - a magical surprise.
We head back along the King George
River back home to Orion, a lovely time to sit back again and enjoy the
surroundings and reflect on what has been an excellent day.
Day
6 - Vansittart Bay and Jar Island
Vansittart Bay is a small remote bay
that is well known in Australia as being the Truscott Air Base that was
operational during the Second World War.
So a reasonably early start, about
7.30 after being fed and watered of course…! This is a wet landing today which
means that your feet are going to get wet.
It’s great fun getting on and off the
zodiacs and there are always plenty of staff ready to help. Once we reach the
beach, they are waiting with sunscreen for any of those that forgot, and
refreshing cold drinks. It is these small little details that count. We have a
gentle hike over a dry salt lake – quite amazing - and our expedition leaders
are constantly pointing out wildlife and fauna, including catching crabs.
We trek through the bush and find
settled amongst the trees a World War II C-53 bomber airplane that crash landed
here in Feb 1942. We really enjoyed looking round this wreckage and listening
to the story of how it came to an end in the outback. It is still in fairly
decent shape considering that it crashed all of those years ago, and the
stories told onboard and today really bring the tale to life.
This is just a short trip and we soon
find ourselves back on the zodiacs heading back home…
After a hearty lunch, the ship moves
across the Bay and we are ready to explore Jar Island. It was so named because
an early team of explorers found a load of clay jars on the island. These are
believed to have been left behind by the Macassans in search of sea cucumbers.
The reason we are visiting Jar Island
is quite different – we are here for the famous Gwion Gwion or Bradshaw Rock
Art. According to legend the art was created by birds, pecking the rocks until
their beaks bled, and then creating the art using their tail feathers. The bird
responsible is the Gwion – giving the art its name. The alternative name for
the art is Bradshaw, after the first European to discover and name the art.
Day
7 - Hunter River
Anchor drops at 6.00am and today is
all about the wildlife on the Hunter River. Hunter River National Park is one
of the newest National Park's in the Kimberley, with some of the most beautiful
scenery in the whole region. The Mitchell River carves gorges and waterfalls
along the margins of the Mitchell Plateau creating real photographic
opportunities.
Small areas of rainforest grow along
the river, and is home to plenty of wildlife - 50 species of mammal, 220 bird
species, and 86 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, including the saltwater
crocodile.
Today has to be one of my highlights,
this part of the Kimberley appears more lush and the reflection of the red rock
and greenery in the water is sublime. We are out in the zodiacs for at least 3
hours again in pairs…you feel like you have the whole river to yourselves.
The day starts with a pod of dolphins
to wish us on our way, we’ve been on our journey less than 15 mins when we came
across a hammerhead shark in the shallow waters - perhaps the beaches don’t
look quite so inviting now!
It’s not been long before we see lots
of crocodiles in the mud banks, either basing in the sun or waiting in the
shallows for their pray. Harry our guide is fantastic at spotting wildlife and
explaining our surroundings; we see an array of fish from toad fish to mud
creatures, brightly coloured crabs and flying fish!
We get right into the heart of the
river through channels of mud banks surrounded by mangroves. Harry takes us to
where an Osprey has her nest, we also see a White Bellied Eagle and plenty more
birds. On the way back we spot Clinton and the entertainment crew on the
horizon, as we arrive ice creams are served as the crocs circle in the distance
– surreal! Again Orion anticipates just what we need as the temperatures start
to soar.
Day
8 – Montgomery Reef
5.30am the alarm goes off, but I am
excited about today as the expedition crew have done another excellent job at
whetting our appetites, plus the sunrise out of my junior suite picture window
is amazing. We disembark at 6.15 am just time to crab a coffee and a Danish
pastry!
Today has a slightly different feel as
all the guest are out on the zodiacs at the same time as you, as you only get
to experience Montgomery Reef at certain tide times. It’s lovely watching all
the activity of the zodiacs in the water in the early dawn. It’s not long
before we reach the reef - there is not much to see and I’m ever so slightly
perplexed as to why we have been taken here, but I’m confident that Orion will
surpass my expectations again and I’m not disappointed.
At first it just looks like brown
coral
emerging from the water, however as we cruise alongside the reef we watch the spectacle unfold as the tide starts to fall dramatically, this creates almost a horizontal waterfall effect. An abundance of sea life begins to appear on the surface and birds swarm in for their breakfast. Essentially, Montgomery Reef is one of the places where there is such a big difference between high tide and low tide, that as the sea level falls (and quickly), areas of reef are suddenly exposed. Such is the difference in level that what looked like open sea initially, suddenly turns into a large reef 'island'.
emerging from the water, however as we cruise alongside the reef we watch the spectacle unfold as the tide starts to fall dramatically, this creates almost a horizontal waterfall effect. An abundance of sea life begins to appear on the surface and birds swarm in for their breakfast. Essentially, Montgomery Reef is one of the places where there is such a big difference between high tide and low tide, that as the sea level falls (and quickly), areas of reef are suddenly exposed. Such is the difference in level that what looked like open sea initially, suddenly turns into a large reef 'island'.
At high tide Orion could travel across
the reef as it’s more than 5 metres deep. Now as we watch this display by
Mother Nature the reef continues to rise, almost making you believe you’re
looking at a river made for white water rafting! We’ve been watching mouth and
eyes wide open for well over an hour now and the reef is nearly 3 metres high –
incredible. Also if that isn’t enough there is plenty going on in the water -
from scores of fish to turtles that keep popping their heads above the water –
you have to be quick to get a photo! Can you believe that this reef stretches
for 20 square miles, and is not a named national park, but is protected. It
should be one of the wonders of the world! As we travel back to the ship out of
nowhere a sand bank island has emerged. We approach and see the Orion flag
planted on the sand bank and on arrival hot chocolate is served – perfect!
As we head back we are in for a real
magical surprise; a humpback whale has crosses our path. All Zodiacs are
radioed and we all head to get a good view of this amazing beauty and it soon
has a large audience, all gasping and clapping at its acrobatic display. The
Captain promised we would see Whales this time of year as it’s their breading
season, one of the zodiac party is very lucky as the Whale literally emerges
right by the side of them, if only they hadn’t all been so shocked and been a
little quicker they could have reached out and touched her! I’m pleased to say
that this is the first of many encounters with these beautiful creatures.
Eventually it’s time to head back and a late brunch is waiting on the sun-deck!
The Captain has advised that all the
lights on the ship will be going off after 9.30pm so a perfect time to star
gaze. If you have never had the opportunity to gaze at the southern hemisphere
with no urban lights to distract your eyes then you are missing a real treat.
You can clearly see the Milky Way and Neptune shines brightly like a star. It’s
turning out to be a perfect night and we indulge in some well earned cocktails,
and we settle down in the Galaxy Lounge (a small viewing lounge/bar on the top
deck), with the entertainment team leading a sing-a-long with all the old
classics.
Day
9 - Cape Verde & The Lacepedes
As it’s our last day onboard Orion, we
are looking forward to a nice and relaxing one, however the Captain makes an
unusual announcement at 7.00am, as he advises us that there are two whales
along the side of the ship. I open my curtains to be treated to two humpback
whales just outside my window, they are truly magnificent - they play for a
while then dive right under the ship – AMAZING, it actually brought tears to my
eyes, what a beautiful way to wake up to the day.
After breakfast we head to Cape Verde
beach. This beach is gorgeous and stretches for miles; we are not far from
Broome now and I remember from my previous travels how beautiful this coastline
is. What a fantastic way to end this superb trip, swimming in the sea and
walking in the surf picking up shells. It’s really nice to have a relaxing last
day - again Orion are one step ahead in predicting our thoughts and needs.
After lunch we spend the afternoon up on deck whale watching and catching those
precious last rays of sunshine before we start our journey homeward.
Day
10 – Disembark
It takes us ages to get off the ship
because we are saying our sad farewells to what has become our close family
over the past 10 days. The Orion experience produces a close bond amongst
fellow travellers as we share the sense of adventure, of discovery and of a
complete immersion in the destinations, history and wildlife that we have
interacted with so wholly.
Orion is a beautiful ship that allows
you to relax in luxury and comfort, with great dining, service and facilities.
The crew onboard are fantastic at sharing their knowledge, expertise and
friendliness, helping bring the whole experience to life.
But it is the destinations that are
the true stars. These incredible landscapes, this fabulous interaction with sea
and bird life, and simply the chance to leave behind the crowds and modern
life, and to explore places that lie off the beaten track from normal holidays,
normal life and other cruises. It is an eye-opening experience. An
unforgettable one. Orion explores a 'path less travelled' and we are honoured
that they have taken us with them.
Natalie
Read’s journal aboard Orion Expedition Cruises Kimberley voyage