Kimberley Coast (Western Australia)

Kimberley is the northernmost of 9 regions located in Western Australia. It covers a total area of approx 424 km2 (164 mi2), or about 3 times the size of England or twice that of Victoria. The region has population around 50,000, with approx 40% of the inhabitants being of Aboriginal descent. On the west, Kimberley Coast is bordered by the Indian Ocean, on the east - Northern Territory (NT), on the north - Timor Sea, and on the south - Great Sandy and Tanami deserts (in Pilbara).

Kimberley cruises by local boat operators usually depart from Broome, Wyndham or Darwin NT. Also very popular (as Kimberley travel vacations) are the charter flight tours (on floatplanes).

The best time (high season) for Kimberley cruising vacations is April through October (dry season) when the temperatures range 82-93 F (28-34 C). The most popular cruisetour companies in the region include Silversea Expeditions, Ponant, Coral Expeditions Australia/fleet, APT Kimberley Cruises (APT Touring/ship Caledonian Sky), True North Adventure Cruises, Kimberley Pearl Charters, Ocean Dream Charters, The Great Escape Charter Company.

The region was named to honour John Wodehouse (1826-1902, First Earl of Kimberley), who served as Secretary of State for the Colonies in the periods 1870-1874 and 1880-1882. Kimberley consists of steep-sided northwest mountain ranges cut through with limestone and sandstone gorges and steep ridges from which much of the soil has been removed by extreme monsoonal climate. 

In local weather reports, North Kimberley Coast is WA Border to its Kuri Bay section, while West Kimberley Coast runs from Kuri Bay to Wallal Downs. Large sections of the coastline (from Broome to Wyndham) have no road access, and helicopters or boats are the only means of transportation. Because of its isolation, several tourist operations on the Kimberley coastline have been named wilderness areas. The varied and rugged sandstone landscape homes a distinctive mixture of wildlife. Kimberley has a diverse economy, the main contributors to which are tourism, mining, agriculture, retail shopping and pearling. Broome has a flourishing pearling industry operating along the Kimberley coast.

Off Kimberley Coast, there are 2500+ islands, most of which are inhabited by Aboriginal tribes but still designated as reserves. Some of the bigger-sized cruise ships navigating along the Kimberley Coast visit the small/4-island archipelago Lacepedes, located approx 120 km (75 mi) north of Broome. Also popular is the Buccaneer Archipelago.

Raft Point is a large rock formation (188 m high bluff into Doubtful Bay's entrance). Sale River feeds into the bay. Here cruise ship tourists can climb up to the saddle of rock which forms an outdoor Aboriginal art gallery with images of Wandjina spirits (with haloes), crocodiles, fish, snakes, dugong. The Aboriginal Rock Art portrays the mythical Wandjina tribe but is also an ideal spot for fishing and crabbing. Things to do at Raft Point include sightseeing, fishing, bird watching, mud crabbing, the Aboriginal rock art. From Raft Point can be enjoyed the view over the neighbouring Steep Island.

Kimberley ship travel vacations on top-luxury boats and superyachts may also include scenic cruising on Hunter River, Prince Regent River, King George River Lagoon. Often visited anchorage locations with Zodiac landings (coastal cruising on inflatable high-speed boats) include Vansittart Bay (C-53 Skytrooper aircraft wreckage), Swift Bay (Warrabii East, rock art pictures), Collier Bay (Barramundi fishing), Kuri Bay (pearl farms), Koolama Bay (King George River, King George Falls). From Talbot Bay are accessed the Horizontal Falls/Waterfalls. Such special itineraries are usually offered by premium brands like Silversea, RSSC-Regent, Seabourn, Crystal, Ponant.

Coral Expeditions is currently the largest ship cruise company (by fleet capacity) operating in the Kimberley region with regularly scheduled voyages. For season 2021 (March-October), the celebrating 25 years of service Coral Expeditions scheduled a total of 40x 10-day long itineraries for its 3 ships - Coral Discoverer (2005-built), Coral Adventurer (2019) and Coral Geographer (2020) - with departures from homeports Darwin and Broome.