The Kimberley region is one of the last great wilderness areas — larger than three-quarters of the world’s countries — and a spectacular natural asset for a nation that boasts many. At 424,517 sq km (163,907 sq mi), it’s roughly equivalent in size to California, yet this vast area is only traversed by a single paved road. Our excursions ashore are true expeditions, with each day’s activities determined by the ship’s captain and your TravelQuest expedition leader after looking at weather, the tides and sea conditions. You’ll find details below on the various destinations we may visit during our time on the Kimberley Coast.
Exploring the Kimberley Coast
King George River and Falls
The journey up the deep rock valley carved out by the King George River is breathtaking. The gorge’s 80 m (260 ft) sandstone walls display varying degrees of weathering, and the colors and textures change constantly as you travel upriver. The culmination of this unfolding spectacle is your arrival at the famed twin falls of the King George, the highest single-drop cascade in the Kimberley region. Your expedition team takes you by Zodiac to the foot of the falls as our guides explain the fascinating geology of the surrounding canyon.
Swift Bay
The Bonaparte Archipelago is a maze of islands, peninsulas, bays and rivers along a remote stretch of the Kimberley Coast. Among the highlights of this remarkably pristine area is Swift Bay (named for Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels), a T-shaped inlet with steep walls of dramatically fractured sandstone. The bay has been a place of refuge for millennia. Hidden among its many rock shelters are superb examples of art by the early Wandjina people, some dating back several thousand years. Your expedition team arranges an expert-guided walk to several of these extraordinary rock art galleries.
Mitchell Plateau and Falls
The Mitchell Plateau is one of the most scenic and ecologically significant areas of Australia. Small patches of rainforest grow around its margins, where they thrive in the wet conditions created by runoff. Cutting across the plateau is the Mitchell River, which has etched steep gorges into the sandstone and spills over the plateau’s edge in several waterfalls. The most celebrated is four-tiered Mitchell Falls, which flows year-round over a series of massive stone steps.
Montgomery Reef and Collier Bay
The tidal movements along the Kimberley Coast are among the most dramatic on the planet, and Montgomery Reef is a showcase for their effects. As the tide drops, a torrent of water is drawn away from shore and the entire reef appears to rise from the sea. Covering nearly 400 sq km (about 150 sq mi), it is Australia’s largest inshore reef, comprising shallow lagoons, extensive seagrass beds and multi-hued corals. Your expedition team guides you (tidal conditions permitting) through the exposed reef system to see its mini-waterfalls and fascinating marine life up close.
Horizontal Falls, Talbot Bay
Described by Sir David Attenborough as “one of the greatest wonders of the natural world,” the Horizontal Falls are created when the tide in Talbot Bay pushes through two successive narrow gaps, just a few hundred metres apart, in the coastal McLarty Range. When the water builds up faster on one side of the gap than the other, it forms a fast-moving, whitecapped wave up to 4 m (13 ft) high. Our Zodiac excursion is timed to coincide (when possible) with the greatest tidal movement through the gaps — though the volume naturally depends on changing daily conditions.
The Lacepede Islands
The Lacepede Islands are Western Australia’s most important breeding habitat for green sea turtles. The chain of four islands has also been designated a globally important bird area by BirdLife International. The Lacepedes’ colony of brown boobies, for example, is possibly the largest in the world; naturalists have also recorded up to 20,000 roseate terns here. Other bird species breeding in the islands include masked boobies; Australian pelicans; lesser frigatebirds; Eastern reef egrets; silver gulls; crested, lesser crested and bridled terns; common noddies; and pied and sooty oystercatchers. While landings are prohibited to protect the sensitive environment, your expedition team takes you in close by Zodiac to view the incredible profusion of birdlife.
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE DAY – THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023
Everyone is up early this morning as the ship nears our carefully chosen spot in the Timor Sea and we prepare to view the total solar eclipse. It’s an experience you’ll never forget — and we’ll mark it appropriately with a celebration on deck!
Centerline viewing site in the Timor Sea: 14°50’S, 120°52’E
Duration of totality: 1 minute, 12 seconds
2023 Eclipse Weather Prospects on the Timor Sea
By TQ eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson
The Timor Sea is a very good location from which to watch a solar eclipse. April comes on the heels of the wet season, when precipitation and cloud cover are descending from their February maximums. The dry season is on its way. Satellite observations reveal that average cloudiness is less than 40% over much of the sea; in more southerly parts, it sinks still further, to only 25%. Even more enticing, the largest part of this meagre cloud cover comes from small cumulus buildups — cloud formations that are easily avoided on a ship. Archived satellite images since 2000 show that a shipboard position in the central Timor Sea would have been able to view an April 20 eclipse on all but one of those years — among the most promising records in eclipse-viewing annals.
DATE(S): Monday-Sunday, April 17-23, 2023
MEALS: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner daily
ACCOMMODATION: Ponant cruise ship Le Lapérouse
For most of us, Bali conjures up dreams of exotic escape from our everyday lives. But what if this jewel of the Java Sea was just the starting point for a journey even further beyond the ordinary? Imagine sailing on a luxury expedition ship to a remote island preserve of giant dragon lizards. Then venturing ashore on one of the world’s tiniest island nations — discovered by Europeans 500 years ago but still visited by few outsiders. And finally, as you sail toward the wild coast of Western A ...Show more 
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1989, the park is almost completely undeveloped; its 30 or so islands are home to only a few small fishing villages. And with one of the lowest annual rainfalls in Indonesia, it’s a perfect environment for the exotic wildlife that characterize the Wallacea region. Areas of dense monsoon forest open onto grassland savannah studded with spiny Ziziphus trees — the preferred habitat of the Komodo dragon. Join your expedition team and park rangers as we head off in search of the giant lizards, spotting unique flora and fauna along the trail.
Evenings to savor
Relaxing ambiance
Protecting the environment
Your health and safety
