Bespoke, beautifully finished, with a cutting edge... Robert Manuel, veteran of more than 20 cruises, finds that small can be sensational on a voyage along the Kimberley coast.
A brilliant white 26m catamaran glistens in the balmy Wyndham twilight. The MV Great Escape awaits departure for Broome, its passengers anticipating a 13-night luxury cruise via some of Australia’s most spectacular and pristine coastline. The 14 guests are welcomed aboard by Captain Jeremy Tucker and his crew of five. Toasting his new intrepid expeditionary party, Tucker playfully warns about dangers that might be encountered along the way – from 11m tides, hidden reefs and the surprises of a rugged coastline to the occasional saltwater crocodile.
Although size does matter in the wider cruise market, the MV Great Escape, built in 2006, is ideally suited to visiting remote rivers and waterways where larger ships cannot venture. The journey is all about the destination – experiencing the region and its treasures up close. Since 2000, The Great Escape Charter Company, run by Kylie Bartle and Chris Tucker, has run expedition cruises from Broome or Wyndham during the dry season (March-October) and from Rowley Shoals (until December), with an emphasis on showcasing Western Australia’s delicate ecosystems.
Sailing through the Cambridge Gulf towards the Timor Sea, Mark Twain’s famous quote comes to mind: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Shore excursions are included in the tariff and there are two or three trips every day. On the effort scale, the graded walks range from easy to nine out of 10. Passengers go ashore often, but there are also plenty of leisurely hours cruising between destinations. The 1000km journey includes overnight steams, which cruise buffs relish. In downtime guests relax, read, play cards, chat about the day’s adventures or watch a movie in the main lounge.
Evenings on the deck are requisite, with cool drinks, hors d’oeuvres and the Kimberley’s glorious sunsets giving way to a niaght sky and its blanket of stars. For the romantics, there’s a spa on the bow, and for the adventurers, an onboard helicopter that can be chartered for about $250 per person for half an hour.
Many passengers have come for the fishing – and the daily quest to catch a barramundi is a popular topic of dinner conversation. Those whose skills lie in losing lures and tangling lines have plenty of time to appreciate how different dinner on board the Great Escape is from the buffet queues or ballroom-sized dining rooms of larger cruise liners. Here, dinner is served at one large table, with two crew members joining the group each evening.
A veteran of 22 cruises, this was my first aboard a small craft and it’s relatively easy to see the appeal. You get to know everyone and the normal strict dress rules don’t apply. The cool, casual cotton clothing that is mandatory for the northern heat is certainly a welcome change from my last voyage on QM2, which required a second suitcase just for the formal wear.
But despite the casual atmosphere this is a luxury cruise and the private air-conditioned staterooms offer a comfortable queen-size bed, entertainment system and wireless internet access. Passengers have a choice of accommodation – Panoramic View on the mid and upper decks, with large picture windows; or Horizon View staterooms on the lower deck, with two large portholes just a metre above the waterline allowing for an awesome view and sense of motion. Cabins are serviced daily and can be double or twin configuration.
Onboard chef Nicholas Bull has 12 years’ international culinary experience under his belt and can tailor dishes to personal taste or dietary requirements. Everything is cooked fresh – from the elusive barra to mud crabs and oysters – and beautifully presented. As a bonus, passengers are even permitted to BYO.
Day two brings one of the highlights of the cruise: we steam 12km inland along the King George River to the 100m cliffs of the King George Falls, anchoring at the base of the thundering twin cascades. The noise is deafening. There are only two ways to see these falls – by air or boat. Although they are a popular attraction it’s rare to overlap with another vessel, making the climb to the summit – to see the Great Escape bobbing like a cork in the vast gorge below – feel almost pioneering. Rivalling the view is the drenching passengers receive as the boat noses under the falls to experience the shower of a lifetime.
Here are some of the more spectacular Kimberley coast highlights:
Vansittart Bay
Vansittart Bay is famous for its Gwion Gwion rock art, thought to be among Australia’s oldest. Commonly referred to as Bradshaw Art, named after explorer Joseph Bradshaw who discovered them in 1891, these ancient stick figures (there are different dating methods, but some experts believe they may be up to 50,000 years old) are evidence of Australia’s rich history. Animals and human-like figures adorn the sandstone walls of caves and shelters, just a short climb from the beach. In Aboriginal mythology, Gwion Gwion is a cave bird whose blood-covered beak wiped the stone and created the paintings.
Bigge Island
Caves on Bigge Island are also home to sacred rock art, though different from that of Gwion Gwion. These wall paintings – Wandjina – appear to have ghostly halos around the head of each figure. Wandjinas are a stylised face painted in reds, blacks and whites. They gaze, with eyes chiselled out, from the depths of caves, spiritually guarding nearby gravesites.
King Cascade
The beautiful terraced waterfall of King Cascade is located on the Prince Regent River. The water gushes over terraced rock formations decorated with vegetation clinging to the rock walls. A short climb above the falls is rewarded with a swim in a series of crystal-clear billabongs surrounded by boab trees and pandanus palms.
Montgomery Reef
North-east of Buccaneer Archipelago, this reef spans more than 300sq km, making it Australia’s largest inshore reef system. Look out for turtles and the shy dugongs.
Talbot Bay
Huge volumes of water pour through a narrow chasm in Talbot Bay, creating a horizontal waterfall effect as it is squeezed between the land formations. Each of the tender boats takes a turn to go through the gap.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way December 2009