A sailing trip across Australia's wild western frontier
Soprano Antoinette Halloran sings La Vie en Rose on the pool deck under a mackerel-coloured sky transformed, at day's end, into a radiant mosaic of gold, rose and violet. Every sunset on our voyage along northwest Australia's remote Kimberley coast has been stunning, but I cannot recall ever seeing one as dazzling as this. Certainly not one served up with light opera, and free-flowing Champagne and caviar.
It is a spectacular climax to a significant day. Earlier, Seabourn's latest expedition ship, Pursuit, was inaugurated on Ngula (Jar Island) with an Aboriginal smoking ceremony and junba (a performance of song and dance), and a rare chance to view rock paintings of stylised human figures conceived somewhere between 17,000 and 60,000 years ago.
In a first for the cruise industry, the island's traditional owners, the Wunambal Gaambera people, were named as Pursuit's godparents, sending a deliberate message that First Nations voices will be central to Seabourn's newest journey.
The Kimberley, a region three times the size of England, is a mesmerising place of pindan-red earth and turquoise seas, home to fewer than one person per 1,000 square kilometres; you are far more likely to spot a migrating humpback or basking crocodile than another human. It is possible to explore it overland in a 4x4, but that is time-consuming, costly and fraught with planning issues. Cruising its coastline in a small ship guarantees access to hard-to-reach highlights and leaves the logistics to the experts.
In this case, Seabourn. Its 132-suite vessel Pursuit has been purpose-built for just such expeditioning, with almost 2,800 metres of open deck space, 24 Zodiacs for marine adventures and continental landings, and sundry other high-tech innovations and toys to discover.
Life on board is defined by comfort. Suites are generous, from Wintergarden duplex apartments and Signature suites, both with whirlpool tubs, to Veranda suites with customised minibars, walk-in wardrobes and Swarovski binoculars. There is a fitness centre and spa, eight restaurants and bars - the latter usually involving some form of live music. At the sleek coffee shop on deck six, there is even a counter for collecting orders placed on the ship's very own app. It is all very civilised, in stark contrast to the wilderness outside.
Daily outings led by the expedition team take us onto the Indian Ocean and Timor Sea to witness phenomena such as the Horizontal Falls, where tidal currents surge through a narrow gorge of 1.8-billion-year-old sandstone escarpments. Described as one of the greatest natural wonders of the world' by Sir David Attenborough, the upcurrents and whirlpools toss our Zodiac about like debris in a drain. The Falls are in the Lalang-gaddam Marine Park, a humpback nursery where some 40,000 whales give birth each winter.
At nearby Montgomery Reef, we make a dawn sortie to witness Australia's largest inshore reef reveal itself in an ebbing tide, cascades pouring from its flanks as seabirds and turtles feast on fleeing fish. These are the territories of Dambimangari man Adrian Lane, part of the ship's team, who shares cultural insights as the drama unfolds around us.
Elsewhere on this 10-day itinerary between Broome and Darwin (which is also offered in reverse), we see millennia-old wandjina spirit paintings on a sandstone overhang at Widgingarra Butt Butt (Freshwater Cove). Worrorra guide Neil Maru explains the significance of these rainmaker spirits and the other creatures - including a dragonfly, turtle and dugong - rendered in ochre here by his forebears.
There are various saltwater safaris: along the Hunter River to marvel at dense mangrove forests and menacing crocodiles; through the sandstone canyon of King George River where dolphins arc and twin waterfalls crash down from 100-metre-high red cliffs; and to the Kuri Bay pearl farm, where some passengers enjoy scenic seaplane flights and others drop small fortunes on shimmering Paspaley jewellery. There is also the almost illicit thrill of snorkelling at the edge of Australia at Ashmore Reef where, 227 kilo-metres off the continent, we find a submarine wonderland of coral gardens and kaleidoscopic fish.
At the end of every adventure there is always some form of floating bar dispensing Champagne and a sunset the likes of which you will never see again anywhere but here, in one of Australia's - and the world's - wildest frontiers.
Ways and means
The 10-Day Kimberley Expedition: Waterfalls & Wandjinas on Seabourn Pursuit costs from £7,904 per person, based on two sharing a Veranda suite, all-inclusive.
