Where Water Carves Time and Spirits Still Speak

Arrive in Darwin, where the tropical heat and laid-back energy immediately signal you’re in Australia’s Top End. After landing, a private coach transfers you from the airport to your hotel, where you can unwind after your journey. Spend the rest of the day at leisure—perhaps strolling the waterfront, enjoying a relaxed dinner, or simply resting up before the expedition ahead.

A private coach transfers guests from the hotel directly to your expedition ship.Once on board, settle into your suite, unpack, attend mandatory safety briefings and expedition orientations, and enjoy your first meals—paired, of course, with Seabourn’s signature complimentary beverages.

Join the Expedition team in the Zodiacs and head to the entrance of the King George River. An eleven-mile adventure winds through a twisting sandstone gorge, with the rare visual effect of both honeycomb and vertical erosion. Join the ship’s naturalists in looking for birds and other wildlife along the way, including saltwater crocodiles cat-napping on the riverbank. King George Falls — the tallest twin waterfalls in Australia at 250 feet (80m) — are a stunning highlight. When possible, your Zodiac will maneuver close to the waterfalls’ refreshing spray.

Transfer ashore by Zodiac with the Expedition team to explore Jar Island, beginning with a wet landing onto a sun-bleached, perfectly white sandy beach. Walk about 750 feet (250m) along the sand and climb over stacked, table-like rocks. Inland, walk to an enchanting natural gallery showcasing the renowned Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) rock paintings — a rare glimpse into a fascinating part of Australia’s human history. A vivid interpretation by the Expedition team and/or local Aboriginal people explains how these petroglyphs were created more than 12,000 years ago and the meaning of the clothing and accessories they depict.

Hop into the Zodiacs and head toward Ashmore Reef — the show-stealing prima donna within the 225-square-mile Ashmore Reef Marine Park. The remarkable and rare biodiversity of this ecosystem includes a dynamic blend of hard and soft corals, sea sponges, sea fans, dugongs, sharks, turtles, rays and fish. Snorkel with the Expedition team, who will help you to better understand this special environment. Ashore, pelagic seabirds rest and refresh in a Ramsar Wetland site, along with shorebirds and waders.

Leaving the ship from its anchorage position, we will start our Zodiac tour of Hunter river, passing first Naturalist Island and then Indian Head, a sandstone headland depicting the head of an Indian.

You then start to enter the mouth of the Hunter River. Near the end of Hunter river, we turn left down Porosus Creek named aptly after the many saltwater crocodiles that call the area home. Depending on the tide, we will have the opportunity to head into the mangroves and explore this unique environment, coupled with detailed interpretation of the area. Keep a look out, as sightings of saltwater crocodiles, osprey, White Bellied Sea Eagles and Brahminy Kites are quite common. This is a magnificent Zodiac cruise show casing one of the Kimberley highlights.

Your journey begins with a Zodiac ride from the expedition ship to a secluded sandy cove framed by towering sandstone cliffs. Step ashore at Swift Bay and follow your expedition team across.

Tidal dependent - walk along a scenic sandy beach shoreline over flat rock platforms and sandy surface toward the first rock shelter, Wandjina Gallery. Beneath a shallow overhang, discover striking Wandjina figures—powerful spirit beings central to the Wunambal Gaambera traditions.R

eturn via a shaded fig grove, scanning tidal flats for rays, crocodile tracks, and birdlife such as ospreys and beach stone-curlews. Keep an eye on the water for turtles.

Take a Zodiac shuttle ashore with the Expedition team. The Worrora People (Arraluli Clan) — the traditional landowners — welcome you with a face-painting ceremony. This is a ritual seldom experienced by those outside of the community.

Follow the Expedition team on a moderate 1.5-mile (2 -2.5km) walk along a well-marked path. Your destination is a rocky overhang and a significant gallery of Wanjina   and Dreamtime art. The Worrora offer an authentic interpretation of the incredible petroglyph artwork and the associated Dreamtime stories that underpin pre-European life in the Kimberley region. Return to the beach for a tribal smoke ceremony — a symbolic send-off for a safe onward journey.

Arriving at Montgomery Reef on high tide, we leave the ship and head out by Zodiac to the edge of  Montgomery reef. As soon as the tide drops it exposes the ‘river’ a narrow channel we will explore by Zodiac. We will witness torrent water and endless cascading waterfalls. As the water drops further, the reef is exposed, and fish are trapped on the reef and in pools. They brings in an array of birdlife. Keep a look out for the white and grey morph eastern reef egret, ospreys, white bellied sea eagles and the beach thick knee. In the water we hope to see dugongs, stokes sea snake, tawny nurse sharks and hammerhead sharks.

When the tide is out, many turtles are concentrated into the ‘river’, and over a few hours one can see dozens and dozens of them. They are often found both in the water and stranded on the reef.

Hop into a Zodiac and cross Talbot Bay with the Expedition team. The Gap is a small marine passage eroded over time and the Expedition team expertly times our arrival to coincide with either slack high or slack low tide so that you will see the famed Horizontal Falls. This extraordinary phenomenon occurs as the tide forces seawater through a narrow gap, creating a 3- to 9-foot (1- to 3-meter) disparity between the water level on either side. Although we will not transit the gap via Zodiac, you will have plenty of time to watch and photograph the phenomenon. Further up the narrow gorge, we’ll see sandstone formations, tidal eddies, and geological upthrusts creating a chocolate-like layering effect in the rocks.

Join the Expedition team to see the incredible wildlife of the Lacepede Islands by Zodiac. We’ll locate many different nesting sea bird species and green sea turtles that surface to breathe. Reef dwellers frequent the flourishing coral just offshore. Low and sparsely vegetated, the Lacepedes are home to an astonishing variety of birds, including brown and masked boobies, reef egrets, gulls, pelicans, oystercatchers, roseate terns and frigatebirds.

The islands have a checkered past, having once been mined for guano and, in the 19th century, used as a holding depot for Aboriginals kidnapped for the pearl diving industry.

Explore Broome’s iconic landmarks on this scenic panoramic drive. Watch for world-famous Cable Beach — superbly photogenic with its pristine waters meeting pure white sand and red soil. See the red sandstone cliffs of Gantheaume Point and Roebuck Bay.

Then, head through the streets of Chinatown — a bustling epicenter of retail pearl showrooms, art galleries, and homey cafés.Take photos during a brief stop at the Japanese Cemetery. More than 900 Japanese pearl divers — victims of diver paralysis — are buried here.

Don’t miss the 9 Zeros - 9 Stories art installation commemorating the air raid of World War II.