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10 night PRINCE REGENT EXPLORER

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DAY ONE

Complimentary transfers are arranged for guests to depart from either Broome or Derby to board the Mahalo II at approximately 1pm (tide permitting). The Captain and crew give a warm welcome to guests boarding Mahalo II and show guests to their cabins.  Following introductions and a safety briefing, the Mahalo II will depart from Derby at 2pm.  We will get underway cruising north, up King Sound to Stokes Bay and into Cascade Bay.  Watch the sunset while enjoying nibbles and refreshments on the upper deck.  After maneuvering into the shelter of Lachlan Island the anchor is dropped for the night.  Relax and enjoy the ambiance while the crew prepare and serve dinner.  Enjoy your first night aboard Mahalo II.

DAY TWO

Wake to the beauty of the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago and enjoy a healthy breakfast whilst cruising through Cascade Bay and Hell's Gate (our first look at the rush of water created by the tide movement is sure to amaze you). Heading on past Cone Bay & Strickland Bay, we enter Whirlpool Passage with its spinning, swirling maze of whirlpools.  After navigating our way through this waterway, we arrive at Hidden Island to do some reef fishing for our dinner, before a swim at Silica Beach, with its brilliant white squeaky silica sand, picturesque rocks and crystal clear water.  From here we will cruise into Yampi Sound and anchor at Coppermine Creek for the night. Coppermine Creek apart from having an old abandoned coppermine is also the last location where the traditional Aboriginals lived on this part of the coast.  It was called "Watchulum" and the community was here up to the mid-50's before they were moved into Derby and formed a new community called "Mowanjum" currently located 4kms up the Gibb River Road where they have a fantastic new art gallery.

DAY THREE

Enjoy a hearty breakfast before trying your hand at oyster chipping and shucking to collect a delicious feed of succulent Black-Lipped Oysters.  Once we have collected sufficient oysters for our evening's entree we will drop the lines at one of our secret spots in Yampi Sound for some Fingermark Perch, Saddletail Sea Perch and Blue Lined Emperor, all excellent fish for the table.  Next we visit the freshwater spring and waterfall at Crocodile Creek. Here we have a refreshing swim in the freshwater pools (yes a swim at Crocodile Creek!) above the habitat of the saltwater crocodile.  Leaving Yampi Sound, we cruise around Nears Point and along the Koolan Island "Channel" where you can see the iron ore mine and ship loader.  After rounding "Round Island", we cruise past the "Iron" Islands also known as the "Ballast" Islands for their source of ballast rocks used in past times.  We start making our way across Collier Bay while keeping any eye out for Humpback Whales and their calves (July to October).  Our course takes us between the Kingfisher Islands and onto Doubtful Bay and Raft Point where we will anchor for the night. Enjoy our special Oyster Kilpatrick for entree and fresh fish of the day served with chips and a garden salad.

DAY FOUR

A short cruise south/east across Doubleful Bay brings us to Red Cone Creek system. On the low tide, we have a fish for some Barramundi or Threadfin Salmon in the creeks from our tenders, always keeping a close look out for the ever present inquisitive crocodile as they glide through the water effortlessly without making a ripple.  Once the tide is rushing in, it is the time to set the crab pots and catch a feed of succulent brown mud-crabs for dinner.   Once we have a sufficient number of crabs for a good feed, we venture further up Red Cone Creek to majestic Ruby Falls for a relaxing swim under the refreshing spring fed waterfall.  If you feel up to a bit of a climb you can take a short walk up over the top of the falls.  (The walk duration 20 min return).  After our swim we make our way back to the Mahalo II.  As the tide recedes, we make our way out of Red Cone Creek and cruise back to Raft Point where we will take a bushwalk up a ravine to view the "Sea Wandjina" rock art gallery, with its breathtaking views through the lush bush overlooking Steep Island and the mouth of Doubtful Bay.  (The walk takes 1.5hrs duration return) We anchor under the back drop of Steep Island and Raft Point Bluff for the night.

DAY FIVE

We depart early on the dropping tide for Montgomery Reef, which is 400 sq km of exposed reef, sandy areas with thick mangrove islands in the middle.  The reef is a mecca for turtles, sharks, fish, corals and coralline algae,  with a plethora of other marine life and bird life to be viewed, from our tenders or by reef walking and /or snorkeling.  As the tide rises and starts to recover the reef we depart from the Montgomery area and make our way north and onto the Slate Islands, where we try our luck to catch some fish for dinner.  After catching sufficient fish for the table we make our way into Camden Sound and pass by the largest cultured pearl farm in the Kimberley, owned by Paspaley Pearls at Kuri Bay established in the 1950s.  From here, we cruise into Camden Harbour where we will go for a short bushwalk through the ruins of the failed 1864 Camden Harbour Settlement (the walk takes 40min duration return) and to Sheep Island with its lonely graves of past settlers. (Reference to the book "There Were Three Ships").  After our walk we cruise on through Port George IV and into Hanover Bay where we will anchor at One Tree Creek for the night.

DAY SIX

We depart our overnight anchorage and cruise via Treachery Head and onto the Munster Waters where the opportunity  for some hot Queenfish and Trevally fishing action arises.  After spending some thrilling time fishing and as the tide starts rising rapidly, we cruise into Saint George Basin. We pass by prominent land marks of Mount Trafalagar and Mount Waterloo and make our way into the mystical Prince Regent River. We head upriver to a tributary called Camp Creek.  Here we take a walk along the creek to several magical waterfalls and in the top pool we take a refreshing swim. (The walk duration 1.5hrs return). After our cooling swim we make our way back to the Mahalo II and once back on board, we head further up the river to the spectacular King's Cascades Waterfall.  Here we can take another walk up to the top of the cascading falls. (The walk duration is 1.5 hrs return). This is a must for some awesome photo shots of the river and boat below and to swim in yet some more magical freshwater pools.  Returning back to the Mahalo II we stay the night anchored in the Prince Regent River.

DAY SEVEN

After breakfast, while the tide is low, we take the opportunity to try for some elusive Barramundi in the smaller creeks coming off the main river.  Once the tide has come in enough we will then cruise our way out of the river and into the spectacluar St George Basin before heading out into Hanover Bay.  After several hours cruising we will stop off at a secret fishing spot to try your luck at some more fishing for some fresh fish for the table again tonight.  After we have caught a sufficient amount of fish for our dinner we head to Sampson's Inlet.  Hump back whales migrate to this area of the Kimberley coast in large numbers each year to give birth to their calves so we will keep a good look out for them while cruising (July to October).  Sampson's inlet is a very picturesque safe natural harbour, and here we will drop the anchor for the night. 

DAY EIGHT

After breakfast, we do some early morning reef fishing before cruising south to a sacred place called Langgi, with its lovely beach and the fascinating rock formations that form the "Petrified Warriors" that are said to control the weather and sea.  Langgi is also special place were according to an Aboriginal dream time story, is the starting location of the "Great Fish Chase" between a huge Cod (fish) and Aboriginal Hunters and ends at Raft Point.  The story is told in the paintings at the rock art site we visited at Raft Point.  Departing Langii we make our way across Collier Bay (Collier Bay has the largest tide movement for the Kimberley, at times 13.6 meters at high tide) and then onto Talbot Bay home of the well known Horizontal Waterfalls.  Arriving at the southern end of Talbot Bay, where we will stay anchored for the night, the ever present sleepy sharks sharks will arrive in numbers around the boat shortly after we drop anchor and are more than happy to eat any fish carcasses we have saved for them. Sleepy sharks we call them (Tawny Nurse Sharks) don't have any real teeth only raspy plates and can be hand fed with caution as they can still remove some skin if you have your had in the wrong place at the wrong time!  

DAY NINE

After some breakfast, we don our life jackets, pluck up some courage and allow our experienced crew to give you some thrills riding the rapids of the Horizontal Waterfalls.  There are two gaps in the hills, this forms the Horizontal Waterfalls and is created by the tide rising or falling faster than the water can make its way through the gaps in the hill range, creating a turbulent whirlpool area of water that flows in both directions with the tides.  The larger the tides, the greater the fall created. (On king Spring Tides it is said to be 4.5 meter height difference).  We only traverse the falls when the Captain decides it is safe to do so.  Once we have conquered the Horizontal Falls, we take a short cruise through the maze of waterways that's locally know as Cyclone Creek. This reveals some great rock formations before cruising north out of Talbot Bay.  Once again the opportunity arises to catch some reef fish before having a relaxing swim at the Sisters Island Beach. We then make our way back to Yampi Sound and anchor in Myridi Bay for the night.

DAY TEN

After waking up in the very picturesque Myridi Bay and enjoying some healthy breakfast, we have some time to do a spot of fishing.  After we have caught a feed of fish for our dinner we cruise to Silver Gull Creek to visit Phil & Marion at Squatters Arms.  Here you have the opportunity to purchase souvenirs or some hand crafted jewlry, and to explore Marion's delightful garden of thriving tropical plants.  You can also take a swim in the pool with a view, a converted water tank that was the fresh water supply for the nearby mining settlements on Cockatoo and Koolan Islands.  Departing from Silvergull Creek, we cruise on making our way south again, and pass through Whirlpool passage and head for Cone Bay.  Our journey takes us past the Barramundi Farm and down into the sheltered part of the bay, here we will anchor down for our last night onboard Mahalo II.  If the tides are favourable we can have our last chance at catching one of those elusive Barramundi in the Cone Bay creeks.  Over the last few years the creeks have been getting well stocked with escapees from the farm mixed with the occasional larger wild fish the action is at times full on.  Fresh fish will be on the menu again tonight. 

DAY eleven

After we have woken to another glorious day and have had our breakfast, we take a walk/climb up a freshwater spring/vine thicket to a abandoned hippy camp from the 80's locally known as X'n'X's. We have a swim in the "Pool of Besheda" with its pristine spring water and visit the village ruins. (The walk takes 1 hr duration return) Once back aboard Mahalo II, we begin our cruise back to Derby, via Hell's Gate and Cascade Bay. We take a course via the Inland Sea, through Brolga Pass and out into King Sound.  From here, the journey to Derby takes 3.5 hrs so there is plenty of time to pack up your bags.  Unfortunately all good things come to an end.  The Mahalo II arrives at the Derby Jetty at approximately 2.00pm (tide permitting).  We say our goodbyes and disembark. Transfers are arranged to drop you off in Derby or take you to Broome on our own Bus, having you arrive in Broome at approximately 5pm. 

Note: This itinerary is intended to be a guide to the places visited and activities conducted on this tour. Due to the large tides of the Kimberley, at times 12+ meters, the day to day schedule and order of activities will vary to suit the tides and weather conditions of each tour.