Australia&Apos;S Iconic Kimberley

The new Darwin cruise ship terminal at Fort Hill Wharf is adjacent to the convention centre, only one kilometre from Darwin’s CBD. Modern amenities, hotels and parking are there, plus a mini-market with beautiful local productions – Aboriginal art and crafts, diamonds and opals, and eateries, distinctive of the Top End. Darwin is a home port for the small luxury vessels Coral Princess and Coral Discoverer that explore the Kimberley coast to Broome. Read more about Darwin, Australia

King George River enters Koolama Bay and the Timor Sea from the Gardner Plateau in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The 112km river was named after King George V in 1911 by the English explorer Chas Conigrave after a privately funded expedition in the area. Over many thousands of years the river has cut back into the plateau creating stunning sheer walls and majestic waterfalls at the end of several canyons. Read more about King George River, Australia

Vansittart Bay lies 530km WSW of Darwin, on the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, facing the Indian Ocean. A small stream, low rock platforms, and the sparse Truscott-Mungalalu Plateau face the bay. This is a protected large bay with numerous small islands and secluded coves that offer plenty of fishing. Read more about Vansittart Bay, Australia

Read more about Ashmore Reef, Australia

Read more about Careening Bay, Australia

Swift Bay, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, is an inlet to the fractured coastline, 12 kilometres west of the Mitchell River inlet. The flat rocky shoreline, with little vegetation, does have a number of sandy beaches, and deep to the SW of the bay mangroves line the shoreline. In the waters of the bay are of course salt-water crocodiles you’ll see from your Zodiak. Read more about Swift Bay, Australia

Hunter River has its headwaters in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and flows into the NE corner of the beautiful Prince Frederick Harbour and York Sound. The river was named in 1820 by the explorer Philip Parker King, after the surgeon, James Hunter, on the ship the Mermaid. Lined with green rainforest, mangroves and soaring red cliffs, the scenery is truly spectacular. Read more about Hunter River, Australia

The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of 800 to 1000 rocky islands off the coast of Western Australia, near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region. William Dampier sighted the Archipelago in 1688, and it was named in 1821 by Captain Phillip Parker King "in commemoration of William Dampier’s visit". The islands are located in Yampi Sound, between King Sound to the south and Collier Bay to the north. Read more about Buccaneer Archipelago, Australia

The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of 800 to 1000 rocky islands off the coast of Western Australia, near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region. William Dampier sighted the Archipelago in 1688, and it was named in 1821 by Captain Phillip Parker King "in commemoration of William Dampier’s visit". The islands are located in Yampi Sound, between King Sound to the south and Collier Bay to the north. Read more about Buccaneer Archipelago, Australia

The Lacepede Islands (aka the Lacepedes) are a group of four islands in the Indian Ocean off the NW coast of Western Australia, 120 km north of Broome and 30 km from the mainland. They are all small and low-lying, being composed of coarse sand and coral rubble and are important breeding grounds for green turtles and colonies of seabirds including frigates, boobies and terns. In the late 1800s the mining and extraction of ‘guano’ (phosphate) from the islands was a lucrative extra for whalers hunting humpback, sperm and blue whales in the region. Read more about Lacepede Islands, Australia

Broome, situated on a peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, is known as the ‘pearl of the north’ due to its being the home of the South Sea pearls, among the largest commercially harvested cultured pearls in the world. In the 1800s Broome attracted pearl divers from Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, resulting in the delightful multicultural town it is today. Visitors can witness first-hand how Broome pearls are cultured on a cruise to a local pearl farm, and hear the romantic stories of the original pearl luggers. Read more about Broome, Australia