Coral Expeditions

Our expe­di­tion across the Tip of Aus­tralia offers an immer­sion into the diverse and ancient Indige­nous cul­tures of remote Cape York, Arn­hem Land and the Tor­res Strait Islands. On this small ship voy­age into pre­his­toric land­scapes, learn about the song-lines and lore that shaped these ancient cul­tures, allow­ing your expert guides to inter­pret your sur­round­ings includ­ing the world’s old­est rock art that shows depic­tions of extinct ani­mals and tells the sto­ries of sea­far­ers long before British coloni­sa­tion. You will learn how gen­er­a­tions have passed down artis­tic tra­di­tions, and how this impor­tant cul­tur­al lega­cy is flour­ish­ing at world-renown art cen­tres in Yir­rkala and Nhu­lun­buy. Watch Elders share their sto­ry through art at Man­ingri­da before sail­ing to seclud­ed Lizard Island where you will snorkel in azure waters over giant clam gar­dens and stroll over the white sand beach­es of Wat­sons Bay before tak­ing a tour of Aus­tralia Museum’s Lizard Island Research Sta­tion, glob­al­ly recog­nised as a world-lead­ing research facil­i­ty on the Great Bar­ri­er Reef. The Cape York and Arn­hem Land expe­di­tion is a fas­ci­nat­ing tapes­try that immers­es keen explor­ers in the very best of Australia’s north­ern coast­line. Be immersed in the world’s old­est sur­viv­ing cul­ture in Arn­hem Land Spend a full day explor­ing the rugged Cobourg Penin­su­la for his­tor­i­cal ruins and fas­ci­nat­ing wildlife With a local guide, vis­it the remote and cul­tur­al­ly rich Tiwi Islands Learn about Indige­nous art at Elcho Island and Man­ingri­da Art Cen­tres Stand on the very tip of Aus­tralia at Cape York for a cham­pagne sun­set Vis­it Thurs­day Island and learn about the cul­tures of the Tor­res Strait Explore Lizard Island and the north­ern reach­es of the Great Bar­ri­er Reef Dis­cov­er the Arn­hem Land coast, once the trad­ing ground of the Makas­san people

Com­menc­ing in Dar­win, voy­age to the Tiwi Islands, and expe­ri­ence unique cul­tur­al per­for­mances and learn the his­to­ry of the islands. A vis­it to Tiwi Designs, one of the old­est and most artis­ti­cal­ly diverse art cen­tres in Aus­tralia, reveals the rich artis­tic her­itage in stun­ning carv­ings, paint­ings, and fab­ric print­ing. At Man­ingri­da, vis­it the Arts Cen­tre, the Djo­mi Muse­um, and the Bab­bar­ra Women’s Cen­tre. Be wel­comed to remote town­ships on Elcho Island, and vis­it the Elcho Island Art Cen­tre at Galiwin’ku. Each stop is anoth­er oppor­tu­ni­ty to expe­ri­ence the cre­ative expres­sion of one of the world’s old­est cul­tures and hear their sto­ries. We con­tin­ue on to the Tor­res Strait Islands. Here you will wit­ness the tra­di­tion­al and con­tem­po­rary blend of Tor­res Strait art forms. At the very tip of Aus­tralia, enjoy cham­pagne as you look south toward the Great Bar­ri­er Reef. As we approach the end of our expe­di­tion, see rock art from the con­tact peri­od at rugged Stan­ley Island, and have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to snorkel at vibrant reefs. Join Coral Expe­di­tions on this excit­ing expe­di­tion to the far reach­es of Australian’s North­ern coast­line. Expe­ri­ence these artis­tic tra­di­tions first­hand dur­ing work­shops with inter­na­tion­al­ly recog­nised Tor­res Strait artist Bri­an Robin­son who will be trav­el­ling onboard Be immersed in the world’s old­est sur­viv­ing cul­ture in Arn­hem Land Spend a full day explor­ing the rugged Cobourg Penin­su­la for his­tor­i­cal ruins and fas­ci­nat­ing wildlife With a local guide, vis­it the remote and cul­tur­al­ly rich Tiwi Islands Learn about Indige­nous art at Elcho Island and Man­ingri­da Art Cen­tres Stand on the very tip of Aus­tralia at Cape York for a cham­pagne sun­set Vis­it Thurs­day Island and learn about the cul­tures of the Tor­res Strait Explore Lizard Island and the north­ern reach­es of the Great Bar­ri­er Reef Dis­cov­er the Arn­hem Land coast, once the trad­ing ground of the Makas­san people

Thir­ty years ago, when we made the first explorato­ry cruis­es in the Kim­ber­ley, we had to rely on hand-drawn ​‘mudmaps’ and the knowl­edge of fish­er­men and ear­ly explor­ers to nav­i­gate the vast and unpre­dictable coast­line. Today, with decades of expe­ri­ence behind us, and in-house experts, maps, tidal charts, and land­ing notes, we have a lev­el of knowl­edge that can­not be eas­i­ly repli­cat­ed. Now, we invite you to join us on our clas­sic 10-night Kim­ber­ley expe­di­tion. Wit­ness the pow­er of nature at the mag­nif­i­cent King George Riv­er and its tow­er­ing twin falls, explore ancient rock art with expert guides, and wit­ness diverse marine life and cas­cad­ing waters at Mont­gomery Reef. Lat­er in the sea­son, you may also see the majes­tic hump­back whales on their migra­tion north to breed­ing grounds. Every Kim­ber­ley voy­age is dif­fer­ent. Come and dis­cov­er the Kim­ber­ley for your­self with the pio­neers. — Expe­ri­ence the thrill of rid­ing the Hor­i­zon­tal Falls in inflat­able Zodi­ac ten­der ves­sels — Get up close to Mont­gomery Reef and dis­cov­er the tidal reef’s diverse marine life — Wit­ness King George Riv­er and 80m tall twin King George water­falls — Cruise the Prince Regent Riv­er to the ​‘hang­ing gar­den’ King Cas­cade water­fall — Encounter Indige­nous rock art gal­leries and learn about ancient Wand­ji­na and Gwion Gwion art — Spot native wildlife and birdlife in their nat­ur­al habi­tat — View the Kim­ber­ley land­scape by air on a scenic heli­copter flight to Mitchell Falls (addi­tion­al cost) — Enjoy sun­set canapés and drinks on the beach as dusk set­tles over the Kim­ber­ley INCLU­SIONS: All excur­sions with our Expe­di­tion Team Use of Xplor­er and Zodi­acs Dai­ly lec­tures and brief­in­gs with Guest Lec­tur­ers All meals, chef-pre­pared on board Captain’s wel­come and farewell events, and open bridge access Select­ed wines, select­ed beers and house spir­its, juices, and soft drinks served with lunch and din­ner 24-hour barista-style cof­fee and tea sta­tion All entrance fees to Nation­al Parks, ports, tra­di­tion­al own­er fees and charges imposed by gov­ern­ing author­i­ties Tips and gra­tu­ities Use of all onboard facil­i­ties, incl. a ref­er­ence library Expe­di­tion diary, along with a pho­to and video gallery doc­u­ment­ing the high­lights of your voy­age Post-cruise trans­fers to CBD hotel or air­port Wifi Access – Stan­dard speed con­nec­tiv­i­ty enabling email, social image shar­ing, web brows­ing and messaging

Thir­ty years ago, when we made the first explorato­ry cruis­es in the Kim­ber­ley, we had to rely on hand-drawn ​‘mudmaps’ and the knowl­edge of fish­er­men and ear­ly explor­ers to nav­i­gate the vast and unpre­dictable coast­line. Today, with decades of expe­ri­ence behind us, and in-house experts, maps, tidal charts, and land­ing notes, we have a lev­el of knowl­edge that can­not be eas­i­ly repli­cat­ed. Now, we invite you to join us on our clas­sic 10-night Kim­ber­ley expe­di­tion. Wit­ness the pow­er of nature at the mag­nif­i­cent King George Riv­er and its tow­er­ing twin falls, explore ancient rock art with expert guides, and wit­ness diverse marine life and cas­cad­ing waters at Mont­gomery Reef. Lat­er in the sea­son, you may also see the majes­tic hump­back whales on their migra­tion north to breed­ing grounds. Every Kim­ber­ley voy­age is dif­fer­ent. Come and dis­cov­er the Kim­ber­ley for your­self with the pio­neers. — Expe­ri­ence the thrill of rid­ing the Hor­i­zon­tal Falls in inflat­able Zodi­ac ten­der ves­sels — Get up close to Mont­gomery Reef and dis­cov­er the tidal reef’s diverse marine life — Wit­ness King George Riv­er and 80m tall twin King George water­falls — Cruise the Prince Regent Riv­er to the ​‘hang­ing gar­den’ King Cas­cade water­fall — Encounter Indige­nous rock art gal­leries and learn about ancient Wand­ji­na and Gwion Gwion art — Spot native wildlife and birdlife in their nat­ur­al habi­tat — View the Kim­ber­ley land­scape by air on a scenic heli­copter flight to Mitchell Falls (addi­tion­al cost) — Enjoy sun­set canapés and drinks on the beach as dusk set­tles over the Kim­ber­ley INCLU­SIONS: All excur­sions with our Expe­di­tion Team Use of Xplor­er and Zodi­acs Dai­ly lec­tures and brief­in­gs with Guest Lec­tur­ers All meals, chef-pre­pared on board Captain’s wel­come and farewell events, and open bridge access Select­ed wines, select­ed beers and house spir­its, juices, and soft drinks served with lunch and din­ner 24-hour barista-style cof­fee and tea sta­tion All entrance fees to Nation­al Parks, ports, tra­di­tion­al own­er fees and charges imposed by gov­ern­ing author­i­ties Tips and gra­tu­ities Use of all onboard facil­i­ties, incl. a ref­er­ence library Expe­di­tion diary, along with a pho­to and video gallery doc­u­ment­ing the high­lights of your voy­age Post-cruise trans­fers to CBD hotel or air­port Wifi Access – Stan­dard speed con­nec­tiv­i­ty enabling email, social image shar­ing, web brows­ing and messaging