Cruise met Silver Cloud vanuit Darwin – 17 nachten

“De hoofdstad van de Northern Territory’ wordt aan drie kanten omringd door de turquoise Timorzee. Qua afstand en temperament ligt de stad dichter bij Zuid-Oost Azië dan de meeste grote steden van Australië. De levensstijl is puur tropisch, gekenmerkt door een gemoedelijke sfeer, warm weer, een fantastische fusion keuken en bruisende straatmarkten. Deze kosmopolitische stad heeft minder dan 140.000 inwoners, maar u vindt hier meer dan 50 verschillende nationaliteiten. Na zware bombardementen in de Tweede Wereldoorlog en een verwoestende cycloon in 1974 is Darwin grotendeels herbouwd en is een moderne, goed uitgedachte stad. In het centrum vindt u alles van geweldige winkels tot een krokodillenpark. Volg de indrukwekkende geschiedenis van de regio in de innovatieve musea en bezoek verschillende galerijen om inheemse kunst te bewonderen. Na uw rondwandeling kunt u een late lunch gebruiken in een van de vele uitstekende restaurants. De keuken varieert van authentieke Maleise gerechten zoals laksa, een pittige noedelsoep, tot allerlei verse zeevruchten en vis, zoals —krab, barramundi en nog veel meer. Het is niet makkelijk om dit gemoedelijke leventje achter u te laten, maar er is nog veel te zien. Darwin vormt de toegangspoort voor een bezoek aan twee beroemde nationale parken, Kakadu en Litchfield, en de spectaculaire Tiwi-eilanden die eigendom zijn van de Aboriginals. Neem rustig de tijd om te ontspannen in de natuur of —””go bush,””, zoals de Australiërs dat noemen. Dat kan nergens anders beter dan in dit prachtige deel van het land.”

Wyndham is a small settlement with the spirit of a Kimberley outback township. It was established in 1886 with the Halls Creek gold rush and sits on the Cambridge Gulf where several rivers converge. Today Wyndham has a population of roughly 900 people and operates largely as a port exporting cattle, servicing the mining industry and hosting a few small ships. For these vessels Wyndham is a gateway to the breathtaking Bungle Bungle mountain range and the nearby Ord River. View less The Bungle Bungle Mountains in Purnululu National Park are now a World Heritage Site. In excess of 350 million years have shaped geological formations of giant orange and black striped domes rising out of the ground into a landscape unlike any other. Known to the local Aboriginal people for thousands of years, the Bungles were only discovered by the outside world in the mid-1980s. Conversely, cruising the peaceful and tree-lined Ord River is a chance to look for freshwater crocodiles, fruit bats, short-eared rock wallabies and a variety of birds, including Mangrove Herons and Mangrove Gerygones. Please note: All destinations on voyages in the Kimberley region, and the order in which they are visited, are subject to tidal variations and weather conditions.

Koolama Bay is found at the mouth of the King George River. Named after the ship that had been beached here after a Japanese aerial attack during World War II, Koolama Bay is the starting point for a Zodiac cruise to reach the King George Falls, one of the Kimberley’s most magnificent natural wonders. At 260 feet (80 m), the twin cascades are among the highest in Australia.

The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is an uninhabited external territory of Australia consisting of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs, and the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea generated by the islands

The Hunter River is home to an immense mangrove system surrounded by soaring red sandstone cliffs. Narrow mangrove channels shelter numerous bird species, mudskippers, fiddler crabs and the infamous saltwater crocodile; the most aggressive crocodile species known to man. Naturalist Island at the mouth of the river has a stunning stretch of sandy beach that makes a perfect landing site for small helicopters that can pick up visitors wishing to explore some of the Kimberley’s vast interior. View less The highlight inland is the famous Mitchell Falls where four tiers of waterfalls plunge into deep pools that flow out into the mighty Mitchell River. The headwaters of the falls are cool and a dip in the fresh water is a welcome reprieve from the heat of the heartland.

At the southern end of Doubtful Bay and just south of Steep Island, Raft Point is a low headland that is home to indigenous Wandjina paintings. A hike through abundant Kimberley Flora including the iconic boab tree will head towards the top of Raft Point. There one can enjoy spectacular views of the bay in the shade of the overhanging cliff, which is home to the Wandjina Spirit. Many large and ancient wall paintings of Dreamtime stories and images representing daily aboriginal life can be seen.

Montgomery Reef, which is some 300 square kilometres in size, can show an amazing tidal change of up to 4 metres. When the tide drops, the reef seems to rise out of the water. At low tide a river is exposed that allows access to an amazing semi-submerged world. When the tide continues to ebb, Zodiacs will be used to make the way to the edge of the reef where one is surrounded by cascading waterfalls up to 3 metres high.

Talbot Bay is famous for the Horizontal Falls which have been described as “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world“. The region’s tides of close to 36 feet create an amazing spectacle when the water tries to enter or leave Poulton Creek through two very narrow openings located one behind the other in the McLarty Ranges. Water builds up faster on one side than it can flow through the gaps, leaving or entering depending on the tide.

Adele Island is an island located in the Indian Ocean approximately 104 kilometres North of Ardyaloon off the Kimberley coast in Western Australia

The Lacepede Islands, sometimes referred to simply as the Lacepedes, are a group of four islands lying off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia.

Some 300 kilometers northwest of Broome, the Rowley Shoals consists of the three reefs Imperieuse, Clerke and Mermaid. The first two reefs form the Rowley Shoals Marine Park and have sandy cays that will still be visible at high tide. Bedwell Island, a small sandy cay inside Clerke Reef, is home to one of Western Australia’s two colonies of Red-tailed Tropicbirds. Other birds nesting on the island are Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, White-bellied Sea-Eagles, Eastern Reef-Egrets and terns. View less The Mermaid Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve is slightly further northeast and is the closest to land.

Just 70 km east of Nova Viçosa, Bahia are the five islands forming the Abrolhos Archipelago. These islands are part of two reef systems which run parallel to the coast and cover an area of some 6,000 km² -Brazil’s most extensive reef system. Two parts of the reef system including the archipelago have been declared a marine park (Parque Nacional Marinho dos Abrolhos) covering 913 km². A lighthouse and small Brazilian Naval station are on Santa Barbara, but of the five islands only Siriba, one of the two westernmost islands, can be visited. A track runs for some 1,600 meters around the island, permitting to see the fauna, flora and geology. The Abrolhos Archipelago is the Southwest Atlantic’s largest reproduction area for humpback whales which tend to be there between July and November. Loggerhead and green sea turtles will start to come in November to lay their eggs on the few sandy beaches, and hawksbill turtles have also been seen. Masked and Brown Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies have all been recorded as nesting on the islands.

Just 70 km east of Nova Viçosa, Bahia are the five islands forming the Abrolhos Archipelago. These islands are part of two reef systems which run parallel to the coast and cover an area of some 6,000 km² -Brazil’s most extensive reef system. Two parts of the reef system including the archipelago have been declared a marine park (Parque Nacional Marinho dos Abrolhos) covering 913 km². A lighthouse and small Brazilian Naval station are on Santa Barbara, but of the five islands only Siriba, one of the two westernmost islands, can be visited. A track runs for some 1,600 meters around the island, permitting to see the fauna, flora and geology. The Abrolhos Archipelago is the Southwest Atlantic’s largest reproduction area for humpback whales which tend to be there between July and November. Loggerhead and green sea turtles will start to come in November to lay their eggs on the few sandy beaches, and hawksbill turtles have also been seen. Masked and Brown Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies have all been recorded as nesting on the islands.

Hoewel het een van de meest geïsoleerde hoofdsteden in de wereld is, blijft Perth bij de tijd en bij met trends, maar vaak gaat de stad haar eigen weg wanneer het gaat om eten, mode en kunst. Perth en de haven ervan, Fremantle begonnen in 1829 toen voor het eerst kolonisten neerstreken bij de rivier de Swan als vrije kolonies, in tegenstelling tot de penitentiaire kolonies van het land. Vele relieken zijn hiervan nog te vinden, van de Fremantle-gevangenis en het Round House tot de Fremantle-markthal, waar winkelend publiek ooit per paard-en-wagen arriveerde. Deze locaties delen het spotlight nu met kunstgalerijen, brouwerijen en designerboutiques. In het stadscentrum bevinden zich in de moderne torens van mijnbouw- en financiële bedrijven ook inventieve restaurants zoals Greenhouse en dakterrasbars zoals Mechanics Institute. Vlakbij zijn Perth-instituten zoals de Art Gallery of Western Australia en Kings Park and Botanic Garden, en ook de creatieve buurten Subiaco, Leederville en Mount Lawley. En met de rivier de Swan in haar centrum en kilometers kust langs de Indische Oceaan aan de rand is Perth een ideale stad voor een wandeling, een fietstocht of een avondborrel op het water.