Solar Eclipse over Western Australia: Sailing the Kimberley Coast – with Smithsonian Journeys

In alliance with Smithsonian Journeys.

This cruise is part of a collection of PONANT voyages that are specially-tailored for English-speaking travelers who want to engage with the world. In addition to the usual elements of the PONANT experience, the listed price for these voyages includes transfers to and from the ship, talks and discussions aboard ship by world class experts, and a shore excursion or activity in each port of call that encourages guests to embrace the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of the local environment and culture.

Australia’s The Kimberley is one of the world’s last great wilderness frontiers—a vast, sparsely populated region of sandstone escarpments, mangroves, and myriad islands. Wildlife thrives here, from saltwater crocodiles and sea turtles to dolphins, seabirds, and migratory whales. It is also home to some of Australia’s oldest Indigenous communities. This expedition from Darwin to Broome provides ample time to experience The Kimberley in all its variety, with the added attraction of a total solar eclipse.

Sailing west from Darwin, your first day is spent getting acquainted with the ship and its amenities and attending lectures and discussions with your Smithsonian experts and the ship's expedition team as Le Jacques Cartier cruises through the Timor Sea to reach the Bonaparte Archipelago. On Bigge Island, the largest in this maze of islands stretching nearly 100 miles along the Kimberley coast—and later at Swift Bay—you will encounter shelters and caves filled with stunning rock art paintings, some of which date back more than 12,000 years, and many of which, maintained by the Indigenous peoples of the region, are both cultural artifacts and part of a living heritage.

Your time in the Bonaparte Archipelago will be punctuated by perhaps the highlight of this expedition, when, on the morning of July 22, just off the coast of Bigge Island a Total Solar Eclipse begins at 9:17 a.m., at which time Le Jacques Cartier will be positioned within 50 miles of the point of greatest duration, where totality will last over 5 minutes and where, weather permitting, you may witness the corona.

On the sixth day of the voyage, enter one of the most scenic parts of the Kimberley coast—Prince Frederick Harbour and the Hunter River. This area is home to pristine forests containing as many as 18 different species of mangrove that support a rich diversity of fauna, including the iconic saltwater crocodile, white-bellied sea eagles, and kingfishers. Explore this remarkable environment by Zodiac on excursions led by the ship's expert naturalists.

Careening Bay, so named because it is where the HMS Mermaid laid up for repairs in 1820, offers a day of beachcombing and swimming on its beautiful shores, as well as an opportunity to see the "Mermaid Boab"—the tree in which the crew of the Mermaid carved the ship's name and date, now grown to ten feet wide and listed as a National Heritage Site.

The next two days are devoted to witnessing the awesome power of The Kimberley's massive tidal movements. Montgomery Reef is a spectacular example of their impact—as the tide ebbs, the entire reef appears to rise from the ocean, and water cascades off the reef to reveal shallow lagoons, seagrass beds, and corals. Cruise along the reef in Zodiacs, spotting turtles, reef sharks, and rays. Further to the south and west, Talbot Bay is home to the "Horizontal Falls," which Sir David Attenborough has described as "one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.” The falls are created by two short and narrow gorges where tidal waters build up faster on one side or the other than they can flow through, producing a cascade up to 13 feet high and creating the conditions for an exciting ride on the tidal rapids.

The final day of the expedition is spent exploring the Lacepede Islands, a protected nature reserve and one of Australia’s most important seabird breeding grounds. The colony of Brown Boobies is possibly the largest in the world, and as many as 20,000 Roseate Terns have also been recorded here. Other bird species breeding on the islands include Masked Boobies, Australian Pelicans, Lesser Frigatebirds, Eastern Reef Egrets, Silver Gulls, and Crested, Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns. In addition to the bird population, the waters surrounding the islands are a nursery for green sea turtles. Landings are prohibited here, but the expedition team will lead Zodiac tours to view the prolific wildlife.