I celebrated my birthday this year on a cruise around the Kimberley coast onboard the Discovery One. It was magical.
In fact the whole cruise was just amazing. I woke up every morning with a smile on my face (well, after that first moment when I wondered where I was), and that smile stayed there all day.
Every day I thought to myself “How lucky am I!” Actually I said it out loud every day. This has been one of those experiences that just continues to amaze.
So back to trying to pick a few hightlights.
Waterfalls
As it’s a waterfall cruise, I have to include the waterfalls. All flowing because it’s the end of the wet season.
Oomari Falls, Cascade Falls, Turtle Falls, Ruby Falls. And on and on. Some didn’t have names
There were big falls, small falls and everything in between. We went into small creeks to check out the falls at the end. We even climbed to the top of a couple to swim in the pools above the falls.
The water was crystal clear, and, surprisingly, quite warm. Cool enough to be refreshing, but certainly not the cold I was expecting from the deep pools below waterfalls.
Horizontal Falls
It wouldn’t be a Kimberly cruise without going into the Horizontal Falls.
When we pulled up and looked at the gap between the cliffs my first thought was “Is that it?”. It didn’t look like anything. Not just nothing much, but nothing at all.
We were on a neap tide (after two weeks aboard I’m getting quite the nautical vocabulary), which means the tides aren’t very big. Or at least not as big as they can get up here. And we were on the ebb tide (see – quite the vocabulary), when it wasn’t quite at low, all of which means there wasn’t as much water flowing through the gaps as there can be at times.
But it was still exciting.
We took the tenders through the first gap into the large basin. As soon as we got through there we could see the turbulent water at the next gap. You’re no longer allowed to go through that gap because it’s too dangerous, but we could go into the turbulent water close to it.
That was exciting! The boat was pushed around in the eddies and I can only imagine what it would be like when there’s more water in the tides!
My birthday
On the morning of my birthday I got up very early to go up on deck and look at the stars. As I turned to walk upstairs I saw balloons tied to the balustrades.
I almost cried.
I love birthdays. Birthdays and Christmas are my favourite celebrations. You can keep mothers’ day, Easter, and all the other holidays. But I always make a big thing of birthdays.
Yet, in 20 years together and 15 years living together, my ex had never so much as blown up a balloon for my birthday. Already the crew on the cruise ship had done more than he had in a 20 year relationship.
And it wasn’t over.
There was a “Happy Birthday” banner across the bar.
The whiteboard with our daily movements was a happy birthday notice.
And one of the crew members got up at 5am just to open a bottle of Moet for me to have a glass of champagne while watching the colour come into the Kimberley sky.
Then we went out in the tenders to watch the sunrise over the mangroves and cliff faces of Porosus Creek. And spotted crocodiles, mud skippers, crabs, azure kingfishers, herons, and all sorts of fish and other birds.
Then it was back to the boat where I was met at the top of the stairs with another glass of champagne!
There were two more amazing excursions during the day, a birthday photoshoot on the beach, an afternoon cheese platter (“because Kathleen loves cheese” said the chef), champagne at sunset, and a birthday cake with a present of another bottle of Moet.
A real birthday celebration in the Kimberley, and a big thank you to all the crew on the Discovery One. They certainly made my birthday one to remember.
The stillness
Lying on a sunlounge on the top deck of the boat in the wee small hours, looking at the stars and listening to the sounds of the ocean around you is indescribable.
I lie in bed and look at the stars all the time in my roof top tent, but this is another level.
No ambient light. In the middle of nowhere. Boat rocking gently back and forth. With massive skies all around, the milky way prominent above the boat, and nobody else awake (except all the predator fish hunting in the safety lights off the back of the boat).
Biggest disappointment
Hahahahahaha. There weren’t any. It was fabulous. Every day. Every experience.
We couldn’t have asked for a better crew, for better weather, for better experiences. Captain Simon was very knowledgeable and the whole crew were lovely and very helpful.
If they’re not careful I might be back for another cruise. I’ll give them plenty of notice so they’ve got time to stock up the champagne!
