Top End & Kimberley Snapshot Cruise

2020 Darwin > Kununurra

Treasures revealed

Celebrate the natural, cultural and historical wonders of this extraordinary region as you take a unique glimpse into one of Australia’s best kept secrets.

Get to know Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, before heading into one of the world’s great nature reserves, Kakadu National Park. From here, you’ll be swept away by the magnificence of the outback. Arriving in Western Australia, venture through ancient gorges, sink deep into stories thousands of years old and marvel at the beauty of the Kimberley region. A cruise along the Kimberley coast on the luxurious True North is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Wind your way along this extraordinary coastline, explore river systems and waterfalls, fish for ‘barra’ and discover beaches that will take your breath away. Encounter the oldest art known to mankind and spend time with traditional landowners.

Tour Code:: KKAO
Duration:: 20 days
Departure City:: Darwin
Return City:: Kununurra

Selected Itinerary

2020 Darwin > Kununurra

20 Day Itinerary

Day 1 - Darwin

Welcome to Darwin. Enjoy a two night stay, beginning with a welcome dinner.

Meals Included: Dinner
Day 2 - Darwin

Freechoice

Choose a cruise on the Adelaide River, home to the ‘jumping crocodiles’ or take a day trip to Litchfield National Park. Alternatively, enjoy a sunset cruise on Darwin Harbour, take the hop-on-hop-off bus around town or the WWII Bombing of Darwin tour.

Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 3 - Darwin > Kakadu National Park

Travel to the amazing World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and marvel at ancient Aboriginal rock art at Nourlangie Rock. Visit Bowali Visitors Centre for a greater understanding of the area before cruising on Yellow Water Billabong, spotting crocodiles and birdlife. Enjoy an overnight stay.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 - Kakadu National Park > Katherine

Take an optional flight over Kakadu National Park for a bird’s-eye view of the wetlands and rocky terrain (at additional cost, please book prior to departure).
Heading south, you’ll stop at Pine Creek, named after the many pine trees that Overland Telegraph workers found during the construction of this incredible telegraph line, which connected Australia to the rest of the world in 1872. Visit Nitmiluk National Park, home to the breathtaking Katherine Gorge. Tonight, enjoy a Special Stay.

Enrich

Be transported into the spiritual world of the Jawoyn people and explore their culture and history on a dinner cruise through Katherine Gorge. Enjoy the stories with the magnificent backdrop of towering cliff faces that change colour as the sun sets.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 - Katherine > Kununurra

Journey to Western Australia and let the vast expanse of the Kimberley slowly reveal itself. Visit Lake Argyle, the largest lake in the Southern Hemisphere. Enjoy afternoon tea and a tour of Hoochery Distillery, before arriving at your hotel for your two night stay.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - Kununurra

Opt for a flight over the Bungle Bungles and a chance to see the orange and black stripes of these massive sandstone structures (at additional cost, please book prior to departure).

Enrich

Your local guide will take you on a tour of the farming region around Kununurra. Hear stories about how this town has become the ‘fruit bowl’ of Australia and learn about the region’s famous fragrant timber, the sandalwood tree.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - Kununurra > El Questro

This morning, take a breathtaking cruise on the Ord River. Marvel at the vast variety of birdlife, immense gorge walls and river scenery. Travel along the Gibb River Road to the acclaimed El Questro Wilderness Park. Set in the untamed Kimberley landscape, El Questro began life as a working cattle station. Enjoy a two night Special Stay in deluxe tented cabins at Emma Gorge.
Take the opportunity to upgrade your stay to the deluxe El Questro Homestead, an exclusive retreat perched atop the magnificent Chamberlain gorge (at additional cost, must be booked prior to departure and will substitute accommodation and touring activities).

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 - El Questro

Freechoice

Choose to take a cruise through Chamberlain Gorge or a culture and history tour of El Questro, learning about traditional medicines, hunting techniques and the use of fire. Alternatively, join a park ranger on a bird watching tour.

Sundowners

Relax over evening drinks at the airstrip while capturing stunning views of the sunset over the Cockburn Ranges.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9 - El Questro > Halls Creek

Visit the world’s largest single producer of diamonds on your tour of the Argyle Diamond Mine. Learn about the open cut mine and the original Indigenous inhabitants. Tonight, stay in Halls Creek, on the northern edge of the Great Sandy Desert.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10 - Halls Creek > Fitzroy Crossing

Visit China Wall, a natural white stone wall that looks like the Great Wall of China. Cruise the Fitzroy River through the exquisite Geikie Gorge and keep an eye out for local wildlife, including sawfish, stingrays and Freshwater crocodiles. Visit a local indigenous art gallery. Stay overnight at Fitzroy Crossing.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11 - Fitzroy Crossing > Broome

Enrich

Relish the opportunity to have a yarn with a traditional landowner whose grandfather was both a prisoner and prison warden at the remarkable Boab prison tree. View the tree and visit one of the oldest ‘supermarkets’ and ‘chemists’ in the world, without walls or cash registers. Enjoy a cup of tea with an old drover where you can sit and reminisce about the Kimberley cattle industry of old.

Arrive at the town of Broome, the jewel of the Kimberley. It’s the perfect place to relax with long stretches of white sand beaches and warm tropical waters. With a rich history in pearling and a strong multicultural foundation, you’ll fall in love with this unique town. Enjoy a two night stay.

Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 12 - Broome

Freechoice

Discover the rare and beautiful Australian South Sea Pearl on a tour of Willie Creek Pearl Farm or enjoy a colourful and informative tour taking in the city sights on a Harley-Davidson™ Trike. Alternatively, soak up the views from the top of a camel along the famous Cable Beach or enjoy a town tour that includes sunset at Cable Beach.

Finish the day with a farewell dinner with new found friends as you reminisce about your adventures.
Take the opportunity to experience the Horizontal Falls on an exhilarating seaplane flight (at additional cost and replaces Scenic Freechoice touring and activities. Please book prior to departure).

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 13 - Broome > Kimberley Cruise

This afternoon, board your True North Kimberley Snapshot cruise.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 14 - Talbot Bay

Awake to the majestic Kimberley as you glide past Cockatoo and Koolan Islands. Experience a true Kimberley icon, the Horizontal Falls, and marvel at the awesome power of the region’s huge tidal range in an exhilarating tender ride. You may choose to take an optional helicopter flight for a bird’s-eye view of the falls (at additional cost, please book prior to departure).

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 15 - Montgomery Reef

Explore the Sale River, fish for ‘barra’, then join naturalists and ‘ride the tide’ on a classic river expedition. Later, cruise to Montgomery Reef where 140 square miles of coral reef rise out of the ocean. Water cascades from the reef as the tide falls, exposing a privileged glimpse of another world. Turtles, dugong, mantarays and every imaginable sea creature abound.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 16 - Prince Regent River

The scenery will astound as you enter the Prince Regent River. At Kings Cascades, your crew will manoeuvre the True North right under the majestic falls. Go on an ‘adventure in the tender’ and take a swim in yet another picture perfect billabong.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 17 - Hunter River

With red cliffs set against rainforest and mangroves, the Hunter River is a stunning setting for fishing, mud crabbing, bird watching and just simply exploring. Enjoy an exhilarating hike to Jackson Falls and, if time permits, enjoy a sunset drink on Naturaliste Island before an overnight cruise to Vansittart Bay.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 18 - King George River

You will have an opportunity to see the ‘Bradshaws’, reputed to be the oldest art known to man.
An optional heli-picnic at Eagle Falls includes a sumptuous picnic lunch amidst breathtaking scenery (at additional cost, please book prior to departure). The tenders will be busy exploring beaches and creeks before an overnight cruise to Koolama Bay.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 19 - Wyndham

Cross the sand bars at the mouth of the mighty King George River to reveal even more breathtaking vistas as you journey upstream to the King George Falls. Anchored at the base of Twin Falls, you will find endless places to explore. Climb to the top of the falls for a cruise highlight. Learn about the bombing of a state-ship during WWII, then take a stroll around Tranquil Bay before continuing to the frontier port of Wyndham.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 20 - Wyndham > Kununurra

After a fond farewell from your True North crew, travel by coach to Kununurra before you head home with many wonderful memories.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Tour inclusions

Highlights

Visit Litchfield National Park with its unusual termite mounds
Look for the big crocs as you cruise on Yellow Water Billabong
Watch the Kimberley sky change colours while sipping on Sundowners at El Questro
Feel the wind through your hair as you cruise on the Ord River
Enjoy dinner as you watch the sun set on a Katherine Gorge cruise
Experience the beauty of the Kimberley coastline during your cruise

Handcrafted luxury inclusions