Seabirds & Cetaceans Expedition Cruise
11-20 Sept. 2013
Please note: this itinerary is intended as a guide and may be varied due to wind, tides or weather at the discretion of the crew of the vessel.
Day 1
Pick up at 8 am from your accommodation to transfer to the MV Odyssey. Once aboard you will meet the crew and guides and fellow passengers. Following a safety briefing the guides will run through the plans for the next ten days. Once we are under way the recording of Whales, Dolphins and Birds and other animals will commence.
If you are interested to know about anything you see, please ask a guide to help. Also remember to share your sighting with other people who may not have seen it. Don’t be shy about pointing out things that you are unsure about, the more people who are actively looking the better chance we have of seeing interesting stuff Some unusual and rare cetaceans are notoriously difficult to spot and identify so it’s a good idea to have your digital camera handy.
We sail North West following the coast of the Dampier Peninsular up towards The Lacepede Islands our destination for day two. En route we pass the proposed James Price Point Gas Hub site, a good place to see the recently described inshore Dwarf Spinner Dolphins. These animals love bow riding. In October 2012 they were recorded bow riding for over a nautical mile, affording plenty of opportunity to get that special shot! We can also expect to see good numbers of Humpback whales on this leg.
Day 2
Having arrived at the Lacepede Islands the previous evening we will anchore close enough to West Island to see female Green Turtles returning to the ocean having laid eggs on the beach overnight. They are greeted by amorous males once back in the water and its not unusual to witness a frolicking menage a trois. This is not a good place to be in the water as Tiger Sharks are attracted to the activity and are known to take these massive reptiles.
Conditions permitting we will go ashore and spend several hours exploring the Island and birdwatching. We can see and photograph nesting Brown Boobies and Lesser Frigatebirds, and marvel at enormous rafts of Common Noddy and Roseate Tern loafing on the beaches. Spotting scopes are provided for people to use to get that close up view of terns and shorebirds. Back on board for lunch we head for Cape Leveque and the Buccaneer Archipelago. As we round Cape Leveque Humpback Whales will be evident and its also a good place to see Roseate Terns and Bridled Terns that follow predatory fish like Tuna. Amongst these terns and Boobies we may see some true pelagic seabirds (Tube Noses) like Streaked Shearwater, Hutton’s Shearwater and Wilson’s Storm Petrel. We continue our journey to Talbot Bay passing through a web of islands including the Iron Ore mines on Koolan and Cockatoo.
Day 3
Talbot Bay has become famous in recent times as home to the “Horries”, the Horizontal Waterfalls, a doube set of pinch rapids. This Kimberley icon is well worth a visit for the adrenalin rush, but Talbot bay also has other attractions. Australian Snubfin Dolphins occur here. Formerly thought to be the Irrawaddy Dolphin, they were recognised as a unique Australian species in 2005. They are difficult to spot so keep your eyes peeled for this elusive species.
Extensive Mangroves abound in nearby Cyclone Creek and we can expect to see Shining Flycatcher, Striated Heron, Azure Kingfisher, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher and Large-billed Gerygone. The Rocky precipices are home to White-quilled Rock Pigeons and Sandstone Shrike Thrush.
A visit to Dugong Bay for a safe freshwater swim is well worth it. This beautiful place is home to numerous Merten’s Water Monitor if you feel like a swim with a friendly lizard.
Day 4
Today we use the tide to our advantage and visit Secure Bay passing through a narrow passage known as ‘The Funnel’.In fact we navigate two spectacular sets of narrows to enter the bay. Here the tidal movement of water form massive whirlpools as the tide rushes in or out. The bay has spectacular scenery including some extraordinary geological features, in particular prominent dark hills of Dolerite at the southern end of the bay, massive piles of black looking rocks devoid of vegetation. Huge tracts of mangroves are worth exploring and the odd vine thicket is worth a look for interesting birds. From Secure Bay we make our way north through Collier Bay and Humpback Whale heaven to Montgomery Reef.
Day 5
Montgomery Reef is a fascinating place, a huge reef system that is exposed on low tide. We dingy up a natural channel in the south eastern corner of the reef to see Green Turtles and if we’e lucky Logger Head Turtles. Dugongs are seen occasionally and also Sharks and Salt water Crocodiles.
Two mangrove dominated central islands are difficult to get to unless you have a big enough tide. Not a good idea to get stranded by the tide at this location, lots of Sandflies and some very large crocs call this home! We can visit High Cliffy Island as it often has plenty of shorebirds. Nankeen Night Herons, Eastern Reef Egrets, Little and Great Egrets roost there on the high tide.
From Montgomery we sail east to Red Cone Creek in Doubtful Bay.
Day 6
Red Cone Creek supports one of the largest tracts of mangrove forest in Australia so it’s a great place to explore for mangrove birds. First light is the time to be amongst it so an early start is essential for the intrepid birders. For those who are not such early risers a leisurely morning fishing expedition is one of several options.
The birding should be excellent and we can expect to see Mangrove Golden and White-breasted Whistler, Mangrove Robin, Shining Flycatcher, Red-headed Honeyeater, Mangrove Grey Fantail, Large-billed and Mangrove Gerygone, Little Bronze Cuckoo, Collared Kingfisher, Chestnut Rail and Great-billed Heron. Birds of prey should include White-bellied Sea Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Osprey, and if we are lucky Grey Goshawk.
After Red Cone we head north to the spectacular Sale River. Access up the Sale is tide dependent so timing is important. The dinghy ride takes us up the tidal gorge festooned with ferns, rainforest plants and rare Grevilleas; a Kimberley version of Babylon. Our destination a small spring fed and very pretty tributary of the Sale River. Fresh water pools large enough to bath in are shaded beneath some of the most beautiful gallery forest you can find; this really is the true magical Kimberley. Rufous Owl, Rainbow Pitta, Figbird, Yellow Oriole, Varied Triller and Little Shrike Thrush are all found here amongst a host of other species.
Day 7
We spend the day whale watching as we cruise north through Camden Sound on our way to Augustus Island where we can swim in beautiful freshwater swimming holes and explore beaches and reefs, good spots to find Beach Stone Curlew, Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel. Pockets of vine thicket and adjoining mangroves are always good habitat for Arafura Fantail. There are never any shortages of spots to explore on the Kimberley Coast; one could spend a lifetime exploring this beautiful part of the world.
Day 8 & 9
We leave the Kimberley coast, sailing due west over night to our final destination Adele Island. As we approach Adele large congregations of seabirds become apparent. Many of these birds breed on the island throughout the year. During the dry season (austral winter) Australian Pelican, Pied Cormorant, Great, Little, Intermediate and Eastern Reef Egret breed in loose colonies amongst large numbers of Brown Booby and Lesser Frigatebirds, later in the year around late October Common and Black Noddy and Bridled Tern start to breed.
Adele is also an important breeding site for the less common Red-footed Booby and Great frigatebird; both species prefer to nest in trees or shrubs, Adele offers Indian Lantern flower (Abutilon indicum) an annual woody shrub that grows to about 2.5 metres. Masked Booby breed right on the high tide mark and we will see the fluffy white chicks waiting for the adults to return with crops stuffed full of fish. There is anecdotal evidence that these chicks have been taken on the odd occasion by Salt Water Crocodiles that also occur on the Island.
Both Lesser and Greater Frigatebird are often seen hounding Boobys and Terns returning to the island with their full crops of fish. Frigatebirds are specialized robbers, or to use the technical term “klepto-parasitic”. These birds are magnificent aerialists, enabling them to chase and shake birds such as Masked Booby in mid flight, using their bills to force the hapless booby or tern to regurgitate food.
The Reef that surrounds Adele is vast and we have to use the incoming tide to access the islands safely. This can be a great time to fish or just marvel at the number of fish species including sharks and rays. Turtles and Sea Snakes are also common. The water can be quite clear allowing for some great views of creatures in the water.
Day 10
Having sailed overnight we continue our journey south to Broome passing the Lacepedes Islands onward down the coast of the Dampier Peninsular. We will enjoy plenty more whale sightings and hopefully see dolphins. There are often large numbers of terns on this final leg of our journey for the bird enthusiast and we may get lucky and see Wilson’s Storm Petrel and Streaked Shearwater. We arrive in Broome mid morning, to be met by the transfer back to your accommodation.