Kimberley Coast and the Top End

Welcome to Darwin, a great starting point for your Kimberley Coast adventure. After your arrival, we will transfer you to your luxury ship, Le Laperouse. Get to know your expedition team and APT cruise director at a welcome briefing before dinner. Stay 10 Nights: Le Laperouse (D)

Wake this morning as your ship cruises into Koolama Bay. Hear how this harbour was renamed following the Japanese bombing of the MV Koolama in 1942. Next, it's onto the King George River. Join your expedition team and jump aboard a Zodiac to meander through the river's gorge system, passing mangrove-fringed coves and sheer red cliffs. (B/L/D)

Signature Experiences:

• Anticipation builds as your Zodiac approaches King George Falls, which plunge 80 metres over a soaring sandstone cliff. Edge closer to this epic cascade and learn how it turns to a raging torrent during the monsoonal wet season.

This morning join your expedition team on an intriguing discovery. Walk across salt flats to view the wreckage of a US Air Force DC3 which crash-landed near Vansittart Bay during World War II. Later, visit Jar Island and discover the island's outstanding rock art gallery. During your exploration here, you'll see more examples of Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) paintings, dating back more than 20,000 years. (B/L/D)

Pay a special visit to Ashmore Reef Marine Park. Located in the Timor Sea and spanning 583 square kilometres, the reef is a sanctuary for many marine species. Every year, more than 100,000 seabirds breed here, including crested terns, white-tailed tropicbirds and greater frigatebirds. It was recognised as a wetland of international importance in 2003 for its vital role in providing a haven for the tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds which turn up to feed each year.

In addition to the prolific birdlife, beneath the clear tropical waters, the coral reefs, seagrass meadows, sandflats and lagoons of Ashmore Reef are home to a colourful array of marine life including 255 species of reef building coral, the greatest number of any reef on the Western Australian coast. Ashmore Reef provides a unique opportunity to combine a zodiac tour to view the abundant birdlife and marine life with the opportunity to experience a magical moment snorkelling or a refreshing swim. (B/L/D)

Visit Careening Bay, the home of the historic Mermaid Boab Tree, where in 1820 Lieutenant Phillip Parker King used the area's massive tides to beach his damaged ship, the HMC Mermaid to repair a leak in the ship's hull. One of King's crew members carved the ship's name in a Boab Tree that overlooks the bay, and today you have the chance to see for yourself a living piece of Australian colonial history. (B/L/D)

Explore this maze of islands, inlets and peninsulas, believed to have been named by explorer Lieutenant Phillip Parker King after novelist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels. Most significant here are extraordinary examples of Wandjina and Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) rock art, estimated to have been created between 5,000 and 13,000 years ago. They can be seen in caves close to the water's edge, mainly painted on rock overhangs. (B/L/D)

You are transported to Prince Frederick Harbour today, which is home to towering red cliffs and tangled mangroves. With its extreme tides and pristine ecosystems, the harbour is rich in wildlife including mudskippers and saltwater crocodiles. Keen birdwatchers should keep a careful eye out for kingfishers, egrets, herons and white-bellied sea eagles.

Stepping out from the sleek comfort of Le Laperouse to your trusty Zodiac, it's hard to believe you're at Australia's final frontier, this time to explore the Hunter River and Naturalist Island. As your day of discovery draws to a close, you might choose to set out on a thrilling helicopter flight to see the Mitchell Falls in all its splendour from above (flight at own expense). (B/L/D)

Step onto dry land at Raft Point to visit an ancient Wandjina rock art site. The unique figures depicted in these artworks are ritually repainted each year, but scientific estimates date the originals as far back as 5,000 years. You'll be joined by a local Indigenous guide when available. (B/L/D)

Signature Experiences:

• Depart with your expedition team to discover Montgomery Reef by Zodiac. The reef ‘rises' out of the ocean as the tidal waters cascade rapidly down into the surrounding channels. By Zodiac you'll get up close to see this natural phenomenon for yourself.

Explore Talbot Bay before transferring to a Zodiac to explore Cyclone Creek. Accompanied by your expedition team Leader, you'll weave nimbly past the dramatic folds of rock formations, keeping a look out for local wildlife. (B/L/D)

Signature Experiences:

• Today your ship cruises through to Talbot Bay, known for its massive 12-metre tides that create the unique Horizontal Falls. Subject to tidal conditions, you'll board a zodiac with your expedition team to view this natural phenomenon.

This morning, your ship charts a course into the stunning Buccaneer Archipelago on route to the Lacepede Islands. Made up of more than 800 islands, and filled with stunning scenery and an incredible array of wildlife, the remote region remains relatively untouched. The Lacepede Islands are Western Australia's most important breeding habitat for Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) and have been named by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.

The breeding colony of Brown Boobies is possibly the largest in the world. Up to 20,000 Roseate Terns have also been recorded here. Other birds breeding on the islands include Masked Boobies, Australian Pelicans, Lesser Frigatebirds, Eastern Reef Egrets, Silver Gulls, Crested, Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns, Common Noddies, Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers. Join your expedition team for a guided Zodiac tour to view the prolific wildlife. (B/L/D)

Arriving into Broome today means it's time to say goodbye to your ship and to be transferred to the airport. (B)