MV OCEANIC KIMBERLEY ISLANDS CRUISE KIMBERLEY ISLANDS
MV OCEANIC ADVENTURE CRUISE
DRIVE BROOME TO CAPE LEVEQUE &
CRUISE KIMBERLEY ISLANDS
The MV Oceanic is a powered mono hull, 24 metres long, rigged sailing yacht. Under power can travel at 6 knots. Storage for 8000 litres of fresh water and 12,000 litres of fuel with three tenders for exploring. Built 1992 in Fremantle. Accommodation is basic and clean. All meals included. Caught fish can be cooked.
It has to be said, most if not all Kimberley Islands luxury ship tours are priced from upwards of $20,000 per person of 7 days or more. Ahoy Buccaneers of Broome provided a safe affordable adventure holiday in a spectacular and inaccessible region of Australia. Well done.
Adventure Cruise Kimberley Islands for 6 nights/7 days. $2000. All meals and tendercraft excursions included. Maximum guests on board 25. Two toilets/showers. Five crew plus the ship captain. All Australian. The captain a native Western Australian. All Australian guests on board. Age range from young adult to active retirees. Diverse background from all around Australia. All crew and passengers cooperated well together and enjoyed all excursions, meals and life experience aboard a ship more like a working ship than a cruise liner.
Accommodation in the few cabins available or sleeping under the stars using supplied swags on deck or the beach. Cruise accommodation for myself booked as solo trip & choice given of deck space for swag. Fore or Aft, under cover or open deck. I chose the Fore open deck.
To gain MC Oceanic access, guests were driven from Broome via a four wheel drive vehicle for greater than an hour along the then unsealed heavily corrugated Cape Leveque road to an anchorage off private property.
Boarding of ship was done by wading knee deep to tender craft and transferred to the MV Oceanic anchored several hundred metres away. Pre-ordered bottled water, beer, spirits and wine were delivered to guests on the beach whom carried the beverages in tendercraft to be stowed in allocated timber lockers on ship. My own locker used as a handy seat collapsed underneath me whilst at sea on the first full day. Throwing myself onto the ship railing preventing a 'man overboard' rescue.
In conversation with the captain discussing guest sleeping quarters the Skipper suggested to myself placement of swag on forward bulkhead of wheelhouse is an ok location. Position and comfort surprisingly good.
MV Oceanic is currently out of service.
There are current (2024) ship cruises of the Kimberley Islands by numerous tour operators. These follow the same routes and visit the same sites or similar as shown in the following pages. Browse to see locations.
All Kimberley Islands ship tours are usually in the dry season May to October. For safety reasons, to avoid cyclone (hurricane) risk and for comfort to avoid oppressive wet season heat. Most, if not all cater to the higher end of the market. Prices start from about 11,000 Australian dollars for ten nights or more per person.
Traveldriven
Buccaneer Archipelago Kimberley Islands is made up of approximately 800 islands.
Places of interest visited.
CROCODILE CREEK in Yampi Sound.
The top pool is safe from crocodiles.
RUBY FALLS
Fresh water swimming holes and waterfalls.
MONTGOMERY REEF
Tidal differences of over 10 metre. Five metre's of reef emerges from the ocean at outgoing tide. The reef is 80km long.
STONE WARRIORS
Excursions to the Stone Warriors on an uninhabited island.
Langgi Inlet.
HORIZONTAL FALLS
In Talbot bay. Jetboating. Helicopter rides. And Seaplane flights.
RAFT POINT
Rock art site.
150 metre climb up a steep hill overlooking Steep Island.
If you find a croc in your house. Lol