Silver Cloud Live ... June 9-19 from the Kimberley!

[Lirio]

14 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Wednesday June 12th. Lazy day at sea. 

 

We slept until a little after 7, so we were ready for breakfast in LT at 7:30. The morning was filled by laps on the deck, lectures, and lazing on our balcony. 

 

Swells no more than a meter, light breeze, and low 80s with sunshine. Beautiful! 

 

Lunch in LT then more lectures. Trivia at 4PM where we tied for first. We skipped the last lecture in favor of sunset.

 

 

 

A few more laps to finish off our step count. Beautiful evening! 

 

 

Dinner tonight at Hot Rocks. The usual Ribeye, seared like tuna tartare. I bought a bottle of Catena Zapata Malbec to go with it. It was great, though probably not the bargain that the Italian wine was.

 

 

We played a quick game of majority rules after dinner and came in second. Off to bed, as we have an early tour tomorrow, starting at 7AM. 

 

The Kimberley Expedition has started in earnest. No more sea days this trip!

This is the preferd wine of husband. I think it is to strong for Rio de Janeiro weather, but he turns the air con on and enjoy it!

[jpalbny]

Thursday, June 13th. Wyndham, SA.

 

No more lazy sea days. We're back to work on this expedition cruise!

 

We woke up by 6AM to check out our surroundings. Not far from the dock.

 

 

The Kimberley sandstone was aglow in the morning light. 

 

 

We grabbed a bite in Panorama, then headed out by bus at 7AM. We were doing a 10.5h tour of El Questro Station. Halfway there we stopped for photos.

 

 

The Kapok bush. Beautiful yellow flowers, and cool seed pods. 

 

 

Here's what they look like on the inside. 

 

 

We arrived at the Station around 9AM. A nice specimen of a Boab tree.

 

 

There were three events on this all-day tour. We met a family of original owners and participated in several ceremonies. There was a cruise through the Chamberlain River Gorge. And then a drive through the bush to look for flora, fauna, and lookouts.

 

No pictures of the ceremonies, but it was a treat. There was a fire ceremony and a water ceremony, as well as a smoke ceremony. It was a relaxing start to the morning! 

 

We all met up for the river cruise. Beautiful red rock strata.

 

 

A Little Pied Cormorant.

 

 

We cut the engines and a school of fish approached. We held food over the edge and eventually a seven-spotted archerfish spit at it! That was the signal to feed them.

 

 

We did see a crocodile. He isn't as well trained as the archerfish, so we didn't try to feed him!

 

 

Lunch at the station. Tasty steak and fries, though sadly cooked medium. There was a chicken option and a vegetarian option. 

 

After lunch we went for a drive through the bush. We had to ford a few rivers. Good thing it's the dry season! 

 

 

After a few stops to look at interesting plants, we found the Saddle Ridge Lookout. 

 

 

 

A few buildings in the lower left. That's El Questro. Nothing else for miles in any direction. 

 

 

Back to the bus, and 2h later, we arrived at the ship. No trivia today, so we got ready for recap and briefing before dinner.

[jpalbny]

Thursday June 13th. Evening on board Silver Cloud. 

 

We left Wyndham and they cleaned up after us straight away.

 

First they took away the gangway. 

 

 

Then they took up the huge bumpers.

 

 

After recap we signed up for tomorrow's excursions, then went to dinner in the MDR.

 

 

Chris started with the linguine alle vognole and I had the open faced shrimp ravioli.

 

 

 

Mains were lobster tail, and swordfish. Tasty preparations.

 

 

 

The included wines were an Alsatian chardonnay, which was a surprise to us, as we'd never tried one. It was lightly oaked and went well with the heavier dishes. The red was a Chilean Carmeñere. Wine service was again erratic but eventually sorted. Food courses were not delayed at all.

 

Desserts were the Black Forest cake and the mille-feuille.

 

 

 

Latin dance night in the bar was very sparsely attended. We were in bed a little after 10PM for our early tour tomorrow. 

[drron29]

Not that much on the menu that I thought were flavours of Australia. And that poor undersized Northern hemisphere lobster they served when you should be able to get good Western Australian rock lobster.

 

This is when we went on a local cruise around the Abrolhos Islands. fresh lobsters every day.

 

 

Plus excellent snorkelling.

 

 

 

This was a trip during covid. And if that wasn't enough we got hit by 2 cyclones before we got onboard.

But a thoroughly recommended adventure. Here is the outfit. Old fashioned Aussies.

https://www.ecoabrolhos.com.au/

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Hi JP, just joined the thread. Looks like except for the embark you're off to a good start.  Have a fabulous journey and congratulations on the anniversary! HPD

[jpalbny]

Friday, June 14th. Koolama Bay. 

 

This morning, the highlight was to be the twin falls on the King George River. It's a decent ride, more than 10km from our anchorage. There are two options this morning. An express trip to the falls and back lasting 2h15, and a long trip with interpretive stops along the way. Any guesses which one we chose?

 

We were up by 6AM and had some coffee. Espresso, to minimize the volume taken in. Nice view from the walking deck. The zodiacs were getting ready! 

 

 

So, we got ready and headed down. We managed to get in the first zodiac. Off we went, with Harry keeping up a good commentary along the way. Seabourne Pursuit was here too, but their zodiac trips didn't start until 9AM. 

 

 

We headed upriver, passing red rock cliffs which glowed in the early morning light. Lots of beautifully weathered rocks. Tafoni makes such interesting patterns. 

 

 

Some local wildlife was out to greet us as well. In addition to the shy rock wallaby, who would not pose for a photo, we saw several egrets.

 

 

And this fellow. Not shy at all!

 

 

As we went further upriver, the water became calmer and the reflections got even better. 

 

 

More tafoni.

 

 

What beautiful scenery! 

 

 

 

 

 

So many photos! What a gorgeous place.

 

Finally we arrived at the twin falls. At the beginning of dry season, there was still some flow. Not sure how much longer it will last.

 

 

Time for a quick shot before everyone else gets here!

 

 

The right-hand falls was a twin falls itself. We all squeezed into the front of the zodiac, removed our life jackets, and Harry maneuvered the zodiac so we got a shower. He stayed dry, and took pictures. 

 

 

 

Now over towards the left side, where there was a single forceful waterfall. No shower possible here, unless you wanted to be washed out of the zodiac.

 

 

 

We enjoyed the scenery for a while then started the long journey back down the river 

 

 

There was evidence of fallen rock here and there. Good thing we didn't have to drive too close to the edge!

 

 

A few cool formations. Crocodile first, and I think the second one looks like a nesting bird.

 

 

 

And some carefully balanced rocks.

 

 

We returned to the river mouth, where Silver Cloud awaited. What a great morning! 

 

 

Time for a brief rest before lunch. And another excursion this afternoon. 

[jpalbny]

A few videos.

 

This is a long video, but the sunlight reflections off the water, against the rock walls, were magical. A great show!

 

A quick shot of the falls as we arrived. 

 

 

Right-side waterfall. 

 

 

Left-side waterfall. Very powerful! 

 

 

[turtlemichael]

It's a wow from me!

[drron29]

And a Wow from me as well. Your photos of the reflections Were magnificent.

[lincslady]

Same here - unbelievably lovely, and thanks so much for taking the trouble for those of us who have not been here and are unlikely to to be able to see it all.

 

Lola

[gnome12]

I have always enjoyed pictures of reflections in water. These were wonderful. 

[jillyf]

This is the photo when we were there in October 2019. No waterfall. 

 

[frantic36]

We waved from our Seabourn Pursuit zodiac as various Cloud zodiacs went past. As you say JP I thought it important to get a blessing of the water with a dip underneath the waterfall under the gentler waterfall. The other one would tip the zodiac over. 

 

I'm glad you are enjoying the scenery. As a proud West Australian I am pleased to see others enjoy the scenery of the Kimberley Coast. I hope you enjoyed some Aboriginal Rock Art today.

[jpalbny]

41 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

We waved from our Seabourn Pursuit zodiac as various Cloud zodiacs went past. As you say JP I thought it important to get a blessing of the water with a dip underneath the waterfall under the gentler waterfall. The other one would tip the zodiac over. 

 

It was fun! I had brought my waterproof camera for snorkeling, but I brought it along yesterday and took a bunch of selfies as we went under. A few of them came out ok...

 

 

 

 

Ok, we're soaked now!

 

 

42 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

I'm glad you are enjoying the scenery. As a proud West Australian I am pleased to see others enjoy the scenery of the Kimberley Coast. I hope you enjoyed some Aboriginal Rock Art today.

 

What a great cruise it's been! Incredible scenery - so glad to be here, and glad you're along with us!

[highplanesdrifters]

Great photos and such fun!

[Lois R]

I agree with others who posted "WOW"........JP, your pictures are always amazing😃

[caradara]

I was unfamiliar with this area but now I want to go!!  Great commentary and photos.

[jpalbny]

Thanks everyone for following along. Enjoying ourselves immensely, and we're getting busy to the point where it's hard to keep up. Trying to finish up yesterday's activities...

 

Friday June 14th, afternoon and evening. 

 

We had an optional short zodiac ride this afternoon, after lunch in LT. Of course, we did that. Here we go!

 

 

More rock cliffs. They must be stable, if trees can grow there.

 

 

We visited Tranquile Cove, where the crew of the Koolama sought shelter after abandoning ship. It was tricky to navigate in, due to shallow areas.

 

 

 

We followed the coastline and the weathered rocks.

 

 

This beautiful beach looked great for swimming, but probably not a good idea! Unless you can fly away at the first sign of an approaching crocodile...like these oystercatchers!

 

 

 

 

That was all for now, so we made our way back to Silver Cloud, where another beautiful sunset awaits. 

 

 

Venetian Night! They announced the top.five cruisers on board. We were shocked that #4 and #5 had less than 100 days. And somehow, our modest total of 165 days was enough to win the coveted prize of "top cruisers" for this journey! What a pleasant surprise! 

 

Dinner with the VS representative in LT tonight. I had penne with walnut sauce and Chris had lasagne to start. Mains were lamb chops for me, and shrimp in a creamy sauce for Chris.

 

 

 

I'll post the menu tomorrow, as it's the same as tomorrow's dinner. 

Edited June 15 by jpalbny

[FauxNom]

Your descriptions and photos are wonderful, JP! Now I'm longing to go back and it's been only a year since my Cairns to Broome trip. We also had loads of Australian passengers, but not so many Kiwis (though one standout Kiwi was Harry on the exped staff; I wonder if he was your driver at the falls?). 

[RachelG]

JP , pics are awesome.  Question: the Wi-Fi must be at least adequate since you are able to post videos, correct?  

[mchell810]

As others have noted your pictures are awesome!  Thanks for sharing your trip with us  Now excuse me while I update my bucket list 😄

Edited June 15 by mchell810

[QueSeraSera]

ditto to the above JP, magical

[DavyWavey70]

Loving every minute of this trip JP xxx

[Port Power]

You are very lucky to be seeing waterfalls on the King George River this far into the dry season.  So glad you are enjoying the west Kimberley.
 

I suspect Harry is the same New Zealander who was on Silver Expedition with us in May last year, and on Silver Wind in Antarctica over the New Year. He is pretty fun and fabulous!

[jpalbny]

8 hours ago, FauxNom said:

one standout Kiwi was Harry on the exped staff; I wonder if he was your driver at the falls?

 

58 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I suspect Harry is the same New Zealander who was on Silver Expedition with us in May last year, and on Silver Wind in Antarctica over the New Year. He is pretty fun and fabulous!

 

Same Harry, I think. Definitely from NZ.

 

8 hours ago, RachelG said:

Question: the Wi-Fi must be at least adequate since you are able to post videos, correct?

 

Because of our Silver Suite upgrade, we have the premium Wi-Fi included. It's pretty quick, and the uploads have worked well. I did a speed test this morning. 

 

 

Edited June 16 by jpalbny