Kimberely Quest 2024

The 21-day cruise on the Kimberley Quest II occurs at the end of the Wet Season. The disadvantage of this season is the heat, humidity and rain which reduces visitor numbers and closes quite a few tourist businesses to close for the season. On the other hand, the advantage of the wet season is the rain that brings a multitude of waterfalls to their roaring best.

The Kimberley Quest II is sometimes referred to as a "luxury vessel", but this is not true if by luxury you are thinking of  expansive lounges, exquisite décor, large entertainment venues, and staterooms with expensive linen and personal balconies. It does not have any of those things.

What the "Quest" has is what I like to call "Luxury for the Adventurer". This is a ship with plethora of support vessels to take the passengers up close and personal to a wide variety of activities. It has a helicopter on the top deck, a high speed jet boat capable of holding all the passengers and support crew, plus three high-powered tenders also capable of taking all the passengers out at the same time to three different destinations.

These support vessels are not, however, the greatest luxury for the adventurer. The greatest luxury is actually the crew. There is usually eight (8) crew supporting, on our voyage, nineteen passengers. This is less than three passengers per crew member. Unlike larger ships, most of the crew only interact in an indirect manner - after all, on a big cruise liner, how often do you interact with the Vessel Captain, Chef and Engineering staff? On the Quest passengers are likely to be going for a swim under a waterfall with  group in a tinny piloted by the Captain, the Engineer or the Deckhand. When you arrive at your destination and you need assistance with your mobility they will be there to assist as may well be the Naturalist, Chopper Pilot, Chef and the Hostesses.

Because people of authority are taking people to locations, the outings can be easily rearranged to suit the interests of the passengers. For example, as long as it is safe, it was no problem to have an unscheduled night excursion looking for wildlife, or for a group to split off and go fishing instead of a swim in a freshwater rock pool after a climb to the top of a waterfall.

If you are interested in looking at the nuts and bolts of the engine room, that is also not a problem, it can also be arranged. Imagine wanting to do that on one of those mega-large ocean cruise ships! Travelling light is no problem on the Quest, since there is free-of-charge washing and drying available to everyone every day!

The Kimberley Quest is a shallow draft vessel drawing only 1.8 metres, allowing to get into areas that would not be accessible in a large cruise ship. This means the Quest can get right up to (some of) the waterfalls and dip its nose into the falls themselves.