How fit do you need to be to take a Kimberley cruise?

This is an important question.

Kimberley coastal cruises are expedition cruises and this is a completely different style of travel from the large ocean going liners that take thousands of passengers and need modern port facilities for most excursions. On all our Kimberley cruises you don’t simply look at the coast from the ship – you get on it amongst the rock art, into the rivers and estuaries and water holes – right up to (and often under) the waterfalls. This requires some degree of reasonable fitness.

But don’t worry – you don’t need to be an Olympian athlete. The Kimberley is open to a wide range of abilities for people.

The key question is your mobility. All our Kimberley cruises require passengers to be able to get into smaller boats and, crucially, be able to walk on rocky, uneven ground for periods. The Kimberley coast is undeveloped (which is great; that’s why we love it so much) but that means no jetties or harbours. Every landing will require you to land on a beach and walk off your landing vessel. The only question will be: is this a wet landing (usually ankle, occasionally up to your knee) or dry landing (where they drive the landing craft right up on the sand).

This doesn’t mean that travelers who can walk with aid of a stick cannot travel. I have cruised the Kimberley coast with people who needed one (or in one case two) sticks. And there will always be people who will help you into and out of the smaller vessels. But…

Each day on an expedition cruise you’ll be transferring to a smaller vessel – often a zodiac (semi-rigid inflatable) or a purpose built aluminum boat (often called a ‘tinny’ although this term does annoy some of the crew!). Getting in and out of these smaller vessels does require a degree of mobility with the ability to step onto the boat (which may be bobbing alongside) and sometimes you will need to raise your up your legs and swivel around the seat a little. There is always a designated boarding point for this and someone will be on hand to assist you so this is relatively straight-forward for people with reasonable mobility. I have travelled with people with replacement hips and knees who can cope with this.

The ships operated by Coral Expeditions (Coral Adventurer, Coral Discoverer and Coral Geographer) have a different solution altogether. They operate larger ‘Xplorer’ vessels which can take 60-70 passengers at once. These sit at the back of the vessel and are hydraulically operated. Passengers simply walk straight onto the Xplorer from the main deck via a very short gangplank and take their seats. Once everyone is in then the entry door is shut and the Xplorer is lowered into the water in a few seconds. And similarly it operates the same when returning from excursions. This process is very speedy and the crew have got it down to an art. The Xplorers have a sun cover and a big supply of fresh water as well as a toilet on board. It is a comfortable vessel to explore them estuaries of the Kimberley coast. Often on excursions where the land might be very rocky passengers will be given the option of staying on board for a local exploration with one leader while other passengers head onto land.