about the kimberley
The area attracts visitors from all over the world - but not everybody is fortunate enough to truly experience this ancient land, and even fewer aboard our adventurous Kimberley cruises.
The Kimberley is an ancient land and for many Australians, it’s right up there with Far North Queensland, the Top End and Tasmania. It’s just one of those mystical places that you must visit one day!
It’s far enough away to be remote but it’s still in our backyard. And it’s got the lot! Endless blue skies (the dry season is exactly that), spectacular wilderness areas and stunning scenery, ancient culture, some of Australia’s best beach experiences, great fishing, pristine coral atolls and, the whole package is wrapped up in that quintessential Australian outback experience.
And there is lots of everything – in fact, there are more than 400,000 square kilometres of the Kimberley, an area 3 times the size of England! The only thing the Kimberley doesn’t have lots of is people. Less than 40,000 people live in the Kimberley which makes the math easy – that’s less than 1000 locals for every 10,000 square kilometres, which means it’s always easy to find your own special place in the Kimberley.
The region offers 2 distinct experiences – the inland experience and the Kimberley Coast, accessible via our Kimberley cruises.
The inland experience is the ultimate road trip and opportunity to experience icons such as Gibb River Road, Punululu and the gorges at Windjana and Geikie. But the Kimberley Coast is a totally different experience featuring more than 2000 islands and several mighty rivers. On the Kimberley Coast you can have epic encounters with Kimberley giants such as the Horizontal Falls, Montgomery Reef, the Prince Regent River, The Mitchell Plateau and King George Falls. On the Kimberley Coast you see Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock art and on the Kimberley Coast you can land a barramundi that some might only imagine in their dreams.
True North Adventure Cruises has been conducting Kimberley cruises for more than 30 years. We pioneered adventure cruises along the Kimberley Coast and no one knows the area like we do. And it really is our backyard because even after all this time, we still live there!
Whilst others sail past – the TRUE NORTH can safely navigate the Kimberley Coast’s many shallow river systems. Our small ship cruises provide our guests with intimate access to the region’s iconic natural features.
And, our activity-based adventure cruise itineraries include tactile experiences such as hiking, fishing, mud crabbing, picnics, natural history interpretation, seeing ancient rock art belonging to the land’s traditional owners and exhilarating helicopter rides.
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latest news & blog
Craig Howson reflects on the 40th America’s Cup and its influence on the inception of TRUE NORTH
Read moreHear more about Peter and Pam’s extraordinary experience, made possible by not only our incredible crew, but also to the limitless possibilities of our exclusive helicopter adventures.
Read moreFor the first time TRUE NORTH and TRUE NORTH II departed port at the same time. One magical evening both yachts came together adjacent to the majesty of the King George Falls and, all aboard took the ...
Read moreExperience the adventure
Hear from someone who truly knows about the value of booking ahead. “Cheggers” has travelled on the TRUE NORTH more than anyone else!
True North Adventure Cruises - has sailed into 30 years of continuous operations. The now revered adventure-cruise operator first cruised Western Australia’s remote Kimberley coast during 1987 when founding director Craig Howson commenced fishing type charters along a coastline that was and still is largely inaccessible from land.
Adding another dimension to the adventure, most cruise options on the TRUE NORTH feature an on-board helicopter! Carrying guests in air conditioned comfort, the ship’s helicopter provides unique opportunity to witness grandeur; unique opportunity to fish billabongs that have never been fished; unique opportunity to discover your very own wilderness!
There is nothing better than a day out on the water, especially when the fish are biting! Fishing on-board the TRUE NORTH is a much-favoured activity both with guests who have never picked up a rod before and, with those who have "caught them all!” Our guides encourage everybody on-board to “give it a go” and the TRUE NORTH’s multiple adventure boats never fail to bring back a swag of ‘fishing tales’! Stories about the ladies who out-fish the boys are pretty common, humorous equipment failures also come to note on a regular basis, then there are the ‘birthday fish’, the ‘monster fish’ and of course, the ones that got away! Our guides have seen and heard it all! Watch the video to find out more about actor Myles Pollard's fishing adventure!
The TRUE NORTH has once again impressed on the world stage coming second in the 2020 Traveller Made Brand Storytelling competition. Traveller Made is Europe’s largest travel consortium and its members represent the very best in luxury travel providers and suppliers. The group’s inaugural Brand Storytelling competition was an opportunity for leading travel brand’s to showcase “the story behind their brand” and, the competition attracted entries from some of the world’s most respected travel brands. In such esteemed company, True North’s marketing team was especially pleased to receive this additional acknowledgement.
Rhys Badcock has taken on the role as TRUE NORTH's Head Chef this coming season. Winner of the 2013 Masterchef: The Professionals, Rhys' accolades also include sous chef at the award-winning Cape Lodge and working with some of the best chefs in the industry. He has a passion for using fresh, in season and local produce, in particular the delectable fish species TRUE NORTH guests catch in the Kimberley region. Hear Rhys discuss his inspirations for cooking and working on a cruise vessel, plus his favourite fish dish!
West Australian artist Jacob 'Shakey' Butler joined the TRUE NORTH earlier this season and discovered the Kimberley's raw beauty. As the artist in residence, Jacob set up his canvas on remote beaches, beside freshwater billabongs and on-deck surrounded by pindan-coloured gorges. Watch the video above to hear Jacob describing how the Kimberley inspires the art of adventure.
A commonly asked question is “When is the best time to see the Kimberley?” And the answer is “The Kimberley is always at its best!” However certain times of the year can make it easier to satisfy particular interest. For example, if you would like to see plenty of whale action then departures in August and September are definitely for you! From late July humpback and southern right whales reach the Kimberley after swimming-up the west coast to reach breeding grounds in the north and it’s very common for guests to get great views of whales breaching and basking on the surface.
A Kimberley Wilderness Adventure with more time for fishing! Stalk elusive barramundi when conditions are at their best. Arm-wrestle giant trevally, lure smashing mackerel and ‘fine-eaters’ such as mangrove jack and fingermark. And, at the same time keep everyone in the gang happy with stunning sojourns to many of the Kimberley coast’s iconic destinations.
enjoy exciting activites
We curate activity-based itineraries that are designed to satisfy the world’s most discerning travellers. We specifically exclude sea-days and feature unparalleled access to stunning coastal environments and, unequalled opportunity to truly experience the destination.
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