24 Aug 2024

Soaking in the sights of Montgomery Reef

Our Kimberley Explorer voyage saw us awake to a stunning morning as we headed out on a dawn excursion to the famous Montgomery Reef. We admired a beautiful sunrise and as we approached, the reef seemed to appear out of nowhere as the tide dropped. On our Zodiacs, we cruised up a deep-water channel into the reef system, which is 400 square kilometres and the world's largest inshore reef. 

The cascades of water poured off the reef, increasing with intensity the further up the channel we went. We observed several Egrets feeding on the fish trapped in small pools, and many Green Turtles popped their heads up for a breath. After an incredible morning, we enjoyed lectures on board and a delicious lunch.

During lunch, we repositioned to an area known as Raft Point, named by John Lort Stokes, who, in 1838, found mangrove rafts used by Aboriginals in this area. We headed on a Zodiac cruise to explore this amazing area and its many highlights. Our adventure included a cruise at Steep Island featuring a huge sea cave, beautiful, weathered sandstone, a beach with several Boab Trees standing proud and even a mother and calf Humpback Whale nearby. As the sun set on our return to Heritage Adventurer, the red sandstone bluffs came alive with colour, a spectacular end to an incredible day.

Images © S. Bradley, Heritage Expeditions