Kimberley Icons - Ashmore and Rowley Shoals - 12 Nights Broome to Darwin

Broome, situated on a peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, is known as the ‘pearl of the north’ due to its being the home of the South Sea pearls, among the largest commercially harvested cultured pearls in the world. In the 1800s Broome attracted pearl divers from Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, resulting in the delightful multicultural town it is today. Visitors can witness first-hand how Broome pearls are cultured on a cruise to a local pearl farm, and hear the romantic stories of the original pearl luggers. Read more about Broome, Australia

The Rowley Shoals are located over 180 nautical miles west of Broome, Western Australia. The are a chain of three spectacular, pristine coral atolls, Mermaid Reef, Clerke Reef, Imperieuse Reef with a pair of small sandy islands - Bedwell and Cunningham. Perched on the edge of Australia's continental shelf, the shoals cover 80 square kilometers. Read more about Rowley Shoals, Australia

The Rowley Shoals are located over 180 nautical miles west of Broome, Western Australia. The are a chain of three spectacular, pristine coral atolls, Mermaid Reef, Clerke Reef, Imperieuse Reef with a pair of small sandy islands - Bedwell and Cunningham. Perched on the edge of Australia's continental shelf, the shoals cover 80 square kilometers. Read more about Rowley Shoals, Australia

The Lacepede Islands (aka the Lacepedes) are a group of four islands in the Indian Ocean off the NW coast of Western Australia, 120 km north of Broome and 30 km from the mainland. They are all small and low-lying, being composed of coarse sand and coral rubble and are important breeding grounds for green turtles and colonies of seabirds including frigates, boobies and terns. In the late 1800s the mining and extraction of ‘guano’ (phosphate) from the islands was a lucrative extra for whalers hunting humpback, sperm and blue whales in the region. Read more about Lacepede Islands, Australia

The Buccaneer Archipelago is a group of 800 to 1000 rocky islands off the coast of Western Australia, near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region. William Dampier sighted the Archipelago in 1688, and it was named in 1821 by Captain Phillip Parker King "in commemoration of William Dampier’s visit". The islands are located in Yampi Sound, between King Sound to the south and Collier Bay to the north. Read more about Buccaneer Archipelago, Australia

Raft Point is an uninhabited headland with imposing steep cliffs on the Timor Sea, near the mouth of the Sale River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It overlooks a small sandy bay served by several creeks, and is ideal for crabbing and some amazing fishing. Raft Point is a base for shore expeditions to some of the country's most remarkable Aboriginal rock art. Read more about Raft Point, Australia

The Montgomery Reef is Australia's largest inshore reef system covering more than 300km2, near the mouth of the Sale River off the Kimberley coast of West Australia. At high tide you see very little of the Reef but as the tide drops rapidly away a raging torrent of water, cascading off the top of this 400ha reef erupts, as miles of surrounding reef appears to slowly rise out of the ocean. Read more about Montgomery Reef, Australia

Read more about Ashmore Reef, Australia

King George River enters Koolama Bay and the Timor Sea from the Gardner Plateau in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The 112km river was named after King George V in 1911 by the English explorer Chas Conigrave after a privately funded expedition in the area. Over many thousands of years the river has cut back into the plateau creating stunning sheer walls and majestic waterfalls at the end of several canyons. Read more about King George River, Australia

The new Darwin cruise ship terminal at Fort Hill Wharf is adjacent to the convention centre, only one kilometre from Darwin’s CBD. Modern amenities, hotels and parking are there, plus a mini-market with beautiful local productions – Aboriginal art and crafts, diamonds and opals, and eateries, distinctive of the Top End. Darwin is a home port for the small luxury vessels Coral Princess and Coral Discoverer that explore the Kimberley coast to Broome. Read more about Darwin, Australia