Cairns To Broome

“Cairns is de toegangspoort tot het Groot barrièrerif van Australië en het tropische noorden van het land. Het is gelegen aan de oostkust van het schiereiland Kaap York in het noorden van Queensland. Deze relaxte stad is populair bij reizigers die vanaf hier vertrekken voor een aantal dagen zeilen, duiken, snorkelen en wandelen door nabijgelegen parken; een gevierd vertrekpunt met name voor degenen die het rif, het Daintree regenwoud en andere bezienswaardigheden van dit deel van Queensland willen verkennen. En wat is een betere plek om een avontuur te beginnen? De inwoners van Cairns zijn gastvrij, het strandleven is fantastisch, en het klimaat is altijd zonnig en warm.

Richting het oosten van Cairns vindt u het Groot Barrièrerif, ‘s werelds langste koraalrif en tevens ‘s werelds grootste levende organisme. Het is zelfs te zien vanuit de ruimte en het wordt vaak omschreven als een van de zeven natuurwonderen van de wereld. De Kuranda Scenic Railway is een ander soort wonder, een technisch hoogstandje uit de 19e eeuw dat regenwouden passeert op de werelderfgoedlijst van UNESCO alvorens het dorp Kuranda te bereiken. Green Island, een koraalrif van 6.000 jaar oud, is met een dagtrip vanuit Cairns gemakkelijk te bereiken met mogelijkheden om te snorkelen en zwemmen; Port Douglas, een uur ten noorden van Cairns, is een favoriet van bezoekers dankzij de toprestaurants, kunstgaleries en boetiekjes. Stap tot slot in een zes-persoons kabelbaan bekend als de Skyway Rainforest Cableway voor een panoramisch uitzicht op de prachtige natuurlijke aantrekkingskracht van de regio.”

Michaelmas Cay, located on the western end of Michaelmas Reef, is part of the Michaelmas and Upolu Cays National Park and the larger UNESCO Word Heritage Great Barrier Reef. The 1.8ha cay is formed of the broken coral and shells which currents brought over and onto the reef and over time the cay has been covered partially with beach spinifex, stalky grass, sea purslane, beach morning glory and bulls head or puncture vine. View less

Michaelmas Cay is considered one of the most important seabird breeding areas on the Great Barrier Reef with up to 20,000 pairs of seabird at the height of the season. As a result of the many seabirds the cay even had a guano mining lease in the early 20th century. Sooty Terns, Crested Terns, Lesser Crested Terns and Common Noddies nest all year round and another at least 12 species of seabirds have been recorded. Green sea turtles are seen occasionally and the reefs are an excellent area for snorkeling with visitors coming from Cairns, some 40 kilometers away.

Willis Island is the only permanently inhabited island in the Coral Sea Islands Territory,It is the southernmost of the Willis Islets, a group of three islands which with their associated sandy cays stretch in a NNE to SSW line for about 12

“Om enkele van de meest verbazingwekkende natuurlijke wonderen ter wereld te zien, is cruisen naar de haven van Lizard Island, Australië in orde. Gelegen op het Great Barrier Reef in Australië, is het een van de meest afgelegen locaties van het tropische Queensland; de Lizard Islands-groep bestaat uit het ongeveer zes vierkante mijl, graniet-gevormde Lizard Island (dat ongeveer 300 miljoen jaar geleden werd gevormd) en de drie kleinere nabijgelegen eilanden genaamd Palfrey, South en Bird. Ecotourism Australia zorgt ervoor dat het toerisme milieuvriendelijk blijft. Bezoekers komen van overal om in blauwe wateren te zwemmen en hagedissen te spotten.
Enkele favoriete ervaringen tijdens een bezoek aan de cruisehaven van Lizard Island, Australië:

-Aangezien het eiland een nationaal park is, waar te beginnen? Naast zwemmen en snorkelen zijn er nog genoeg andere dingen te doen. Vogelaars zullen blij zijn te ontdekken dat hier meer dan 40 soorten nestelen, waaronder witbuikzeearenden, fazantenkuikens en tal van sterns.

-Voor de echte avonturier is bushwalking door Lizard Island een opwindende manier om de dag door te brengen. Het eiland is intenser dan een gewone wandeling en heeft verschillende niveaus, zodat beginners niet vast komen te zitten in een meedogenloos landschap. Het is een uitstekende manier om te genieten van de rust van het eiland en de natuur van dichtbij te zien.

-Degenen die dicht bij het water willen blijven, kunnen wat zeedieren spotten. Samen met zeeschildpadden is er een verbazingwekkende reeks ander zeeleven, waaronder veersterren, sponzen en zeepennen, allemaal beschermd binnen het werelderfgoedgebied van het Great Barrier Reef.

-Onder water is er nog meer te zien. Duikers kunnen het gebied genaamd Cod Hole bekijken, waar groepen grote aardappelkabeljauw van dichtbij en persoonlijk komen. Voor een nog groter avontuur zijn er mogelijkheden om te duiken met dwergvinvissen, die rond juni en juli dichter bij de riffen komen.”

Little Boydong Island is located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, off the coast of northern Queensland, Australia.

28 kilometers off the coast of mainland Australia in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Mornington Island is the largest of the North Wellesley Islands. Twenty two islands make up the Mornington Shire Council with the only township, Gununa, on Mornington. The islands and surrounding seas have been traditionally used by the Lardil, Yangkaal, Kaiadilt and Gangalidda peoples before Matthew Flinders anchored the HMS Investigator off Sweers Island (South Wellesley) in 1802 and named several islands, including Mornington. View less

All islands in the Wellesley groups were declared ‘Aboriginal Reserves’ in 1905 and a mission was eventually started on Mornington in 1914 when some 400 Lardil were believed to live on the island. Over the years Aboriginal groups from other neighboring islands were brought to live on Mornington. Although the mission originally tried to (re)educate and convert Aboriginal children and kept them in isolated dormitories, eventually the mission supported a cultural revival and the communities’ goal of self-management and recognition of Aboriginal land tenure. Today the Mornington Island dancers and the acclaimed artwork that has been produced in the last couple of years show the rich Aboriginal culture. The unique natural environment with swamp flats and windswept beaches with sea oaks and mangroves is also an important marine area for turtles, endangered dugongs and an abundant underwater marine life –it is considered one of the best fishing destinations in Australia. … Despite having opened the island, permission to visit must still be sought from Mornington Shire Council six weeks prior to any intended visit.

Anindilyakwa people were brought to Groote Eylandt on a series of song lines some eight thousand years ago according to Aboriginal history. Although the island and area had thereby long been used by Aborigines, Groote Eylandt was seen and received its current name in the early 17th century when Dutch explorers entered the Gulf of Carpentaria (named after the then Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1623). View less

It was Abel Tasman who in 1644 gave the quite indicative name of “Large Island”, not knowing that it was and is one of Australia’s largest islands. Groote Eylandt is part of the East Arnhem Region in the Northern Territories and has three townships. In 1921 the Church Missionary Society (CMS) started an Anglican mission at Emerald River which was moved northward in 1943 and is now known as Angurugu. Most clans living on the western side of the island had moved to Angurugu by 1950. On the northeastern side Umbakumba, a second indigenous community, was started in 1938. Additionally there are a number of family based outstations across the island. Today there are some 1,600 Anindilyakwa living on Groote Island. In the 1960s mining for manganese was permitted on the island, which now produces 10% of the world’s manganese supply. Many Aborigines have found work with the mine, but Alyangula, a third township north of Angurugu, was started primarily for the non-native mining company workers. The Groote Eylandt archipelago was declared an Indigenous Protected Area in 2006. Apart from the cultural importance of song lines and sacred sites, the marine environment supports unspoiled reef systems with abundant marine life. Considering the remoteness –and until recently limited access to the area- the Groote Eylandt archipelago possesses a unique ecosystem. The island shows extensive lateritic plains, rugged sandstone plateaus and hills in the central and southern part with large dune fields and sand plains in coastal areas, yet still has 4% of the Northern Territories rainforest. The area is considered of international importance for turtles and supports the densest nesting area of marine turtles in the Northern territory. One of the islets supports more than 1% of the world’s Roseate Terns.

Yirrkala is an aboriginal community in northeastern Arnhem Land and has a population of roughly 800 residents. The Yolngu have been in the area for more than 40,000 years, but they only congregated here in larger numbers when the township was founded after a Methodist mission was started in 1935. This small coastal settlement became famous in the 1960s as the Yolngu opposed the opening of a bauxite mine on their land, writing (and sending) the Yirrkala Bark Petition to the Australian House of Representatives. View less

Yirrkala is also one of the best-known locations of Aboriginal art -not only in the Northern Territories- and has the community controlled Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre and Museum. Just 10 kilometers south of Yirrkala is Wurrwurrwuy, an interesting arrangement of stones listed on the Australian National Heritage List. The stones have been set up in the mid-19th century and depict praus, canoes, sea cucumber boiling spots and houses. The arrangement of praus even indicate the division onboard the vessels, showing an excellent knowledge of non-aboriginal items connected with the Macassan sea cucumber trade.

Elcho Island, known as Galiwinku by the indigenous Yolngu, is the largest of the Wessel Islands in Northeast Arnhem Land. The main settlement on the island’s southwestern side had started during WWII as a refuge from possible bombings of an air force base on nearby Milingimbi Island, some 70 km away. Banthula is one of the homelands on Elcho Island’s northwestern side facing the Arafura Sea.

It was founded in 1979 when the Australian government encouraged the indigenous population to return to lands they had used before contact with the western world and to establish small settlements, the so-called homelands or outstations. Banthula is some 300 meters inland from Refuge Bay’s 7 kilometer long sandy shore. Some 40 Aborigines live in Banthula, almost 2% of Elcho Island’s population. The school closest to the Banthula children is some 12 km away at Gawa –it actually is one of Australia’s most remote schools. The area around Banthula has dry rain forest and an extensive mangrove growth is found around a creek at the northern end of the beach and bay. Green turtles, flatback turtles, hawksbill turtles, and Olive Ridley turtles, as well as dugong and Australian snubfin dolphins have all been recorded in and around Refuge Bay and Bridled Terns have been found nesting.

Wyndham is a small settlement with the spirit of a Kimberley outback township. It was established in 1886 with the Halls Creek gold rush and sits on the Cambridge Gulf where several rivers converge. Today Wyndham has a population of roughly 900 people and operates largely as a port exporting cattle, servicing the mining industry and hosting a few small ships. For these vessels Wyndham is a gateway to the breathtaking Bungle Bungle mountain range and the nearby Ord River. View less

The Bungle Bungle Mountains in Purnululu National Park are now a World Heritage Site. In excess of 350 million years have shaped geological formations of giant orange and black striped domes rising out of the ground into a landscape unlike any other. Known to the local Aboriginal people for thousands of years, the Bungles were only discovered by the outside world in the mid-1980s. Conversely, cruising the peaceful and tree-lined Ord River is a chance to look for freshwater crocodiles, fruit bats, short-eared rock wallabies and a variety of birds, including Mangrove Herons and Mangrove Gerygones. Please note: All destinations on voyages in the Kimberley region, and the order in which they are visited, are subject to tidal variations and weather conditions.

The King George Falls is one of the Kimberley’s most magnificent natural wonders. At 80 meters (260 feet), the thundering spectacle of twin cascades are among the highest in Australia. The river weaves through an amazing landscape of near vertical red rock formations and a parade of wildlife — carnivorous saltwater crocodiles and amazing birdlife, including giant raptors and the Brahminy Kite.

The Hunter River is home to an immense mangrove system surrounded by soaring red sandstone cliffs. Narrow mangrove channels shelter numerous bird species, mudskippers, fiddler crabs and the infamous saltwater crocodile; the most aggressive crocodile species known to man. Naturalist Island at the mouth of the river has a stunning stretch of sandy beach that makes a perfect landing site for small helicopters that can pick up visitors wishing to explore some of the Kimberley’s vast interior. View less

The highlight inland is the famous Mitchell Falls where four tiers of waterfalls plunge into deep pools that flow out into the mighty Mitchell River. The headwaters of the falls are cool and a dip in the fresh water is a welcome reprieve from the heat of the heartland.

The Hunter River is home to an immense mangrove system surrounded by soaring red sandstone cliffs. Narrow mangrove channels shelter numerous bird species, mudskippers, fiddler crabs and the infamous saltwater crocodile; the most aggressive crocodile species known to man. Naturalist Island at the mouth of the river has a stunning stretch of sandy beach that makes a perfect landing site for small helicopters that can pick up visitors wishing to explore some of the Kimberley’s vast interior. View less

The highlight inland is the famous Mitchell Falls where four tiers of waterfalls plunge into deep pools that flow out into the mighty Mitchell River. The headwaters of the falls are cool and a dip in the fresh water is a welcome reprieve from the heat of the heartland.

Set off the coast of Western Australia, the Buccaneer Archipelago is one of the Kimberley’s finest secrets. The Archipelago, 50 k2 (19 sq mi), is made up of around 800 islands and protect the mainland from the huge 12 metre tides and astonishing speed of the Yampi (or, in traditional Aborigine, “Yampee”) Sound. The speed and power of the water many not make for pleasant bathing, but do however result in fantastic natural phenomena. One fine example is the horizontal reversible waterfall in Talbot Bay.

The tidal pull is responsible for the “reversible” nature of the falls, however, this also hides narrow gaps between the islands, making for treacherous sailing conditions. Isolated graves of sailors and divers are testimony to the danger. William Dampier sighted the Archipelago in 1688 but it would not be until 1821 that the Archipelago would become known as Buccaneer (a term coined by Captain Phillip Parker King) “in commemoration of William Dampier’s visit to this part of the coast “. Commander John Lort Stokes also noted the area in his 1838 record. Enterprising individuals were initially attracted to the Buccaneer Archipelago in the 1800s due to the superior pearling as well as the rich iron ore deposits. Pearling conducted by luggers in the 1880s was concentrated in Cygnet Bay, Cascade Bay, Cone Bay and Strickland Bay. More recently, mining operators established open-cut mines on Koolan Island on the east side of the Sound. Some of the richest iron ore in the world is extracted here to this day.

Set off the coast of Western Australia, the Buccaneer Archipelago is one of the Kimberley’s finest secrets. The Archipelago, 50 k2 (19 sq mi), is made up of around 800 islands and protect the mainland from the huge 12 metre tides and astonishing speed of the Yampi (or, in traditional Aborigine, “Yampee”) Sound. The speed and power of the water many not make for pleasant bathing, but do however result in fantastic natural phenomena. One fine example is the horizontal reversible waterfall in Talbot Bay.

The tidal pull is responsible for the “reversible” nature of the falls, however, this also hides narrow gaps between the islands, making for treacherous sailing conditions. Isolated graves of sailors and divers are testimony to the danger. William Dampier sighted the Archipelago in 1688 but it would not be until 1821 that the Archipelago would become known as Buccaneer (a term coined by Captain Phillip Parker King) “in commemoration of William Dampier’s visit to this part of the coast “. Commander John Lort Stokes also noted the area in his 1838 record. Enterprising individuals were initially attracted to the Buccaneer Archipelago in the 1800s due to the superior pearling as well as the rich iron ore deposits. Pearling conducted by luggers in the 1880s was concentrated in Cygnet Bay, Cascade Bay, Cone Bay and Strickland Bay. More recently, mining operators established open-cut mines on Koolan Island on the east side of the Sound. Some of the richest iron ore in the world is extracted here to this day.

“De stad werd een mekka voor parelduikers uit heel Azië, totdat in de jaren vijftig het aantal parels afnam door de hevige concurrentie van de kunststofindustrie. Er zijn nog steeds enkele pareloogsters en in de buurt worden gekweekte parels gekweekt.
Het getijverschil in Broome Harbor kan oplopen tot 34 ft (10,5 m), wat resulteert in grote mangrovemoerassen en slikken die rijk zijn aan dieren in het wild. Toeristen worden aangetrokken door de stranden en de “”Gouden Trap naar de Maan”” – seizoensgebonden optische illusie gecreëerd door maanlicht dat weerkaatst op de oceaanbodem. Voetafdrukken van dinosaurussen zijn te zien tijdens eb in de oceaanbodem ten westen van de stad, bij Gantheaume Point.”