2023-08-26 15:00:00
Nicknamed “the Antarctic of the tropics”, the Kimberley, north-west of Australia, an island-continent which broke away from Antarctica 50 million years ago, is one of the most of the world, surrounded by thousands of islands, steeped in a fascinating history, from the stories of the pearling epic to the stories of the thousand-year-old landscape. Point was aboard the sailboat Ponantthe emblematic yacht of the luxury cruise and sea expedition company of the same name, owned by the Artémis group, holding of the Pinault family, which owns Point. Travelogue.
This morning, flat calm. The sky is very beautiful; the sea, sparkling. After a festive evening, meet on deck with our guides. And for this last day, the candidates for this ultimate expedition are not at the end of their surprise. The day begins with a foray into the bay of Prince Frederick Harbour, one of the largest and most beautiful inlets on the Kimberley coast, fed by rivers lined with mangroves and tropical forests of a very contrasting green . The ground there is low and rich. This part of the coast experiences the highest annual rainfall in the region, hence these lush stands. Unlike the drier areas of the Kimberley, land of adventures of Sarah Marquis (InstinctsMichel Lafon, 2016) who, for three months, alone, delivered a moving face-to-face with nature, surviving thanks to the ancestral techniques of the aborigines.
From the zodiac weaving between the laces of the mangrove, something soothing emerges from the bushy trees, huddled against each other, and whose roots called “stilts” plunge into the water to moor. Suddenly, a rufous-bellied rattle, the only representative of the genus Eulabeornis, comes out of the woods. Small and light, it moves by flapping its wings, probes the burrows of crabs, burying its head in the mud.
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Crocodiles bask in the sun on an exposed mudflat, while others cruise along the edge of the forest. Juggling between sea and water, the animal changes its habitat according to the seasons. Remaining virtually unchanged for 200 million years, the saltwater crocodile represents the perfection of evolution. The ridges and ossified scales that line its back are designed to conceal any form of movement as it moves through water. Underwater, their eyes are protected by an opaque third eyelid and their heart rate can be reduced to two or three beats per minute, allowing them to remain submerged for extraordinarily long periods. The adventurers of summer #2: Sarah Marquis, the Earth while walking
The rest of the program is a three-hour trip at sea, with swimming under a waterfall, picnic and coffee break on board the zodiac, alone in the middle of the ocean. In the evening at dinner, the passengers are already thinking about the next cruise, with Captain Jean-David Lemaire, of course, whom they describe as “a charming, passionate man who knows his business well”.
On Friday morning, we leave behind us the crimson sunsets, on a sparkling sea, the light of a dazzling whiteness, a universe overflowing with mysteries, where those who hold the keys almost disappeared from the Earth. But it is from the sky, like an echo of the aborigines, who think that their ancestors came from the Milky Way, that the journey really ends, aboard a seaplane. Nothing is more poetic than the Earth seen from these heights, from which spectacular images of landscapes, sometimes similar to paintings, emerge. A feast for the eyes, food for dreams.
Practical information :
Cruises on Le Ponant: In the Kimberley, “Expedition to the Rowley Shoals”, from 8/09/2023 to 16/09/2023, from 9,490 euros. “Visages du Cap-Vert”, 4 departures from December to January 2024, from 6,890 euros. “The Caribbean under the sails of Le Ponant”, 10 departures from February to April 2024, from 6,510 euros. Other cruises in the Kimberley: “The emblematic Kimberley”, aboard Le Soléal, 3 departures from September to October, from 6,530 euros; aboard the Jacques-Cartier, 4 departures, from September to October, from 7,750 euros. Info and reservations: 04.91.16.16.27, www.ponant.com.
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