Boarding a $21,000 cruise usually involves a marina and a smooth gangway. On this one, it means wading into the water at Broome's Gantheaume Beach, dodging 4WDs and camper vans, and climbing into a tender that ferries you to True North — a 36-passenger adventure ship with a six-seat helicopter strapped to its roof.
Over seven days, the ship threads Western Australia's Kimberley coast: remote beaches, reefs and waterfalls that larger vessels simply can't reach. Highlights packed into the first few days include Horizontal Falls, Montgomery Reef, King George Falls and a generous helping of crocodiles. Guests fish for golden trevally, pull mud crabs from mangrove-lined creeks and eat them beside a beach bonfire. On one afternoon, the helicopter lands on the lip of Eagle Falls — on top of a waterfall — for a group picnic.
But the most intriguing part of this cruise isn't the tides, which swing dramatically, or the scenery. It's the passengers who come back. One in four True North guests sail again, 1,800 people have been on four or more voyages, and the record-holder — turning 90 next year — has done 62 cruises.
Take Lyn McLeod, a 76-year-old Victorian grandmother on her fifth sailing. She and her late husband Kevin first cruised the Kimberley in 2010, returned twice more, tried West Papua once, and after Kevin's death Lyn brought their daughters back. They simply skipped other holidays to save up for the next True North trip. Her reasoning: no two voyages are the same. Waterfalls shift from trickle to torrent with the seasons, inlets open and close with the tides, and the crew changes each time.
The crew's attention is what turns repeat customers into devotees. With a near one-to-one crew-to-guest ratio, the operation runs less like a cruise and more like a nimble private charter. Cruise director Tess Howson planned surprises for Lyn before she even boarded, including a private tender trip up Kings Cascade. The big one came at Eagle Falls, where the crew arranged a bottle of Chivas Regal — Kevin's whisky — and three glasses at the top of the waterfall, then held back other passengers so Lyn and her daughters could toast him at what had been his favourite spot. They filmed it and sent her the photos.
So who is this for? Travellers with a serious budget who value remoteness over glamour, small groups over onboard entertainment, and access over price. If you've already seen the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru, the Kimberley is Australia's next great icon — it just demands more logistics, more time and a fatter holiday fund. True North runs five seven-day Kimberley Snapshot departures in 2027 from May 1, from $20,595 in an Ocean Class room including transfers, meals and onboard activities; helicopter flights and drinks cost extra. Qantas and Virgin both fly to Broome and Kununurra.
Lyn, for the record, hasn't ruled out voyage number six. She's already picked the date.
