Coral Princess heads to the Kimberley following $1million refurbishment

Coral Princess Cruises’ 35 metre catamaran Coral Princess has re-entered service following a $1 million upgrade. The small ship, which is currently en route to Darwin on her 11-night Cape York and Arnhem Land expedition, will commence the company’s Kimberley season on 6 April. 

The 50 passenger Coral Princess, which operates alongside the company’s flagship Oceanic Discoverer in the Kimberley between April and October each year, has received new, state-of-the-art engines, expansive teak decking and a completely remodelled dining room and lounge area as part of the full refurbishment. The new look dining room offers significantly more space, incorporates a comfortable lounge alcove, rejuvenated décor and modern furnishings. All accommodations aboard the ship have also been upgraded, with plush carpets and stylish artworks creating a warm and welcoming onboard atmosphere.

Coral Princess founder and Managing Director Tony Briggs said he “couldn’t be happier” with the ship’s new look and initial reaction from guests has been very pleasing. “This is a significant upgrade of Coral Princess and we’ve no doubt our guests will be very impressed by the high quality amenities, furniture and fittings throughout the ship when they step aboard” he said. “We’re pleased we’ve been able to incorporate modern stylings, whilst retaining the welcoming ambience and ‘home away from home’ feeling our guests are accustomed to.”

Coral Princess Cruises, an accredited eco-tourism operator, is committed to the concept of sustainable cruising, and the ship’s new “whisper quiet” engines have been developed to minimise emissions. Following recent sea trials off Cairns, Briggs said the ship’s new engines provide increased power and greater stability, along with significantly improved fuel efficiency.

Australian-owned Coral Princess Cruises pioneered small-ship expedition cruising on the Kimberley coast in 1996 and has 34 departures scheduled across the 2012 season, which runs between April and October. The company has rooms remaining available on several departures. Coral Princess’s fleet of three small ships also operate year round cruises on the Great Barrier Reef, and further afield to exotic destinations including Papua New Guinea, Melanesia and New Zealand. 

http://www.etravelblackboard.com/article/130002/coral-princess-heads-to-the-kimberley-following-1million-refurbishment

Kimberley Cetacean Survey Online

Read Kimberley Whale Watching's 2011 Cetacean Survey Report online

Open publication - Free publishing - More broome

Win Kimberley Turtle Print

Like ‘Kimberley Media’ on Facebook to win a turtle print on metallic paper.  Winner will be announced 10th April 2012.

This image was taken very early in the morning in 2007 on Turtle Reef in Talbot Bay, near the iconic Horizontal Waterfalls. Easterly winds are the norm in the Kimberley in the dry season, but sometimes there’s a beautiful period of stillness before the winds come up. Turtles are extremely common on Turtle Reef, an extensive and very important reef system. 

"Turtle on Turtle Reef" by Annabelle Sandes - Photographic print on Kodak metallic paper. 45 x 30 cm

Win the Kimberley Dream

THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE IN ULTIMATE LUXURY

The Kimberley region in Western Australia is one of the world's last true wilderness areas. Covering nearly 423,000 square kilometers, this ancient region has fewer people per square kilometer than almost any other location on Earth.

Now thanks to BCF, The Berkeley River Retreat and True North Cruises we are giving you the chance to win an all expenses paid trip for you and three of your friends or family to this truly magical place.

By filling out this entry form you and your three companions could be taking off for the trip of a lifetime. Enter in your details in the fields to your left then the only hard part is deciding which three special people to take.

http://www.kimberleydream.com/

Protect the Kimberley - Camden Sound Marine Park and Montgomery Reef

If you'd like to help gain real marine protection for this important part of the Kimberley coast:

1. Go the the website likenowhereelse.org.au and sign the petition.
2. Write to the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett
3. Email the Premier Premier.Barnett@dpc.wa.gov.au
4. Write to your local MP

Kimberley Wet Season images – March 2012

Wet Season - March 2012 - Images by Annabelle Sandes

Secret Life of Kimberley Corals

GRAHAM LLOYD 

From:

The Australian 

March 24, 2012 12:00AM

THE remote Kimberley coast, widely considered to be the planet's last great tropical marine frontier, is slowly beginning to yield its secrets.

At the height of tropical cyclone Lua, which this week hammered the region with winds of up to 160km/h, marine scientist Ali McCarthy, 24, became the first person to witness the spawning of Kimberley onshore corals.

The event took place nine days after the full moon and after two wet, windy nights of monitoring aquariums at Cygnet Bay, about 200km north of Broome.

The captive spawning mirrored exactly what was happening on reefs a few hundred metres away, where the waters were awash with slicks of bright blue and pink secretions as corals released their gametes into the water for fertilisation.

The event, which can be accurately predicted, is remarkable for more than the way in which it will help explain the lifecycle of one of the world's least understood coral regions. The Kimberley coast is recognised as the most coral diverse area in Western Australia and may rival the Red Sea with 280 species of hard coral from 55 genera, many new to science. The research will help unlock the secrets of why Kimberley corals are thriving where contemporary marine science says they should not even exist.

"The environment in which the corals exist is almost beyond the normal parameters for coral survival, let alone growth," said Ms McCarthy.The onshore reefs of Cygnet Bay experience water temperatures of up to 40C without bleaching. They also withstand 12m tides, extreme turbidity and ocean acidification that would be devastating to other coral systems.