Tuesday 27October 2026 Day 5. Augusta and Leeuwin Estate.
We left the boat at 9:25 on our way to Leeuwin Estate. We hit land at a marina adjacent to Subsea’s Abalone facility, at 9:35, and boarded a bus, after a few issues with the bus we were on our way at 10am. Our bus had A/C issues, it was not working! The driver pullover and eventually got it working, the time old turn it all off and turn itback on method worked! Who would have guessed?
We arrived at Leeuwin Estate around 11am. We had a look through their art gallery which displayed works they had commissioned for their labels and we alsohad a look around the estate. Lunch was delicious, 4 courses with matching wines. We both enjoyed the people with whom we shared a table. I sat next to a couple we had met on our Kimberley Cruise 2 years ago.
We were on a bus to head back at 3:45, and away by 3:55 . Unfortunately our bus had a group on board of very loud people who had obviously had a good sampling of the Leeuwin product.
Back at the jetty at Augusta to get our explorer back to the boat at about 4:35. We left on the explorer for a very slow, VERY bumpy ride back through the 2m+ swell. There was some interesting manoeuvring carried out to get the explorer back on the boat in the swell. Probably approaching its limits.
The boat hauled anchor and was underway at 5:40pm, Albany bound.
Wednesday 28 October 2026 Day 6. Albany WA
We woke to find ourselves cruising down around the South West corner of Australia, we sailed from the Indian Ocean into the Southern Ocean. We turned in towards Albany around 9am.
AT 8:30am guest lecturer Richard gave a presentation on Bush Tucker. Unfortunately the presentation was based on northern Australia, the Kimberley across the north Queensland. We were expecting something relevant to where we are sailing. But that minor detail has eluded Coral, similarly to the map left for us in our cabin which features the west coast of Australia, and completely ommits the area we are sailing in.
We were on the second explorer to leave. We got away at10:15 and were on the dock in Albany at 11:05. Soon after arriving we were on a bus headed for Limeburners Distillery. We had an option of either a Gin or Whisky tasting, we both chose the Gin tasting.
We were encouraged to try the gins in order of taste from fruity to dry. First to try the gin neat, then with just a dash of tonic and finally with the garnish added. The different garnishes were chosen to complement the different gins.
We tried, in order Australian Native Gin (Which we both enjoyed the most), a Botanical Gin, a Whisky Cask Gin and finally a Gincello. (+Pineapple juice and coconut cream to make it a gin pina colada). It was interesting tasting how the gin flavour changed through neat, dash of tonic and added garnish. I thought the Gincello was best without the mixer, the Whisky Gin was just wrong for me and the Botanical gin was just ok. We then did a tour of the Whisky Distillery followed by a quick Whisky tasting. For their Whiskies they source all the grain, water, yeast and peat locally. I tried a Whisky matured in tawney (port) barrels, I enjoyed the very different flavour.
After the tasting we boarded the bus again and were taken into town for a free afternoon at around 12:30.
Deb had done some research earlier and chose a place for lunch. We made our way to La Pâtisserie Cottage, a small French styled cafe. We shared a tasty baguette and pistachio croissant, the baguette was very good.
After lunch we walked around town a bit taking in some of the old and new buildings, and played a bit of Ingress while we walked around. Our last tourist thing was a walk through the ANZAC Park on the foreshore to see the replica of the Brig Amity. An interesting twin masted wooden ship.
We then walked back to the jetty where our ride back to the boat was waiting. On the way back we saw a large scale pilot wave energy plant was being assembled onshore near where we got our explorer. It was a large triangular bright yellow submersible structure.
We were on the explorer by 2:25. While we were waiting for some late passengers a woman in our group became unwell, the crew were looking after her. After a while one of the expedition crew waited on the jetty with her, we assume for medical assistance to arrive, and the rest of us went back to the ship, we left at about 3pm. About halfway back the crew had people up the bow end move to the back to help lift the bow over the swell and not through it, there had been many waves breaking over the front of the explorer, it was about a 1.5 to 2m swell.
We were back on-board at 3:40pm after an interesting ride back, I thought the explorer crew were excellent, particularly the drivers.
There are increasing rumblings amongst the passengers about the quality and availability of such things as meals, transport, onshore activities and services etc. There are many gaps between what was expected/ implied and what is being delivered.
Thursday 29 October 2026 (Off shore) Albany WA. Day 7
A Day of leisure, we decided rather than look further around Albany, we have spent time here before and we covered what we wanted yesterday, we would have a relaxing day on board. And that we did.
I went to the morning lecture on whales given by guest presenter Simona, which was really interesting and well presented. We both wished we had missed lunch, the less said the better. We had a quiet afternoon, including a bath in our room, very relaxing.
Tomorrow, we apparently have a day at sea, it doesn’t seem that we are calling into Point Ann as our itinerary says.
So another kickback day ahead.
Friday 30 October 2026 At sea, bound VERY SLOWLY for Lucky Bay WA. Day 8
We woke at around 6am and looked at google maps, we were just off Bremer Bay, and we seemed to stay in that area for the next 6 hours. When I questioned why we didn’t seem to be moving, the bridge told me google maps was notoriously inaccurate at sea, and that we were actually moving. Funnily enough, not long after, we could feel the engines ramp up a bit, I guess that could have been our imagination! I checked my google maps location against the ships location on a screen in the bridge deck lounge and they matched pretty well, and a stand alone gps app on my phone backed that up as well. Go figure!
I did find out that the woman who had a fall in Albany was found to have broken her arm up near her shoulder and had left the tour.
Saturday 31 October 2026 Kepa Kurl (Cape Le Grand NP) Lucky Bay and Cape Le Grand WA. Day 9
AN early start today. We woke to beautiful blue skies and very calm seas.
By 7:45am we were on the first explorer into Lucky Bay. The waters heading into the beach were 10m deep and crystal clear. The beaches here are pure silica, very bright white and squeaky to walk on. We both polished our wedding rings with the sand (we knew to do that, after doing the same at Whitehaven Beach near Hamilton Island). We “joined” the group doing a 3.2km return bush walk west over the headlands. It was a nice walk with lots of great views over the coastline and the granite formations that define the coast.
Once back at the beach, we walked east a little way up the beach in the shallows. There was lots of weed built up on the western end of the beach, imparting its not so delicate aromas. The water was very refreshing, some hardy souls from the cruise took a swim, but not us! The beach is famous for the western grey kangaroos that are often found resting and/or grazing on it. But today there were many cars and people on the beach, there was even a coffee van, too much for the kangaroos to make an appearance. We had seen roos on the beach last time we were there. We got the second explorer back to the boat.
While we had lunch the boat set sail for Cape Le Grand, where the plan was for a cruise around the coast with a possible beach landing and the opportunity for a beach &/or coastal walk. The weather had turned colder, cloudy and greyish by the time we got there. So we opted out of going on a choppy small boat ride, and had a lazy afternoon in our room, that may have included a bath looking out over the choppy seas and coastline.
Sunday 1 November 2026 Goreng Noongar Country – Point Ann and Whalebone Point, WA. Day 10
Overnight we moved west to Point Ann, a significant whale spotting location and part of the Fitzgerald River NP. When we woke , 6am, we were off the coast at Point Ann. Looking at the map, it looks to be due south of Perth.
We left the ship on the 2nd of the explorers at about 8:30am. We had very calm seas but couldn’t land due to the power of the swell, and chance of beaching the explorer, I was told that it’s a 50/50 chance of making land here. It depends on very specific swell and wind conditions that they can’t assess until near the beach. Swell height and direction combined with the wind direction and speed dictate where landing may be possible, then assessed at the location.
Instead we cruised looking for whales. Whale season here is June to October, so we are at the very end of the season. Whales that breed in this area in that period are Humpbacks and Southern Rights. There was a very slight chance of spotting any.
To our fortune, we saw a Southern Right whale and a pod of dolphins (likely Indo-Pacific bottlenose). The whale had been spotted via a drone that was being flown by Dawn on the first explorer. The whales are easy to spot from the air here due to the very clear waters and brilliant white sands. The water depth was about 14m where we were, the whales are known to go as shallow as 3m depth. I guess we spent 10 to 15mins trying to follow the whale.
Then the rain came in and the “clear” weather shields came down and we slowly headed back to the boat.
Southern Rights were thought to have been hunted to extinction in this area in the mid to late 1800’s. They were rediscovered here in 1950’s, their population was then about 200. The population is now approaching 4000, but there are signs of inbreeding, with albino whales being more frequently seen. Their population is now stagnating, their birth cycle has gone from 3 years out to 5 years.
We were back at the boat around 9:50, and settled in for tea/coffee and a biscuit.
Due to the weather conditions and the highly unlikely chance of making shore we decided to give the afternoon explorer ride a miss and watched the Adelaide 36’ers play Brisbane instead. Unfortunately, they lost, but then, so did every other home team that round. As it turned out there were blue skies and little wind in the afternoon and they were able to make a landing, but there wasn’t a lot to do, other than walk on the beach, swim if you didn’t mind the cold water or go for a walk in the scrub with no real lookouts.
It was BBQ dinner tonight, forgettable.
Monday 2 November 2026 Yilbering, aka, Two Peoples Bay/Baie Des Deux Peuples WA. Day 11
Named by Captain Nicholas Baudin, Bay of Two Nations/Peoples, after he encountered American Whalers there.
We left the boat at about 8:15 for a wet landing on the beach at Two Peoples Bay. From there we headed west for a 5+km round trip scenic coastal walk. The walk was very easy, mostly well maintained paths and boardwalks. It took us through low growing scrubland to Little Beach, another beautiful beach set in a small cove. There were lots of wild flowers out, my favourite was the Crimson/ Waratah Bottlebrush, with a bright red flower.
On the way back we saw a snake, about 1.5m (5ft) long. Google Lens tells us it was either a Dugite, a Western Brown, a Mulga or a Tiger Snake. What ever it was it was well fed, curious about us, but not so much that it wanted a piece of us. It slid off into the bush after we had a good time watching it.
I managed to play a little Ingress while we were there (capped 2 portals).
We were back on the boat around 11am. Not long after lunch the boat set sail for Fremantle. The next 44hrs we are on the (not so, we hope) high seas. The swell predictions are for 2.5 to 3m swells with WSW winds. So it’s going to be a rocky ride.
Tuesday 3 November 2026 Somewhere off the coast near Pemberton, WA. Day 12
The Southern Bounty Cruise – on board the Coral Geographer Pt 2
27 Oct to
We woke this morning after a rocky sleep, heading towards Augusta and Cape Leeuwin. I managed to flood our bathroom when I had my shower. I’m talking small waves of water rolling across the floor with the rock of the boat! But between us we managed to get it all mopped up.
We had a late breakfast this morning, 7:30!
We started packing in the morning, we skipped the morning talk on Coral and the Great Barrier Reef (not relevant to where we were). From our cabin, we saw the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.
It’s Melbourne Cup Day, so they had it on screens in the Bridge Deck lounge. We had no idea what horses were running in it. Neither of us did any good in the sweep, but Ben had the winner back at home.
Once we passed Cape Leeuwin the swell seemed to be at our stern, making for much smoother sailing.
Wednesday 4 November 2026 Fremantle, WA. Day 13
I woke at 4:50am to find Deb out on the balcony, she had been so excited about today that she woke at 4:15am. We were off Rottnest Island, I guess waiting for our time slot to move into the Port of Fremantle. The waters were very calm. We saw the beginning of sunrise over Rottnest.
It’s going to be an interesting day, the USA midterm elections polls close today our time. President Trump looks likely to loose control of the House and Senate. Interesting times.
Bags out at 6:30, breakfast started around 6:30. We were up in the Bridge Deck Lounge a bit before 7am to watch us come into Port and dock. We had a pilot on board (I think) and a couple of tugs guiding us in.
Disembarkation began at 8:40am, very late, it was meant to start at 8:00am. We were first off the boat with all the others on airport transfer. Our bus driver wasn’t happy, the bags weren’t marked for the different terminals. The Qantas and Virgin Terminals are on opposites sides of the airport, about a 20min drive apart.
We left the boat around 8:45am for the airport. The first group were dropped at Virgin then the rest of us over at Qantas.
We dropped our bags off and were in the lounge by 10am, then the wait. There may be time for a bourbon before our flight, sadly to finish this holiday.
Until next time, bye for now.
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