[updated] Australia's North West and Kimberley: Broome, Barramundi and pearls

Multiple Journeys 2005-present

Since 2005, expedition cruise specialist, Roderick (Rod) Eime has been visiting Broome, the Kimberley and the famed Australia's North West, completing numerous voyages including working as an expedition guide for major cruise companies.

The Kimberley earned iconic status after Baz Luhrmann's 2008 blockbuster 'Australia' and, love the movie or not, has ensured the ancient landscape is never far from the tourism spotlight.

Great Escape in the Kimberley

Rod has stayed at the newly renovated and Gold Award-winning Mangrove Hotel in Broome before boarding Great Escape for an intimate 4-night adventure cruise. He has also stayed at the modest Kimberley Travellers Lodge as well as the much-lauded Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa and Pinctada McAlpine House.

The intimate 36-passenger Reef Prince at the famed Twin Falls (RE)

PONANT Le Laperouse 2022

July-August 2024. Seabourn Pursuit

He has also voyaged aboard Kimberley Pearl, Reef Prince (for waterfalls) and Ponant's plush Le Laperouse. In 2024, he will board Seabourn Pursuit for their debut Kimberley season.

Mangrove Hotel, Broome

This was backed up by one of the most unusual cruise offerings in the Australian market. True North spent a week in the amazing Rowley Shoals, a little-known marine reserve 260 kilometres offshore from Broome and effectively an ‘aquarium’ in the open ocean with some of the best diving and fishing in Australia.

True North in the Rowley Shoals

Original and PR-supplied available.

Rod would be delighted to discuss editorial commissions with high-end print publications or websites. Few contemporary travel writers can boast Rod's experience in this region.

With support from Tourism WA

Back to the river: paddlewheeler on the Murray River

 

"While I was born in Adelaide, both my parents were born in the South Australian country," says travel writer and photographer, Roderick Eime, "Mum was born at Renmark, and with many childhood weekends away, the Murray River formed a large part of our family life."

"We often forget that paddlewheelers opened up the Australian outback to commerce long before the first railway lines and roads were laid. The old steamers are an integral part of our colonial history."

19th-century commerce. Loading cargo on a Murray River paddlesteamer

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Rod revisits his family heritage along Australia's largest river with a reprise on the largest inland paddlewheeler in the southern hemisphere, the majestic PS Murray Princess.

Stories and images from this voyage will be available from December 2021.

The Hills are Alive: Adelaide's new gourmet bonanza

 While Australia's Eastern states are locked down, Adelaide-based writer and photographer Roderick Eime, has revelled in the relative freedom of the South Australian capital revisiting places of his childhood in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Lofty Ranges. What has he found? Always a fertile region for fruit and vegetables, the Hills are now a wine and gourmet food bonanza. The famous Barossa Valley continues to evolve with a new wave of wineries and labels from the latest generation of the old families. And so much else.

Cruising returns to South Australia with small ships

 

After an agonising hiatus, cruising returns to the historic waters of South Australia. With a heritage of leisure cruising dating back more than a century, small ships are leading the way into this rich maritime region. Roderick Eime goes back to sea with Coral Expeditions.

New small ships for 2018

Expert expedition cruise journalist and photographer, Roderick Eime, lists recent and forthcoming small ship experiences for your editorial consideration. [Contact]



Cruise Line: CroisiEurope / CF Mekong
Vessel: Indochine II (launched 2017)
Destination: Mekong. Siem Reap to Saigon
Date travelled/travelling: September 2018



Cruise Line: Silversea
Vessel: Silver Cloud (rebuilt 2017)
Destination: Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Date travelled/travelling: September 2018

Cruise Line: Ponant
Vessel: Le Champlain (maiden voyage)
Destination: Bergen, Norway
Date travelled/travelling: October 2018



Cruise Line: Lindblad-National Geographic
Vessel: NG Venture (maiden voyage)
Destination: West Coast USA and Mexico
Date travelled/travelling: December 2018



Cruise Line: Captain Cook Cruises Fiji
Vessel: MV Reef Endeavour
Destination: Fiji - Taveuni, Ovalau
Date travelled/travelling: April 2018

Thank you for reading

Safari in South Australia's Gawler Ranges

After ATE this month, Rod headed out on safari in his home state of SA.
















Rod stayed at Kangaluna tented camp and went on 4WD excursions that included Lake Gairdner (land speed record venue) and Baird Bay for the sea lion swim.




Key features:

* Transfers from ADL to Port Lincoln via REX
* Superb bird watching. Rare parrots etc
* Outback history
* Wildlife. Koalas, 'roos, emus, birds, wombats etc
* Sea lion and dolphin swim at Baird Bay. Whale watching in season.
* Huge salt lake, Lake Gairdner, site of world land speed attempts.
* Cool geology/ecology


Hosts/Sponsors:

• SATC 
• Gawler Ranges Safaris
• REX 
• Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience

Let me know if you'd like more info.

The Travel Writers Year in Review 2017

Travel * Lifestyle * Technology * Investment * Cars * Wine * Food * Family * Society

February 2018 - www.thetravelwriters.com

Our busiest journalists racked up many thousands of frequent flyer miles travelling to all corners of the globe while one of our best and brightest made her final journey.

Chalon-sur-Saône (c) Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes: North America featured prominently in my travels in 2017 with visits to Boston (first time), Washington, Portland, Mt Hood, Mt Bachelor and Bend in Oregon, Sun Valley in Idaho, and six ski resorts in Canada. I also loved my first ever river cruise, on the Rhone, cruising from Arles to Lyon, including a short stint on the Saône up to Chalon-sur-Saône. Queenstown, New Zealand satisfied my ski bug in the Southern Hemisphere winter, and for sunshine, I dived into the many wonders of the Whitsundays and the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. [query]

Star Trails over Uluru (c) Ewen Bell

Ewen Bell

Ewen Bell: My travel highlight was very close to home this year. I had a chance to do a series of photographic shoots around Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. By day and by night. I love the land up here. We are lucky to be able to enjoy it, and so easily.
"The centre of Australia is a desert of colour. Sand is stained red with minerals, deep yellow flowers cascade off grevillea bushes and the sky is a flood of blue except for the occasional sunset where clouds throw back hues of orange and pink. In the middle of this colour palette is a massive rock, rising sharply from a rippled landscape. Each fold along its flanks have been drawn into stories by the local Anangu, like bookmarks in a library standing long before there even was a desert. Uluru is drama on a geological scale." [query]

Migdalia is a 'costumbrista' in Havana (c) Roderick Eime

Roderick Eime

Roderick Eime: It was a big finish to the year with four back-to-back cruises in Cuba, Panama, Costa Rica and Miami. From an intimate few dozen aboard Peregrine's MV Callisto, to the massive 5000+ aboard MSC's brand new Seaside, it certainly was an exercise in contrasts. There was also Lindblad's first newbuild in decades, the National Geographic Quest and the MSC Opera. But if travel truly creates indelible memories, then it was the ride around Cuba on a Harley-Davidson with Ernesto Guevara-March, the youngest son of the fabled revolutionary hero Che, which put the cherry on this cake. [query]

Cruising among the Antarctic icebergs (c) John Maddocks

John Maddocks

John Maddocks: Antarctica is like another planet. The sheer scale and beauty of the place is staggering. It’s an empty, pristine, other-worldly wilderness. Ninety-nine percent of Antarctica’s 14 million square kilometres is covered in ice, some of it four kilometres thick. Sea ice can double the continent’s size in winter.
A visit to Antarctica, with its awesome landscapes and wildlife, is considered by many to be the trip of a lifetime. It’s a place that can bring you to your knees with its majesty. And now, increasingly, it needs environmental protection. The Antarctic has become our albatross, and we kill it at our peril. A journey to the frozen continent with a responsible tour operator will reveal Antarctica’s critical importance to the earth’s climate and oceans. It will change your view of the world. [query]

=-=-=

Kris Madden Vale Kris Madden: It is with both shock and sadness that we bade farewell to Kris who had just returned from an expedition throughout Melanesia. Soon after returning to her home on Sydney's Northern Beaches, Kris passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack. Kris leaves a legacy of superb travel writing and reporting, conducted with an unusual skill, consummate professionalism and keen insight that is rapidly becoming scarce in today's world of instant news.

The Travel Writers is a collective of highly experienced career journalists with extensive professional portfolios. While coverage of travel and travel-related subjects is our passion, our expertise extends much deeper.

Brand new expedition ship: National Geographic Quest

In December, small ship expert and expedition cruiser, Roderick Eime, will sail aboard the Lindblad Expeditions - National Geographic's brand new vessel, Quest. This is the first newbuild in the company's 50 year history.

Ponant South America, Amazon and Caribbean

Voyage Complete

Sample Images || Blog posts


Confirmed for March 2017

Expedition and adventure cruising specialist, Roderick Eime, will revisit luxury French cruise line Ponant for a comprehensive double-header along the east coast of South America, including the Amazon and Caribbean.

Rod will sail aboard the state-of-the-art vessel, Le Soleal.

The itinerary includes unusual destinations such as French Guiana, Barbados and Martinique.

Editorial and images will be available from early April

For full details of both itineraries, see below

By Royal Appointment: aboard QM2

During March 2017, Rod will spend 9 nights aboard the world's newest and largest proper ocean liner as she sails between Adelaide and Sydney via Melbourne and Kangaroo Island.

There will be plenty of time to explore the new "remastered" features introduced mid-2016 as well as venues such as The Verandah, Carinthia Lounge, Kings Court and Commodore Club.

Rod has undertaken this journey at his own expense and will be joined by his dear mother.

Editorial will be available from end February.

Andaman Sea Expedition aboard Silver Discoverer

UPDATE: Journey complete [preview images]

This month, expedition cruise specialist, Roderick Eime, will set out on an 11-day voyage aboard Silversea's Silver Discoverer to explore some of the remote territory in and around the Andaman Sea.

The route includes visits to the bustling ports of Phuket and Yangon, but ranges out into the Andaman Sea to Port Blair and the derelict colonial capital on Ross Island, abandoned for more than 80 years.

Ruined and overgrown church, Ross Island

Rod will scuba dive on some of the remote reefs as well as explore ashore in such isolated locations as Burma's Mergui Archipelago and India's Cinque Island Wildlife Sanctuary.

Proposed expedition route

Commissions are invited. Please contact Rod

Pack your bags: Not all luggage is created equal

So when you go to buy a new car or washing machine, who would provide the most reliable endorsement of the product's reliability? The salesperson? No. How about the repair person?

No, this is not my bag, but it could be yours.

Yep. When things go wrong, it's the person who has to fix it who can quickly tell the dud from the deluxe.

When his expensive suitcase fell victim to rough baggage handlers, Rod sought out the experts. You might be surprised at the verdicts.

Want to make baggage handlers' job easier? Try this pre-smashed range of luggage.

Chile: Santiago Revival

Traditionally conservative Chile and its one-time capital of stodge, Santiago, is emerging from the shadows.

Chileans, thanks in no small part to new arrivals from the rest of South America and the world, are experiencing something of an 'awakening' in the form arts, architecture and culture.

Driven underground by oppressive governments of the past, subversive, left-wing elements are now much freer to express themselves and this new-found freedom is slowly transforming the city into a more vibrant, even edgy metropolis.

Rod sets out to see something of the Santiago underbelly, and with long-time resident and English ex-pat, Gary James of Sense Chile, elbows his way through crowded markets, spills his 'terremoto' at La Piojera and even stops by for a racy cappuccino at one of the city's 'café con piernas', literally 'coffee with legs'.

As part and parcel of this urban arousal is a new wave of boutique hotels: small city enclaves of just a dozen or more rooms. We visit four such properties, including Santiago city's newest hotel opening, a renovated 1928 building in the trendy Lastarria neighbourhood designed (and now named after) one of Chile's most famous architects, Luciano Kulczewski.

Hosted by:

• Movidas Journeys
• MOH Collection
• Sense Chile

Hola South America - Patagonia, Chile, Panama, Colombia

Luxury wilderness lodges * UNESCO World Heritage * expedition cruising * airline review * Urban luxury * Panama Canal * Colombia * Panama * Chile

Commissions invited

Ola South America - April 2016

Latin America is flavour of the month for April 

Stella Australis

The month begins with a cruise with the acclaimed Cruceros Australis navigating through the southernmost Chilean-Argentinean Patagonian channels, exploring the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. 

Actual itinerary: Discover Patagonia

Rod will fly to and from Santiago with Qantas (QF27/28 B744) on a paid ticket in Premium Economy with a request for space available upgrade made.

explora Patagonia lodge

Upon disembarking in Punta Arenas, Rod will visit firstly the famous explora Patagonia lodge in the middle of Torres del Paine National Park

From there, he travels to The Singular Patagonia, Puerto Bories Hotel and back to Santiago to stay at The Singular Santiago.

Rod then moves on to Guayaquil in Ecuador to join G Adventures for the 12-day expedition to Cartagena in Colombia via the Panama Canal and the fabled San Blas Islands. Aboard MS Expedition

MS Expedition

Itinerary: 
http://gadventures.com/trips/XVGCSX/

Heritage-listed Alfiz Hotel Boutique, Cartagena

Before flying home, Rod will stay at the boutique hotel, Alfiz Cartagena and tour the city, founded by the Spanish in 1533.

With thanks to:

• Robyn Smith, movidas, South American specialist travel agency
• Michelle Mohaupt, MOH Collection (Singular, Australis)
• Andrew Mevissen, Peak Media Relations
• Sarah Park, Mulberry Marketing Communications (G Adventures)

Exclusive: Bentley Bentayga preview.

Britain's illustrious Bentley Motors are understandably excited about their all-new Bentayga SUV and so are TTWs Roderick Eime and Mike Butler who are among a very few select Australian media invited to preview the model when it breaks cover in Australia this week in the lead-up to the Australian F1 GP. Get in touch now if you'd like editorial and images for your publication. 

Blue Lagoon Cruises: On Fiji Time

Expedition cruising expert, Roderick Eime, reacquaints himself with an old Fiji favorite, recently overhauled and renovated, but still blissfully untroubled by urgency. Blue Lagoon Cruises

Tasmania: Wild West

The remote western shores of Australia's largest island contain some of the world's most precious wilderness forests and waterways.

Lashed by weather blown straight from Antarctica, this climate also ensures some of the world's cleanest air and purest rainwater. Water that falls on forests whose trees bear closer relationship to ancient Antarctic fossils than any mainland eucalyptus.

Aboriginals are known to have inhabited this harsh territory for at least 30,000 years.

After explorers like Abel Tasman, Bligh and Cook sent back reports, Europeans arrived in numbers all through the 19th century, setting up penal colonies in the east with prospectors and wood-cutters seeking fortune in the west.

The spectacular view from Fluted Cape (R Eime)

We visit the isolated settlements of Queenstown, Strahan and Corrina to explore the landscape that bears more resemblance to prehistoric times than our modern internet-connected world. We cruise the southern extremities in an ocean-going catamaran, ride the historic Abt Railway and visit former mining and logging sites deep in UNESCO World Heritage-listed temperate rainforest, one of the last expanses of its type in the world.

The writer, Roderick Eime, has both original and supplied library images.