Image: Lawrence Gibbons
Where better to start an over-the-top LGBTQIA + cruise than with VACAYA on Australia’s Top End?
In mid-May, several hundred rainbow vacationers boarded a luxury cruise ship in Darwin, near the city’s upscale Waterfront Precinct, and sailed west into the setting sun.
Gays, lesbians, bi and trans folks, plus plenty of our allies, toasted the voyage of a lifetime as we headed out past the Tiwi Islands into the Timor Sea on VACAYA’s 11-day lavish Kimberley adventure, with Broome being our ultimate destination.
Our sailing vessel — the Pursuit, was a world class 2-year-old compact cruise liner, whose five star dining rooms and inviting swimming pool were designed to spoil even the most jaded of queens.
Mornings were spent on one of 24 inflatable, motorized Zodiac boats exploring the untouched Kimberley coast and beyond. The boat ride up the King George River past ancient sandstone cliffs and hidden caves to visit towering roaring waterfalls was not to be missed.
The bird watching expedition to Ashmore Reef – where 100,000 breeding birds swoop and darken the sky was Hitchcockian in scope.
On the Hunter River, we drifted past mangrove swamps teaming with bright orange flame fiddler crabs, and learned to spot the difference between logodiles and crocodiles.
And on our last Zodiac adventure out to the Montgomery Reef, we raced out into a roaring sea at sunrise, drenched and exhilarated. Roughly the size of Sydney Harbour, the reef’s craggy coral rises above the raging sea at low tide — and we were there to see it.
At various stops along the way we visited open air galleries of stunning preserved 20,000 year Aboriginal rock art etched in caves and distant cliffs. At Freshwater Cove, a charming First Nations tour guide explained the historic and cultural significance of the rock art that we admired after a challenging hike.
Afternoons were spent lunching at decadent buffets, lounging by the pool or recovering from the night before in our high-end suites.
Evenings consisted of cocktails, sumptuous meals, and boundless gay nightlife. Stunning sunsets on the deck were followed by copious amounts of raw seafood in an old fashioned gay piano bar with all that jazz. Dinner followed; a sumptuous buffet that swapped cuisines each night. One night Italian, the next Chinese, plus fine caviars, delicious appetisers, pan-seared fish, and plenty of vegetarian options. For dessert, the ship had its own open bar Gelateria.
After dinner, the nightlife raged with gay abandon. Curated by VACAYA’s very creative cruise director, legendary NYC drag superstar Marti Cumming transformed the vessel into a Greenwich Village theme park on the high seas. Acclaimed British drag diva Velma Celli belted out the queer classics from Cher to La Cage Aux Folle. Melbourne’s own Vincent Hooper wowed the audience with Judy, Barbra and Bette. Several late-night dance parties raged out on the deck into the wee hours — including an old fashioned disco dance party to which everyone wore their hotel bathrobes.
VACAYA is truly a world class LGBTQIA+ cruise operator. While other providers focus on the younger gay party market, VACAYA caters to a diverse age range of people from the whole community. Lesbian couples, open bisexual explorers, trans adventurers and a potpourri of gay men of all ages converge onboard a modern-day polyamorous Love Boat.
The testimony to VACAYA’s success comes in the number of return customers: friends who had met cruising with VACAYA reminisced fondly about their previous tours. The Kimberley was VACAYA’s first ever trip in Australia, and meant that the company has now visited all seven continents.
More than 40 Aussies were amongst the several hundred (mostly American) passengers to cruise the Kimberley. VACAYA and Seabourn are both based in the US, and no one ever accused Americans of skimping: the cocktails were free poured in the Yankee style and the customer service was top notch. For LGBTQIA+ Australians who might be afraid to go to Trump’s America on their own, a VACAYA cruise offers a luxurious and safe alternative to going it alone.
On the 11th day, we disembarked in the remote coastal WA town of Broome. Some passengers hightailed it to the airport and headed home, but we spent the day exploring the town. In the morning we hunted for dinosaur footprints, at sunset we sipped spicy margaritas at the Cable Beach Club Resort. For dinner, we had delectable South American cuisine at Papa Fuego’s fabulously fun and colourful restaurant.
We concluded the night at a charming LGBTQIA+ owned small bar, appropriately named the Broome Closet, to reminisce about our very gay, and very extravagant, VACAYA cruise of a lifetime.
For more information about VACAYA’s LGBTQIA+ cruises, head here.
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