David Meagher

Nov 12, 2025 – 5.00am

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Humpback whales evoke a degree of reverence like few other animals. Which is why, on our first day of sailing from Fremantle to Broome aboard Ponant’s Le Soléal, there’s an instantaneous sound of cabin doors being flung open and a rush of footsteps when, mid-morning, the captain announces that the bridge is open and, “by the way, there are some whales being playful just in front of the ship”.

Ponant’s Le Lapérouse has sailed the Kimberley coast. Nick Rains

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