D13 • Scripted by the Land 🐍
Kimberley, Australia Expedition Day 13 of 14
Written by Scott David Martin | May 11, 2023
The Dash [ — ] goes behind the lens of a real expedition brand campaign — 14 days in the Kimberley, Australia's most remote wilderness frontier. Twelve locations. One lean crew. Zero safety net. This is what cinematic brand storytelling looks like when a high-stakes video production partner operates at the edge of the world. Luxury expedition content, earned frame by frame.
King River
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina
Day 13 feels strange.
Half joy, half goodbye.
The end of a chapter.
The pressure, easing.
Our marine expedition delivered.
But this is our last day with Expedition Leader Robin.
And the Akiko crew.
Onboard Akiko
Before parting ways, we crowd into the lounge,
reviewing photographs and video screengrabs.
Laughter.
Nods.
That shared, unspoken look of…we did it.
Goodbyes at sea are different.
Intense bonds form quickly.
Six months on the water can feel like six years on land.
You share every triumph, every storm.
And when you leave, it feels like leaving family.
Akiko Crew
Captain Ben – steady hands on the helm, calm in all conditions.
Josh – our dawn-to-dusk Nyaid captain, skillful and unstoppable.
Chef Seb – fuel for our bodies and souls, plating art at sea.
Bronte – crew coordinator and onboard fixer-of-everything.
Briar – cabin steward with a heart as big as the Kimberley.
Engineer Ben – kept the engines humming with a smile.
Alex – deckhand whose tireless work made so much possible.
Akiko herself: safe harbor and staging ground.
From the Deck to the Dust
We leave Akiko behind and shift into land mode.
Full transfer of crew, talent, and gear.
Wydnam to Kununurra.
Kununurra.
"Big Water,” our new HQ.
From here, the Kimberley changes shape.
No more rolling swells.
Now: ranges, and dirt tracks.
Wydnam to Kununurra
The dangers change on land.
Crocs swapped for snakes and spiders.
But our drive is peaceful.
Listening to music.
Napping.
Wind in our faces.
Everyone is relaxing.
The bus feels like a sanctuary.
But someone shouts.
“Spider!”
Panic.
Screams.
People jumping, searching for something to kill it with.
Our Aussie bus driver, calm as ever, cuts through the chaos:
“Don’t kill it.”
Everyone on our team is yelling…
’Kill it!”
But the spider bolts out the window.
Sighs.
The quiet returns.
WABU Writer Andrew Wright surveys the outback
After the drama settles, we form two teams.
One heads to set up base at the hotel.
Andrew, Chris, and I push into the outback.
Our target: King River.
We load into a 4X4.
The track ahead?
Barely there.
I smile, thinking of Doc Brown.
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.
From the air, King River moves like a Dreamtime serpent,
carving the Kimberley.
A lifeline.
In Indigenous culture, the serpent is a creator,
shaping hills, rivers, and life itself.
From above, it’s easy to believe.
Dusk Descent
Flying home at sunset feels magical, until we land.
Mosquito swarm.
Full on attack.
We are surrounded.
Chris is jumping up and and down to avoid them.
But there is no stopping them.
”I’m getting bit everywhere!”
We pack the drone with urgency.
Survival mode.
It’s our first real taste of the land.
Or her taste of us?
The day still had one more scene.
A dramatic one.
Driving home, we slam on the breaks.
'“Did you see that,” our driver says.
"“See what,” we respond.
He pulls a 180.
Our headlights light a 10-foot snake on the roadside,
freshly struck, body still warm.
Our driver didn’t miss a beat:
“He’s still warm. I’ve got a body that’ll eat him.”
He tosses it into the truck bed.
Just another day in Australia.
Up next on The Dash (—):
The last day.
The final push.
The infamous Bungle Bungles.