Kimberley, Australia Expedition Day 7 of 14
Written by Scott David Martin | May 5, 2023

The Dash [ - ] goes behind the scenes of a WABU filmmaking expedition in the remote Northwest region of Australia, The Kimberley. In this 14-part series, we’ll share the highs and lows, from marathon shoots aboard luxurious yachts to heart-stopping encounters with nature's fiercest creatures.

**Rock Art at Freshwater Cove**
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Dawn to Dusk

The plan is insane.
We have one tide window.
And a reef that literally disappears in hours.

BUT we also needed to make it to Freshwater Cove,
three hours away.

The goal at Freshwater:
film sacred Aboriginal rock art.
Immediately refuel.

And somehow return back to Montgomery Reef.
By sunset.

We split the team and push forward with a skeleton crew.

**Montgomery Reef, Indian Ocean 15°59′36″S 124°14′23″E**

At this point in the expedition,
I’m nodding off at the dinner table every night.

Eyes open, brain offline.

The first couple nights onboard,
I didn’t make it to dessert.

Just crawled into my bunk and disappeared.

The team?
Also past tired…
everyone running on adrenaline and momentum.

BUT the reef is waking up.
Channels forming.
It is 5:10 AM.

**Montgomery Reef revealing herself at dawn.**

Montgomery Reef Sunrise

I crouch at the edge of the zodiac,
camera case between my knees, awaiting sunrise.

Chris sets up the drone behind me.
Marc, Chris, and I scan the horizon.
The reef begins to stir.

If we miss this light,
we miss the shot.

If we miss the tide,
we miss the entire day.

Mother nature has control, we don’t.
I love it.

The feeling is tension, not panic.
A tight coil in your chest when everything rides on timing.

Chris says, “We’ve got one chance.”

**Montgomery Reef, Earth’s Central Nervous System**
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina.

Montgomery Reef only reveals herself
for a few moments each day.

We’d seen photos.
Heard the legends.

Still, nothing prepared us for how alive it would feel…
when it happened in front of us.

We drift into position. Idling.
Like waiting in the wings before a performance.

As the reef emerges,
the hunt began.

Predator and prey move in a primal rhythm.

From above, the birds launch coordinated airstrikes,
diving with surgical precision.

I feel the sun hit my face.

Chris leaned in and says,
“This is the one we’ve been chasing.”

The drone took off just as first light cracks the horizon.

**The veins of mother earth pulsing**
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina

From above, the reef looks like it had veins.

A living network,
pulsing with tide and energy.
Earth’s central nervous system.

This aerial view is key to our narrative.

First, it gives scale.
Our tiny zodiacs dwarfed by nature’s masterpiece.

Second,
it reveals the raw power of the reef.

The tides.
The movement.
The constant transformation.

Everything down there is shifting.
Just like real life.

**Zodiac riding the tides at Montgomery Reef**
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina

Lean into Adversity

Nature teaches us.
When we expect change, we find peace.
When we resist it, we stay stuck.

The growth we’re after?
Purpose, clarity, connection…
is almost always waiting on the other side of discomfort.

I wish you great struggle (within reason).
That’s where the breakthroughs hide.

On this reef, every day delivers a lesson.

Some are hard.
Some are breathtaking.
Which one we take with us is up to us.

We had one shot at the sunrise, and we nailed it.
But now the tide is turning.

And Freshwater Cove is calling.

**41,000 Years Old Rock Art at Freshwater Cove**
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Half the crew is rested (somewhat)
for Freshwater Cove.

The rest of us, filming since dawn?
Heading into the longest day of the expedition.

Freshwater Cove isn’t just beautiful.
It is sacred.

This is our first encounter with ancient Aboriginal rock art.
Some of it is over 41,000 years old.

A cornerstone of the story.
And a non-negotiable for our clients.

BUT Freshwater came with serious logistical hurdles.

First, permission.
A sacred site, rightfully, takes many months to confirm.

Second, the tides. Again.
This place doesn’t give you much. You have to earn every frame.

We hauled ass to Freshwater.
Time to hike.

The hike to the cave is long and hot.
And the group walks and talks.

But when we arrive at the art.
Silence.

I try to think clearly.
The first shot is…

I lay on my stomach in the red dirt,
camera aimed at a Wandjina figure.

I’m overwhelmed.
These are the original storytellers.
This is where all of it began.

Fish, stingrays, turtles, even storms,
etched in stone.

Fascinatingly,
none of the figures had mouths.
The art spoke, but not in words.

That’s the power of story.
To show us who we are.

To shine a light on where we’ve been
and where we might be going.

It’s about honoring truth.
It’s about revealing what often goes unseen.

This is more than a location.
It is a living archive.

Our local guide didn’t just show us the rock art.
He inhabits it.

Storytelling runs through his blood.
His ancestors painted these stones.

But we had only 45 minutes to capture it.
Marc whispers from behind.
“Don’t rush. Let it breathe.”

I try.
But we still needed to hike back to beat the tides.
Tik, tok.

**The smoke ceremony at Freshwater Cove**
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Back on the beach, a woman walks up,
holding ochre.

She presss it gently on Manjit’s cheek.

“This land holds stories,” she says.
“Now you’re connected to it.”

We felt it.
Humbled.

But then we heard it.
The crackle of fire.

In the Kimberley,
smoke ceremonies are a sacred act.

These ceremonies serve different purposes.
Cleansing the spirit, forging connection.
Grounding you.

Often, they are a way to be welcomed to country,
or to honor the ancestors who came before.

The smoke rose around us, quiet and powerful.
Again, no one spoke.

We left changed.

But Montgomery was calling again.
Tide and time need to align.
We book it back to the reef.

**Zodiac rips through Montgomery Reef at Sunset**
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Montgomery Surprise

Just as golden hour takes over…
We slipp back into the reef’s maze.

I stand on the Nyaid, firing photos & videos,
watching the sky dissolve into color.
Trying to take it in.

This place is trying to tell us something.
Peace. Stillness.

Someone shouts, “Look at the moon!”
Everyone turns.
Gasps.

**Moonrise at Montgomery Reef**
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina

She glows like a lighthouse.
I’ll never forget that moment.
Otherworldly.

By the time we get back to Akiko, the light is gone.
We squeezed every second.

We’d started the day chasing a reef.
We ended it feeling like the reef had chased us…
called us there.

In the Kimberley, if you stay open,
if you stay curious…

The land feeds your soul.

Up next on The Dash ( — ):

“We are surrounded…by sharks”

Reefs & Rituals 🪸

Pearl Country 🦈

8th Wonder of the World 🔮