It starts with a blow on the horizon. A plume of mist rises against an endless sweep of blue and for a second, no-one is sure if we’ve imagined it.
Then someone points. A black dorsal fin slices cleanly through the water. Another follows. Suddenly, the deck of True North II erupts.
“Look, over there!”
“Ten o’clock!”
“No, two o’clock!”
“There’s more behind us!”
“Is that a baby?!”
“Wow!”
Shrieks of excitement pierce the salty air as we spin in every direction at once, scanning the surface, afraid to blink. Cameras are lifted, then forgotten. Conversations stop mid-sentence.
We’re more than 70 kilometers offshore at Bremer Canyon, near the south coast of Western Australia, where the continental shelf drops into deep, nutrient-rich waters that draw marine life from far and wide.
Each year, from January to April, pods of orcas return here to feed, making this one of the most reliable places in the world to see them in the wild.
The energy on board is electric. Strangers clutch each other’s arms. Laughter spills over. Even the crew, seasoned as they are, are just as captivated.
Seeing orcas in the wild has been at the very top of my bucket list since childhood. For more than 30 years I’ve waited for this moment, imagining what it might feel like to see them in their own ocean realm.
Now I’m standing at the bow, fingers curled around the rail, trying to steady a heartbeat that feels impossibly loud. I have to physically pinch myself, because this time it’s real.
At first, the fins are still distant. One pod surfaces to starboard, another further off the bow. Then, almost without warning, a third appears behind us.
We turn again, pointing, calling out positions like spotters on a clock face. Only now does it become clear that this isn’t a single sighting. Orcas are moving through the canyon in every direction.
And then they come closer.
Sleek black-and-white bodies glide beneath the surface right in front of the boat, visible even as they dive, before rising again in effortless synchrony. The ocean, vast and open just moments earlier, suddenly feels intimate.
For two extraordinary hours we drift in their world under clear skies and improbably calm seas. I don’t want it to end. But as the last dorsal fin slips beneath the surface and True North II turns away from the canyon, it strikes me just how quickly this has all unfolded.
Less than 48 hours ago I was stepping aboard on a sweltering evening in Esperance, unaware that one of the greatest moments of my life was already waiting just offshore.
Of course, journeys like this don’t begin in the middle of the ocean. Ours began two days earlier in Perth, with a small plane bound for Esperance and True North II waiting at the other end.
Where strangers become shipmates
By the time we climb aboard via tender in the late afternoon heat, the water glittering below us and the air heavy with salt, it already feels like the start of something significant.
Shoes are removed immediately; this is a barefoot boat – barefoot luxury at its best. And in that small, symbolic gesture, the tone is set: relaxed, intimate and entirely unpretentious.
Introductions begin almost instantly. It’s a flurry of names and where everyone has traveled from – Sydney, Broome, Melbourne, Cairns, even Connecticut. Some guests are first-timers, others seasoned True North travelers ticking off yet another bucket list itinerary.
What strikes me most is the warmth. Several return cruisers are greeted with hugs by crew members who recognize them immediately, even from trips taken two or three years earlier.
It doesn’t feel like a commercial cruise. It feels more like stepping aboard a private charter with a group of friends, or into someone’s floating home where everyone already belongs.
As we settle into the bar deck for welcome cocktails, I quietly worry that I won’t remember everyone’s names. Thankfully, we’re handed name tags and I breathe a small sigh of relief.
One guest reassures me that within three days we won’t need them. I’m not convinced.
But he’s right. By the second evening we’re greeting one another across the deck like old friends.
In quieter stretches between excursions, I expect to retreat with a book. Instead, I find myself drawn into card games I’ve never played before, sharing bottles of wine and conversations that stretch long past sunset.
Somewhere between the first briefing and the first offshore sunrise, strangers become shipmates.
From sea to shore
If the days are defined by adventure, the evenings belong to food.
With just 18 guests on board, and capacity for 22, meals feel less like cruise dining and more like a long dinner party.
We sit together around a large boardroom-style table as the vessel glides along the coastline or rests quietly at anchor. There is a set menu, a welcome reprieve from decision fatigue, but it’s posted early and if something doesn’t appeal, a quiet word with the chefs is all it takes.
Evenings begin with pre-dinner snacks and drinks. Sometimes that means settling in on the bar deck. Other times, the tender boats deliver us to a remote beach for sunset swims and cocktails on the sand, with no-one else in sight and True North II floating nearby as the chefs work their magic on board.
On our first night, a gin station featuring True North’s own gin is paired with freshly shucked Coffin Bay oysters as we watch the sun descend over the Indian Ocean, casting a soft golden glow across the impossibly white sand dunes towering behind us.
Dinner is consistently exceptional. Twice-cooked pork collar with celeriac puree and braised cabbage. Confit duck leg with red curry sauce and lychees. Baharat-spiced lamb rump with baba ganoush, baby zucchini and enoki coral.
At lunch one day, I compliment the chefs on an incredible Asian-inspired salad and they generously share two recipes.
On Australia Day, we celebrate in Albany with a ‘raft up’, the tender boats tied together into one floating platform where we drift with cocktails in hand.
What begins as laidback conversation turns into a spontaneous singalong, complete with a rousing rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ followed by John Williamson’s ‘Home Among the Gumtrees’. A kindergarten teacher on board leads the actions to the latter with enthusiastic delight. It is joyful, unexpected and a highlight for us all, not least our amused American friend.
The connection to place extends to the table. While anchored in Albany, the team from family-owned Plantagenet Wines comes on board for a five-course tasting lunch curated by the chefs.
Freshly shucked oysters, Shark Bay scallops, Pemberton marron, Black Angus beef tartare and Amelia Park lamb rack arrive in succession, matched with premium cool-climate wines that showcase the best of Western Australia’s Great Southern wine region.
And the immersion extends well beyond the dining table. In Margaret River, we spend the morning visiting two of the region’s acclaimed wineries, tasting their signature wines before settling in for a long lunch at Cape Lodge.
In Rockingham, many of us slip into the water to swim with wild dolphins – an encounter almost as exhilarating as our time at Bremer Canyon. And before the journey draws to a close, we spend an afternoon exploring Rottnest Island’s crystalline bays, white-sand beaches and, of course, pausing for obligatory selfies with the resident quokkas.
Above and beyond
True North’s hospitality isn’t just warm, it’s purposeful. The crew think of every detail not to pamper for its own sake, but to ensure guests can experience more of the wild places they came to see.
After a two-meter swell rock us on the way to Bremer Bay, a forecast of six-meter seas prompts a decisive change of plans. Rather than press on, the itinerary is adjusted to prioritize guest comfort and safety. In a rare move for a True North voyage, we leave the boat for a night.
From Albany, we travel by coach to Bunker Bay, walking among the treetops at the Valley of the Giants, picnicking in Gloucester National Park and driving through the spectacular Boranup Karri Forest before spending the night at the five-star Pullman Bunker Bay Resort.
The following morning, as we linger over our breakfast by the sea, someone points toward the horizon. Rounding the headland, True North II comes into view. There’s an unexpected swell of relief as we watch it glide closer, knowing the boat and its crew have come through the rough seas unscathed.
By late afternoon, we are back on board, the detour feeling less like compromise and more like a welcome extension of the journey.
It’s a reminder that flexibility defines the True North experience. Some guests choose to go fishing, while others opt for beach time, snorkeling or a coastal hike, and the crew ensure everything unfolds with ease. Nothing feels rushed, yet everything runs seamlessly.
The crew are energetic, enthusiastic and down-to-earth, sharing stories of their own journeys aboard True North between activities. At times, you forget they are working at all, because they appear to be enjoying it as much as the guests. That joy is contagious.
The luxury of going further
This voyage is the Adventure South West cruise from Esperance to Fremantle, a journey that traces the wild, wind-carved southern edge of Western Australia. Even as I soak up every moment, I’m reminded it is just one chapter in the True North story.
One afternoon, a small group of us are relaxing on the beach when a tender approaches.
“There are dolphins over there,” the crew member calls out, pointing to the other side of the bay. “Do you want to see them?”
Within minutes we are skimming across the water towards a rocky stretch of coastline. There are at least 20, perhaps 30 dolphins leaping and weaving around the boat.
They play in the wake, surfacing so close we can see the sheen of their backs. A tiny baby keeps pace beside its mother, and the reaction from the boat is instant – soft voices, wide smiles and that shared breathless joy that has defined this journey.
Some cruise lines define luxury by what’s on board. With True North, the luxury lies in access. Orcas in Bremer Canyon. Empty beaches at sunset. Wild dolphins encountered without warning. Moments you never see coming.
And then there are the stories. Over dinners and late-night drinks, the crew and return guests regale us with tales of swimming with whale sharks in West Papua, standing beneath thundering waterfalls in the Kimberley and venturing into remote landscapes few people ever see.
They speak of helicopter flights over the Horizontal Falls, exploring ancient rock art in Arnhem Land, snorkeling remote kaleidoscopic reefs in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago and cruising through Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River. Every itinerary opens up a different coastline, a different wilderness, a different story – each one extraordinary in its own way.
They speak with the kind of easy enthusiasm that makes you realize True North isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime trip. It’s the kind of adventure you come back for again and again.
It’s adventure, elevated. Not rushed. Not forced. Just quietly extraordinary.
And as this voyage continues along the wild coastline of Western Australia, I begin to understand something else. You don’t come on a True North cruise simply to see remarkable places. You come to feel connected to them – to the coastline, to the wildlife, to the people beside you on the deck.
Because true luxury isn’t what’s waiting on board. It’s the rare privilege of standing on the bow, watching the horizon and knowing you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
For more information or to book your True North adventure cruise, go to truenorth.com.au
