The knotted rope hugged the rock face.
We were told it wasn't safe to swim in the bottom pool, just to our right. A crocodile had been seen sunbaking there a few weeks earlier.
If we wanted to wash off some of the accumulated Kimberley dust in a slippery, chilled, black pool of fresh water, we had to pull ourselves up the rope, squeeze through some tight sandstone crevices before eventually clearing a path through the thick bush.
I was tenth in line to make the climb up from Red Cone Creek.
My instinct was to quit. Turnaround. Hop back on board the Explorer, our transport vessel, and enjoy a peaceful ride through the mangrove mangal.
I don't climb. I don't squeeze. And I hate the thought of bush (and whatever's in there that I can't see) scratching at my legs.
Just as I was about to bail, Gloria – one of my fellow Aurora Expeditions passengers – turned to me and e asked if I wouldn't mind giving her a little push if she got stuck.
Gloria is about 20 years my senior.
I couldn't wimp out. I couldn't argue that I was too old for this. I had no choice but to go onward and upward.
The spirit of adventure, and perseverance, is strong among the 39 guests on this 10-day voyage from Broome to Darwin.
"It's expedition cruising, it's not cruising," Mike Cusack, our expedition leader, tells me.
And he is right. There is no singing and dancing troupes entertaining us at night. No endless buffets and drinks with umbrellas on offer.
This is tough.
"People don't have to do it. They can sit on the deckchairs and read a book for the whole 10 days. This is their trip. We will offer everything we can and try to coax people out of their comfort zones, like the massive rock climb up Red Cone Creek. For some people that's very daunting.
"I'm encouraged by their will to do it because there are people that you really do cajole. You can see that they are very apprehensive, but you try and step them through each thing, guide them through, and when they are coming back down, all of a sudden they are down, and they say things like: 'My grandkids will never believe this'.
"And for them they get such a buzz out of that as well. I mean the whole thing, in a way, is pushing them out of their comfort zone. I mean getting them up at 6.30am. If you want to see stuff though you've got to be there."
Mike is not exactly telling the truth when he says 6.30am. It's actually 5am, but he's worked a little dark magic to convince guests otherwise. The first thing he did when we boarded the Coral Princess in Broome was to adjust the clocks (forward by 90 minutes) to ship time.
The Coral Princess left Broome Wharf on a Monday in July (the coolest month to visit the Kimberley) at 16.30 hours. It arrived in Darwin 10 days later having stopped along the way at the Lacepede Islands, Cape Leveque, Talbot Bay, Raft Pt, Montgomery Reef, Kunmunya, Bigge Island, Vansittart Bay, Cape Londonderry and the King George Falls.
These places are remote, rugged and totally isolated. Some of us had phone coverage for about an hour at Cape Leveque, but apart from that we were cut off from the rest of the world for the duration of the journey.
"I don't allow newscasts and sports results," Mike says. "I want to isolate people so what they focus on is this harsh grandeur.
"Apart from say Broome, Derby and Wyndham, there's a lot of coast here with not much on it. Realistically you can only get into it by boat."
This landscape is so off-the-scale that Aurora Expeditions photographer Quentin Chester says at least two lenses are needed to capture it all.
"You've got to shoot these wonderful vistas of rock formations, cliffs and gorges that sort of extend right into the back of the image,' he said.
'I shoot with a telephoto to get hold of some of the wildlife. But I also use a wide angle landscape lens. We're often walking in close contact with rock overhangs and rock formations that give you this great foreground of spectacular textures and colours.'
Life on the Kimberley coast, home to more than 30 per cent of Australia's islands, is dominated by the tides which are the biggest in the southern hemisphere.
Sometimes the difference between high tide and low tide can be as much as 10 metres – that's about the same height as a two-storey house.
"The tides definitely rule everything," Mike says. "Particularly the spring tides because there are destinations we just can't go to if it is neap tide. We missed out on a really spectacular painting site in Swift Bay because we had a falling tide. You just don't venture in. It drops and rises an inch a minute. Ten minutes and 10 inches have gone. That's a lot when we are drawing 0.6 metres on Explorer.
"That's why we have get up at ludicrous hours because you don't get a second chance.
"The Horizontals can be very anti-climactic in a neap tide. They (the passengers) have had this hype about the Horizontal Waterfalls and they get there on neap tides and they think 'I get more fun in the bath' whereas when it is on the springs, it really pumps. So that's why we have these outrageously early breakfasts because you have to get out there."
There's no doubt the Horizontal Waterfalls, in Talbot Bay, are one of the big ticket items on this trip. Described by David Attenborough as "one of the greatest natural wonders of the world", the waterfall effect is caused by the fast moving tidal flow through two narrow gorges in the McLarty Range.
The water boils beneath our zodiac as we race into the falls. The power of the water bumps, shakes, and splashes us, as we cling to the sides of our small boat.
It's the second time I've seen the falls. The first was from a light plane. This is much better. I can taste the salt water on my lips. It's definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
For Mike, who with his wife spent a year living in the Kimberley wilderness in 1987-88 as part of an Australian Geographic project, the highlight was our journey along Prince Regent River.
The morning started with a typically stunning Kimberley sunrise. The water was still like glass and perfectly reflecting the honeycomb-coloured rocks and clouds from above. It was 26 degrees and as Mike told us about the geographical features of Mount Waterloo and Mount Trafalgar you could sense the genuine excitement in his voice. Mike himself is one of the reasons you would sign up for an Aurora Expedition. He loves this region and his genuine enthusiasm for the Kimberley is infectious.
"I think I've only seen it like that three times in 56 voyages," he says after drenching himself under a waterfall in King Cascade while filling our water bottles.
"Because I'm not doing this for six months at a time I can afford to go 110 per cent," he says. "That's what I try and do – max the energy so everyone can have the best experience."
And because this is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, we are all more than happy to follow Mike's lead and climb every mountain.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
auroraexpeditions.com.au
GETTING THERE
Aurora Expeditions Kimberley cruises from Broome to Darwin and vice versa from May to June 2016 and 2017.
STAYING THERE
The 11-day Kimberley Coast cruise lands daily along the coast visiting highlights including the Horizontal Waterfalls, Montgomery Reef, Raft Point, King Cascade, Bigge Island and King George Falls. Fares start from $7790 a person twin share for 2016 sailings.
The cabins are clean and comfortable, but basic.
DINING THERE
The Coral Expedition I has a main dining room that serves home-style meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
SPECIAL DEAL
Book your 2016 Kimberley Coast cruise with Aurora Expeditions before December 31, 2015, and you can add a four-night deluxe getaway at the multi award-winning Ramada Eco Beach Resort for just an extra $100 per person! Offer includes four nights in a garden eco view villa with daily continental breakfast and return Broome transfer. Must end 31 December 2015. Terms and conditions apply. The Ramada Eco Beach Resort is located about an hour's drive out of Broome.
