The Cable Beach Club Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge is a remarkable five day 700+ km, socially competitive, team relay event raising money and community awareness for charity by tracing the Kimberley’s iconic stock route, the Gibb River Road.

This year 6 keen Cable Beach Club Resort staff (aka Lion Racing) are ready to take on the rough red roads by push bike from Derby to Kununurra with the determination to raise money for charity – in particular Police Legacy which is a concept that has grown to an organization caring for 134,000 widows and 1,900 children of deceased servicemen. In addition to the Police Legacy, Lion Racing’s charity of choice is the Kyle Andrews Foundation. Initiated by a young Broome boy undergoing treatment for Leukemia in Perth Western Australia, Kyle had a dream of bringing some of his young friends from the ward to Cable Beach in Broome so that, in his words, “they might feel better”. Even though Kyle is no longer with us, his foundation continues to find ways to make this happen.

This year K2O Kimberley To Ocean is supporting the Cable Beach Club Resort Lion Racing team by donating a luxurious Lower Deck King Twin cabin on one of their 8 day Kimberley Discovery Expeditions- valued at $13,090.

K2O have been operating out of Broome along the far North coast of Western Australia for over 4 years and offer a maximum of only 12 guests the most intimate and exclusive cruise of a lifetime. Cruises range from 8, 10 or 14 days and focus on many activities including, swimming, fishing, mud crabbing, snorkeling, diving, hiking and Aboriginal art just to name a few.

The winner will be drawn at The Swinging Arm Bar, El Questro, Thursday 6pm, 26/5/10 and the results published in the Broome Advertiser.

In order to get your hands on 1 of only 3000 tickets selling for $5 each you will need to contact Ben Woelders @ Cable Beach Club Resort on 08 9192 0407 or  Candice Miller @ Kimberley To Ocean on 08 9192 7185.

The Cable Beach Club Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge is a daytime event with participants camping and celebrating the day’s accomplishment at the extraordinary camping facilities provided at locations such as Silent Grove (Bell Gorge), Mount Elizabeth Station, Ellenbrae Station, Home Valley Station and Voyages El Questro Wilderness Park. The locations each offer a varied and unique life-time experience of camping in the Kimberley.

The Cable Beach Club Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge will again feature as part of the Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster’s calendar of events. See www.ordvalleymuster.com.au for further details.

To find out more about K2O have a look around our website or freecall 1800 210 318 and order your own glossy brochure today!

PADI offer courses for the very beginner to the very advanced. In Broome, Workline Dive & Tackle are a certified Dive Centre who offer many courses in the Dry Season (May-October).

As a worldwide organization, PADI are also involved in helping to preserve the many marine environments. Project AWARE is the dive industry’s leading non-profit environmental organisation dedicated to conserving underwater environments in 175 countries through education, advocacy and action. Project AWARE Foundation works in partnership with divers to combat challenges facing the marine world. Such projects include Coral Reef Monitoring, International Whale Shark Project and education campaigns such as Protect the Sharks and Protect the Living Reef.

Project AWARE created the Go ECO (Explore, Conserve, Observe) campaign to inspire dive operators to implement environmental best practices in their local area and to educate tourists about how they can travel responsibly. As divers and industry leaders we can all do our part to protect the local resources.

In addition to meeting Tourism Council standards we are now working towards a new certification in Eco Tourism. We are in the final stages of the certification and hope to be proudly showing the gecko logo before long.

In the meantime, I thought I might talk a little about Eco Tourism and why it is so important.

First and foremost it is about working together sustainably, to protect the conservation and bio-diversity values of the areas we visit, in our case, the Kimberley coast and very soon, the Rowley Shoals.

There are 2 stages to the certification, the first one having been completed, Nature Tourism is defined as:

“Ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas.”

K2O is currently progressing to Ecotourism certification which under the program is defined as:

“Ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation.”

Eco tourism in a natural area offers interesting ways to learn about the environment with an operator that uses resources wisely, contributes to the conservation of the environment and helping local communities. It encompasses the triple bottom line (environment, social, cultural) and gives companies guidelines to work with local communities, conservation groups, and raising awareness of the issues to the visitors to the area. The Kimberley coast is a unique wilderness and we are working to keep it that way.

If you wish to know more visit Eco Tourism Australia or to learn about the issues facing our region and how you can help, visit Save the Kimberley.

Some pick up on the connection straight away but for those who may not realize the idea behind our vessel name I thought I would write a quick blog to forge the connection, so let’s talk science….if I said H2O what springs to mind? Water!! but of course I hear you say! Yes, the connection between chemistry and cruising is no more complicated than that.

K2O is a play on the periodic table that brings together the concept of cruising on the waters of the Kimberley coast.

Having said that, and with a love of trivia because you just never know when it will come in handy, in the world of science experiments, K2O does exist in the alkaline group – can you tell me its chemical name?

Why not start your new year with an Ultimate 14 day Adventure and experience this magnificent coastline in all its glory: cascading waterfalls, adrenalin-pumping fishing and then relaxing on the bow with a cool drink as the sun fades turning the Kimberley skies into a kaleidoscope of breath taking colour – just perfect!!

If you prefer to cruise with your nearest and dearest why not book the whole boat….K2O accommodates just 12 passengers to take you on a tailor-made itinerary*. As a token of our appreciation to our loyal passengers we are happy to offer a reduced rate on your return exclusive charter booking when booked directly with the K2O office. Call for more info as availability is always changing. (*within the schedule constraints)

Please be aware that due to increasing bank Merchant fees, there will a 1.5% surcharge on all Visa/Mastercard payments in 2008.

To all our passengers past and present, don’t be shy, please send through your happy snaps for the Gallery – you can then send an e-postcard to all your friends and tell them all about your memorable cruise experience aboard K2O. Here is just a couple of examples of what recent passengers have commented:

The Kimberley is undoubtedly an unique region which we strive to protect. WA and the NT are currently fighting the invasion of the greatest threat to our eco-system, the Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus). As an introduced animal, the Cane Toad has few known predators and is wiping out reptiles, rodents and marine life wherever it goes. With toxic glands and poisonous roe, it not only has the ability to defend itself, but also kill the animal once it has digested the eggs of the toad itself. Frog Watch has been set up to fend off this alien invasion. If you are travelling through the region, be aware and report any sightings.