Darwin, NT to King George Gorge, WA
17th July 2023
After waiting for two years to finally see the Kimberley Coast, I was up early on Monday morning, bags packed and ready to take downstairs, and the required RAT result (negative) messaged to Kimberley Expeditions.
Brook, our guide & go-to person, met five of us in the hotel lobby and soon we were on the bus for the short drive to Darwin’s port, where the MV Reef Prince was waiting.
We boarded our home for the next 10 nights, met Simon (Captain), and two of the crew, Leo and Jackson. We would soon learn how capable they and the other crew are – each very experienced, helpful and fun to be with.
Even as we were unpacking, we were underway. The plan was to sail for approx 24 hours, leaving the Timor Sea to cross the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, then crossing the border with WA at some stage in the evening and arriving at King George Gorge tomorrow. The seas are pretty “intense” around there, so I took a precautionary Phenergan before dinner, and was very pleased that I did.
Brook said that we’d enter Koolana Bay, the entrance to the King George Gorge, and go a fair way in until we found a good place to anchor. We’d then hop into the tenders and motor deeper into the Gorge to the twin waterfalls that fall the full height (100 meters). Not only would we see them, we would feel them.
After a fairly rough and bouncy night, it was good to see land way off to port (left side), although we were still being moved around by the ocean currents coming from different directions. Reef Prince is a catamaran with a shallow draft that uses water jets for propulsion and steering – with no keel or rudder, she’s at the mercy of the currents and waves that move from side to side. However her advantage is the ability to get into very shallow areas.
We were soon anchored inside the Gorge, and in the tenders for the first time. Leo was driving the one I was in, and it was great to be seeing and photographing the colours and shapes around us.
The Gorge is extraordinary. High jagged rock faces rise several hundred meters out of the water, their red-orange, black and sometimes white faces look like huge blocks stacked one on top of the other, the colours standing out against the clear blue sky. In some places trees have found a way to put roots down amongst the blocks.
Looking up high, some blocks seemed to be precariously in place. And along the waterline fallen “blocks” were strewn into the water. I wondered what it would be like to be here during the “wet”, when water would be falling the full height across the walls of the Gorge, and blocks were loosening and falling.
We came closer to the Twin Falls at the end of the Gorge – one to the left of a large promontory, and the other to the right. With my camera in its dry bag, and everything else tucked away, under the Falls we went. The water was beautifully cold and refreshing, although landing quite hard.
Then out we came to motor away and dry off. With the temperature in the mid 30’s, this didn’t take long at all, and soon we were sailing into a beautiful cove. This a deeply spiritual place for Brook, and he explained how the ancient Aboriginal traditions enabled people to live here. He spoke about how they teach future generations to hunt and survive, learning which plants and roots are safe, those that can be used to heal and others for making tools of various kinds.
Although we’d hoped to see a dugong here, it stayed out of sight, and it was soon time to move away from the cove and find a place to stop so that he could play his didgeridoo for us. With the tide dropping and rocks becoming exposed, our three tenders rafted up below a rock face that had a perfect area for Brook to climb onto with his didgeridoo.
I can’t describe how beautiful this was – he plays masterfully, and to hear the sounds that came from him was amazing. The photo will have to suffice.
All too soon we were back on the Reef Prince, enjoying time on the upper deck – an area that’s perfect for relaxing, chatting and watching the world go by when we’re underway. Tonight we remained at anchor, and after a delicious dinner prepared by our French chef, GG (male), I raced out onto the bow to look at the night sky.
And what a sky! The Southern Cross sparkled low down in the sky and as my eyes adjusted, more and more stars appeared with the Milky Way stretched across the sky. I asked Brook to tell us about the Aboriginal stories of the stars, and he promised to do that one evening. For now he reminded me of the “Black Emu” that starts with its head near the Southern Cross and its neck and body stretching high up into the sky.
It was hard to go inside, but sleep was beckoning, and having seen three shooting stars, it was time to dream.
18th July 2023
After a yummy breakfast, we sailed towards Vansittart Bay, the site of a DC-3 crash in the 1950s. Landing on the beach, we walked up over a dune and across a salt flat to an area of trees.
Coming closer we could see the extraordinary site of the “remains” of a DC-3 aircraft amongst the trees. The story of how it came to be here is not entirely clear. It seems that 8 men from the US airforce were flying across the area when they ran into engine trouble. Perhaps they saw the salt flat and tried to land there but couldn’t quite reach that, landing amongst trees instead?
They all survived, and were subsequently rescued – in fact the shell of the aircraft is remarkably intact. However the true nature of their journey remains a mystery, as do the bullet holes that indicate inward coming bullets as well as outward going.
While we were there, Brook showed us how the aborigines make string from pandanus leaves.
During the afternoon, the plan was to visit the ancient Gwion Gwion Gallery on Jar Island (Ngulu). I walked from the beach over the dunes, between and around huge boulders, to the start of the climb to the Gallery. As much as I would have liked to see this ancient art and listen to Brook play the didgeridoo there, I was not going to be able to get there safely.
No problem – Leo was on hand to stay with me. We slowly wandered back to the beach, looking at small water pools that had shells with their occupants inside, and marvelling at their tenacity to live in such a harsh place. Back on the beach we found a boulder to sit on that was in the shade of another, and we chatted about life at sea and his experiences leading up to his current work with Reef Prince. Importantly, we were far enough away from the water’s edge to see any crocs that might decide to wander by.
After maybe 45 minutes, the other guests came back down from the Gallery to board the tenders. Brook came up to me, his didgeridoo in his hand. He wanted to play this for me – to me. We went back to the rock I’d been sitting on earlier, and he sat opposite me, and played.
Listening to him, watching the concentration needed to form the sounds, and then looking around at where we were – clear blue skies, giant boulders with browns and golden colours, the blue-green of the sea and the remoteness this place – I realised how lucky I am to live in this ancient land that is Australia.
Dinner was very quiet this evening. We were sailing towards our next anchorage, and with the combination of a long day in the sun, and strong currents creating rough seas, I headed to my cabin quite early. I fell asleep with the lights on, woke 2 hours later, now in calm seas, turned everything off and went back to sleep. Tomorrow would be an early 6am start with a sightseeing cruise from the tenders.