Discovering the magic of the Kimberley By Jan Armstrong Jan recently enjoyed 10 days on board the Coral Princess exploring the Kimberley under the guidance of Aurora Expeditions. Jan was blown away by the beauty of the area and really appreciated the expert staff on board which meant history, nature and art were all explained. Jan has mentioned more than once that she would do it all again tomorrow! We arrived into Broome at 1015 and spent the day wandering around Broome, after leaving luggage in lockers at Broome airport. Broome airport is an easy walk to central town and all the galleries and restaurants you could wish to visit. The sandflies were particularly friendly in Broome, so don’t forget some kind of repellant!! We boarded the Coral Princess in the afternoon before departing at 1730. On board, we were first escorted to our cabins, then we met in the dining room for an introduction to the ship and her crew, followed by a safety briefing and outline of the following day’s activities. We were all informed that structured itineraries would not accommodate the Kimberley coast, and our days would be governed, in large part, by the tides – two highs and two lows every 24 hours. This coastline experiences some of the largest tidal ranges in the world. By the end of the first night, around 2115 there was a DVD of the Land of the Wandjina (spiritual people in the Kimberley). Most nights ended this way, with either a DVD of the area relating to the following days or cute little films. However, generally the days were so jam packed full of activities that only half the passengers were still awake for the pm entertainment! To give you an idea of how busy the cruise can be, we had approximately 20 excursions organized (and then extras) over the 8 day sailing period. We would be up early for breakfast – 0500 to 0630, then a dash to the cabin to ready ourselves for the first excursion of the day, then back to the ship for morning tea, a dash to the cabin again and then another excursion shortly after lunch, and then back for afternoon tea, and then a lecture of some description or another excursion, back to the ship, dash to the cabin, and then pre dinner drinks around 1800. It actually sounds too much, but everything about the days were so enjoyable you just did not want to stop! Its worth pointing out that the Coral Princess has get‐about boat called the Explorer, which allows us to access many more hard to reach locations on the mainland. The Explorer can also be hydraulically raised to deck level which makes it so easy for getting on and off for everyone. Our first full day on board took in the Buccaneer Archipelago and the area slightly north to that. To start the day we had safety drill and presentation/briefing and then off to Edeline Island – amazing and bizarre siltstone shapes – beautiful. No one within miles, we had it all to ourselves, all the trip. Wonderful! After lunch we explored the Whirlpool Passage, where our Explorer boat (not insubstantial) was sucked around by very large whirlpools caused by the confluence of the rivers. This particular day ended with a fantastic Captains Welcome Aboard’ drinks. Before we knew it we were asked out on the Explorer again and headed toward an island called Nares Point. As we approached the beach, we were able to see tables with white linen cloths, staff in white aprons, and a line of chairs all waiting for us for sunset drinks and nibbles. Well, we all thought we had died and gone to heaven. One of the passengers said that surely the cruise could not be better than the first day – but day after day, it was. On our second day we passed Karrakatta Bay, reputedly the place where William Damper made his first landing on Terra Australis in 1688. Our excursions included Koolan Island, Iron islands, Talbot Bay and Raptor Reach. We landed at a small steep beach and scuttled up the rise of sand and shells to view beautiful honeycombed, rippled and pitted weathered stone patterns. Pearl divers had used this beach not only to dive from, but also as a safe haven for days and nights. During one of our ship revisits Mal, one of the crew, entertained us with his ‘tickling the tawnies’ performing Tawny Nurse sharks. These sharks appeared out of nowhere, and the platform was lowered so Mal and others could stand in knee deep water. The sharks have a placid disposition, allowing people to touch them, but whilst they did not have huge mouths, their teeth were very sharp! They were about 5 or 6 feet long. We also saw some of the huge mining operation at Koolan. This was a fabulous day, but we were left wondering. Nothing is exempt from exploitation it seems – even in this wonderful, silent, special place. Over the next few days we visited some amazing places, including Steep Island, Port George, Camden Harbour, Bigge Island, Prince Regent River and Careening Bay. Over this period we also had some interesting lectures on rock art in the area with some fantastic photographs of the different forms of rock art. On Steep Island, which is also called ‘Uluru of the Sea’ we walked along an incline (rock hopping actually, should I say, boulder hopping!) to a terraced ledge (sort of a cave in the rock formation), to see Umbre, the Wandjina who belongs to the beautiful spot called Raft Point. We were clearly able to see ancient images peering out from under the rock overhang. Before we actually entered the rock shelf we approached quietly and Garry our art historian, addressed the spirits to reassure them that our behaviour would be respectful and courteous. Failure to do so would incur the wrath of the Wandjina, and calamities would befall the offenders. The rock art was fantastic, clearly visible and a lot of it. Garry told us the story of the passing of custodianship of Umbre to a local aboriginal elder, who is now responsible for the protection of this area. One afternoon we visited Red Cone Creek. The Explorer took we unsuspecting souls into the narrowing meander of mangrove mangle, terminating in a lovely sandstone gorge completed by a lovely waterfall. Not all passengers did this excursion, which is just as well. We were promised a swim (our first one of the trip and we were all desperate), little did I know I would have to do some serious rock climbing to access croc free pools above the falls. Well, I was petrified, but I did pass rock climbing 101! The rockpool was heaven on earth, and worth every bruise and scratch. Our guide, Mike Cusack, of Aurora Expeditions, is a Kimberley expert, having spent a year living in the area with his wife as part of Australian Geographic’s ‘wilderness couple’ adventure. Mike leads a group on an 8 hour walk to revisit the isolated location where they lived. There is very little of their presence that is obvious now, bushfires and the harsh environment have taken their toll, and it has reverted to what it looked like prior to their stay – as it should. Those that did the trek – about half the trip – managed to come out the other end looking very dirty but pleased with themselves. Those who didn’t do Mike’s trek were treated to an excursion to Camden Harbour with art historian Garry Darby. This harbor was the site of the first but short lived European settlement in the West Kimberley. On another excursion we visited Gwion Gwion rock art – we had to recline and focus on the ceiling of sandstone outcrop to view the long slender, delicate and tasseled figures materializing in front of us. Wonderful, wonderful. On this same excursion we visited the beach at Wary Bay where Garry spoke of the different Wandjina, here represented as cyclone sprits. Our helicopter ride to Mitchell Falls was certainly a highlight. The Explorer took us over to Naturaliste Island which was used as the helicopter strip. What an experience and what marvelous views. Mike took us out to the point overlooking the Falls and we took great photos. We had time for a quick swim – short s and t‐
shirts, then back on the chopper for Naturaliste Island, where the next group was ready to head off. We were then taken back to the ship on a zodiac, and we were so lucky to be there on the water where a croc was inspecting the ship – we could get soooo close. The resident croc hung around for the rest of the day and provided great entertainment. In the afternoon, those of us who had already been on the Mitchell Falls excursion ventured into Careening Bay. This is the spot where Australian Marine Surveyor Parker King ‘careened’ his boat the Mermaid for 2 weeks in October 1820. They undertook extensive repairs during this period. The site is commemorated with engravings from this time, by the crew, on a 12 metre girth boab tree. The second last day did not end as anticipated, due to the evacuation of one of the passengers whose fall on rocks saw them break their tibia and fibula. It was an unfortunate accident and in part due to not wearing the correct shoes as suggested by the crew. I cannot say just how well the whole excercise was handled, no one panicked as the passenger was in such confident and efficient care during the complete evacuation process. As an aside, Aurora Expeditions insist on sighting valid insurance cover for emergency evacuation. I can see why now. This was such a simple accident, but the locations are so remote. Second last day and for the first time the water was not a mill pond, it was quite rough and so we did miss out on a shore excursion. But as always, there is something else to see, and I think everyone needed a bit of time out anyway. We actually had time to open our books and read a few chapters! We ended the day with a great talk on where we had been, what it meant and what we had done. The night was complete with Captains Farewell drinks and 3 whales were sighted!! A perfect end to a perfect 10 days. We anchored that night not far from Broome. The final day we caught up with phone numbers and addresses of our fellow travelers, had brekky and disembarked. We had spent 11 days with a lovely group of caring people, who, like us, felt excited and privileged to have enjoyed being part of a wonderful wilderness area. The Kimberley is as beautiful and as spiritual from the water as it is from the land. There is nowhere else in the world quite like it.