19. KIMBERLEY CRUISING Part 2.  Fishing, Falls, Art and Downed DC3

Fishing a couple of times during the voyage, the first time without any reel success, the second brought home multitudes.  Don's Australian Salmon was equal in weight to all the fish Don has caught during his life time.  There were also the three sharks that got away, which took off at great speed, and fortunately were either cut loose or broke the line.  Great exhilarating stuff!

Ideal fishing boat for multiple fisherfolk.
Plenty of rod holders, seating, walk around ability and security. 

Plenty of time for fishing, baiting and snoozing.
Ahh the excitement was almost too much!

Don's first reel success in fishing.
The fish didn't have such a good day.

This Mermaid Boab Tree in Careening Bay was engraved 198 years ago in 1820 when Her Majesty's Cutter "Mermaid" under the command of  Phillip Parker King was careened due to leaks created by steel nails in the copper sheathing.  They were learning an important lesson in electrolysis.  The crew was having an early lesson in galvanic corrosion.

What a tree, and around the 1000 year old mark, despite the beautiful graffiti.

HMC Mermaid 1820
This is very relevant as this detail helped our team do very well in an on board trivia quiz.

The digital clock on the tree was out by 1 hour.
The time was actually 1720

On the walk back to the tenders.
Looking like an advertisement for bread. 

The Hunter River in WA, as in the Hunter River in NSW was named after John Hunter.
The main difference between the two is the artwork, fauna, population, tidal range and lack of a John Hunter Hospital in this area.

Beautiful day for skiing, but no takers.

Cool Kimberley Colours 

The Hunter River without coal ships.

Making waves.

Ever watchful and very misunderstood.
Salt water crocodiles simply want affection.

Making a saltie feel loved.

Rain hasn't fallen in the region since April, however water still continued to flow over the Mitchell Falls, albeit at a reduced rate.  Our helicopter ride took us from the beach on Naturalist Island, following a course up the Hunter River, cruised earlier in the morning, across Kimberley Country to the Mitchell River and falls, returning in a loop further to the north.

Naturalist Island from where we left with some of our fellow sailors heading up the Hunter in the tender.

The Hunter River explored earlier in the day by boat.
Again someone forgot to close the door.

Mangroves and ravines 

Looking down the Hunter River towards the coast.

Selfie at 500m
Top Gun revisited

Mitchell River running in from the SE.

Mitchell Falls in the Dry
Imagine the flow in the Wet!

Looking like tears or  tiers.
The combined height of the tiers is 80m. 

Refuelling at Mitchell Falls and a swapping of co-pilots.

Co-pilot Carrol ready to take on some cattle mustering on the way back.

A different type of remote to the one on the coffee table.

Swift Bay saw us with a 5.30am breakfast for a 6am departure to two different rock art sites. The Kimberley is renowned for the artwork, with most works seen only by a handful of people.

The first site was beyond the idyllic beach in the rocks and cave beyond.
Perfect ambush area for salties in the mangroves to the right.

Rock art from thousands of years ago.

Isaiah 9:2

Our pick up team

It was then back into tenders for a short trip to our second site.

Dolphins put on a considerable show working together to corral fish.

Our second site brought more unique artwork.

Unlike anything we had seen before.

Blue Whale painted in ochre.

Scary stuff!

  Negative handprints

Triple selfie

Keep your hat on, especially at speed when we head back to the mother ship.
This trip supplied many bad hair days.

Osborne Island provided more Kimberley experiences.

Turtle tracks from a big night out.

Tranquility.
The lower the tide the more exercise for the turtles.

Boo!

On the trip back to the Eco Abrolhos, we viewed the following rock formations on the shore.

At first glance, just a heap of rubble.

But on closer inspection!
These rock formations were together in long lengths as if extruded and stacked for future use. 

Even in these outlying parts of Australia security is an issue as noted over the years.
We had a border force vessel home in on us one evening, giving us a wide berth, but letting us know of their presence.

Most vessels show AIS for identification.  This boat doesn't allow stealth movement.
The speed of travel on radar is probably a give away though.

A journey to Woku Woku Island.

The original Mermaid Tree of 1819 seen by few people and unmarked on charts.

Small saltie resting impression.

Contrast in foot sizes

Less threatening footprints.

Boab Trees were in abundance on Woku Woku Island where we visited a Macassan site dating back centuries.

Such a range of Boabs

Caption not suitable

The previous image gives an idea of the size of the osprey nests in the branches.

Evening steaming to Jar Island for our overnight anchorage.

The program for each following day was written on a board for all to see and prepare.

Our skipper, Grant, made great use of abbreviations, art work and wit for each day, with the name of the dining room altering at each anchorage.

Everything one needs to know for the coming day.

Arrival at Jar Island.
Once more we had to contend with the weather.

Jar Island was named after early explorers found jars on the island.
Our tenders hit the beach with a jar.
The front steps of the tenders are ajar. 

Home away from home.

There are no ifs or buts.
If multiple folk want to see cave art in quick succession one must follow the butt.

Captain Grant, an expert in the artwork, sharing his knowledge. 

On 26th February, 1942, exactly one week after the bombing of Darwin, a DC3 flying from Perth to Darwin, crash landed on a salt pan after becoming lost and running out of fuel.
The plane had left Perth missing one key component; a navigator.
All on board survived and were rescued by a QANTAS pilot who flew his own rescue mission after hearing the discussions on the radio and figured where the plane had crashed.  This was fortunate due to Darwin still recovering from the initial devastation of the bombing.
Two days after their rescue, Broome was bombed.

Following flight/landing/crash path and heading across the improvised airstrip for the trees on the far side.

Looking good after 76 years in the bush.
All usable parts were removed to help keep other DC3 aircraft in the air. 
The wings were not required.

The starboard or right side.
All was not right on the 26th February, 1942 

An amazing tale of survival.

The port wing took the major impact against a tree, causing the wing to snap off and swing the plane around 90 degrees.

One would think this was a recent wreck, not from 76 years ago.

No one knows why or when the plane had the large section removed.

Major service required.

Resident Osprey living on the salt pan rock structure.
More suited to landing in this area. 

We still have so much more to reveal of this voyage, however to do justice to some of the most incredible river systems, water falls and fauna we will have to go for a 3rd blog to finalise our trip to Darwin.
Apologies we are not there yet, however as with so many journeys the enjoyment is in the journey and not the destination.

Until next blog, hopefully shortly,
Happy travelling in your own journey through life,

Regards, Don and Carrol.