King George River and Falls

One of the major highlights of a Kimberley tour is sailing up the magnificent King George River for an early morning arrival at the Falls.

Being later in the season the Falls were almost dry.

The boat was anchored for an overnight stay.

For those interested, there was a solid climb to the head of the falls.

and a swim in the river above.

Ancient Art

Befitting the ancient landscape, we called in at Vansittart Bay and in some open caves not far from the shoreline we were able to see examples of Bradshaw Art.  This work has been dated at between 20,000 and 40.000 years old. Completed before the last Ice Age on earth.  The locals call it "Gwion Gwion" or the art of the people before people.  As they have no connection with the art it is not particularly valued in their culture.

Fascinating Art

At Bigge Island. there are a number of shallow  caves close to the shoreline.

These caves contain some amazing and detailed art.

We could not find an explanation for this well endowed gentleman.

 but the depiction of the early Europeans with their sailing ships and pipes was quite clear.

The Magnificent Wilderness

P.P.King, one of the early explorers of the Kimberleys, mapped the coastline in a tiny cutter called the Mermaid.  In need of repair in 1820, he beached the vessel at Careening Bay on this rock beach for 3 months.

He carved the name into a (then much younger) Boab tree.  The inscription remains today.
HMC Mermaid 1820.

Then it was off up the Hunter River and Perosus Creek to see the mangroves, do a little fishing and pull in some Mud Crabs for dinner.

Happy Hour was spent on the creek so we could mingle with the locals.

More Wonders

We called at Hanover Beach to see the area and some more rock Art.

This was quite different art with a depiction of a large bird holding a fish in its beak. This is old work that is not maintained.
Then we headed to King's Cascades where we climbed the cliff to have a swim in the river above the falls.

It was a protected mooring for the evening.

Our Amazing Coast

We saw the amazing 400 square kilometre Montgomery Reef which is underwater at high tide and stands up to 4 metre out of the water at low tide.  As a consequence, at low tide there is a huge rush of water off the top of the reef.

It is a highly productive area and there were many fish, turtles and birds in the area.

We visited Langii Cove before another beautiful sunset.

Art and Landscape

Having anchored off Raft Point and moved on shore, we clambered up to some overhanging rocks to see a gallery of aboriginal art that is culturally relevant and maintained by the owners.

 The art depicts the local spiritual beings or "Wandjina".  Later we traveled to the Ruby falls at the end of Red Cone Creek anchoring in Doubtful Bay for the evening.

Into the Landscape

After a full night of sailing we anchored in King Sound.

The tender took us to Crocodile Creek for a little exploration and swimming.

Then back to the mother ship to travel to the Horizontal Waterfalls.  A helicopter ride over the area provided spectacular views

and the boat trip up through the falls was a great experience. 

Exploration of The Kimberleys

Our trip to Broome took the long way via Perth where we were able to catch up with Murray for lunch.

Then on to the plane to Broome seeing one of our first Kimberley sunsets.

In the morning we were collected and all piled onto a tender for transfer to the "Reef Prince"

and away we went.

The cabins were very comfortable,

and the meals were fantastic.

Grandma Has A Moving Experience

Grandma completed her move back to Vermont South today.  The palatial new Livingston Gardens facility is gradually bringing in the new residents.  She was one of 5 in the dining room at lunch today.

The room is very comfortable and the facilities are great.

There is light everywhere from the class fronted foyer, and the glass fronted lifts.

And little glass walled sitting areas with tea and coffee facilities.

There is even a large parking area under the building.  So far, so good.