Many Rivers To Cross (Wunambal Gaambera country, Mitchell Plateau, King Edward River, Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge, WA)

Despite the thin walls, dear reader, we had a relatively good night's sleep. The continuing issue is connectivity. Even in areas that profess wifi internet access, the speed is reminiscent of the old dial-up days and not commensurate with NBN or satellite speeds. Access may be available but the bandwidth was as narrow as my appreciation of country music. Actually, no, that's non-existent. It was as narrow as Dutton's vision for Australia, no, also non-existent. As narrow as a racist's understanding of Indigenous culture. And as frustrating.

By now, my astute reader, you will have realised that I am in fact not in the wilds of Western Australia, admiring the endless blue sky of the Kimberley. I am sitting in the comfort of  my own home in Sydney. The long days, lack of connectivity and the corrugated roads severely limited my ability to blog on a daily basis. Now that I am home and following my own timeline, I am catching up with the blog.

There were flowers everywhere.

The first stop today was at Munurru campsite for morning tea where we met some very cheeky pied butcherbirds who were so tame as to expect to be fed by passing tourists. As soon as they saw us eating, down they flew and waited expectantly until they were fed by hand. Sorry, no pictures.

Zarieka explaining the story.

This is Wunambal Gaambera country and we were here to visit the Wandjina rock art site through which we were escorted by a local indigenous ranger.  It is quite amazing the number of 'indigenous experiences' we have had over the years that were conducted by non-indigenous guides. As Capes (our indigenous guide) said at Monkey Mia when telling his story, only those from country have the right to tell their story, so it was gratifying to meet Zarieka (I hope the spelling is correct) and hear some of the stories related to the art.

Of course the Bradshaw art movement was named by a white fella, after himself, because he was the first European to see this particular style. He wasn't an artist, just someone with a big ego.

Wandjina. Spirit beings.

Zarieka told the story of how the scaly-tailed possum got his scaly tail and how the echidna got his spikes. As always there is a lesson behind the story and the moral of this one is not to steal. The echidna was trying to steal the possum's food and was caught and pushed from the pandanus tree. As he fell he gripped the possum's tail and tore the skin from it. He landed on his back on the spiky pandanus. These became his spikes and he was destined to walk the ground and never climb again - as punishment from the Wandjina.

The echidna.

After an informative tour of the rock art site, we went to the Ranger Station where we were able to purchase books about the artworks and dreaming stories as well as T-shirts. We already possess a book on Gwion Gwion Art so we bought an illustrated version of the possum and echidna story and a T-shirt. You know I can't resist.

Back in the truck we drove back to Munurru campsite for lunch by the King Edward River and the mandatory refreshing dip. The King Edward was just one of multiple river crossings spawning today's title from a favourite, Linda Ronstadt from her 1975 album Prisoner in Disguise. There was even a metal pool ladder attached to the rock ledge to allow for easy access between the water and land. It was another beautiful vista which we shared with three families travelling together and one unfortunate couple who were invaded by the rest of us. Jayne sat down to enjoy lunch and was asked by the couple next to her where we had been. I could see the questioning look on her face and told her that they were not a part of our tour. "Oh," she exclaimed laughing. "I thought it was strange that someone from our group would ask where we've been." 

Before the peace was shattered.

Downstream from the swimming hole was another waterfall and the evidence of the impact of the wet season on the surrounding area. Sandstone rock polished smooth by the relentless force of the water.

The falls beyond the pool.

The other entertainment for the afternoon was a Wedge-tailed Eagle slowly climbing the thermal air currents high into the sky, being pursued by two ravens. It was amusing because the ravens appeared to be quite earnest in their attempt to drive the eagle away and it was totally unconcerned and leaving their airspace anyway.

I heard something in there ... no I did not investigate.

After a relaxing lunch and swim, we boarded the bus to once again re-acquaint ourselves with corrugated roads and red dust as we drove to Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge, another tented, glamping accommodation site owned by APT. The wifi proved as woeful as we all expected, but, just over the ridge was an Aboriginal community and they used Optus. As do I. Happy days, I could at least hotspot in our tent.

Until next time.

Stars on 45 (Broome)

Remember the single? Dear reader, do you? It was a medley of hits from Shocking Blue's Venus through to a stack of Beatles numbers - google it and have a listen, you know you want to. So why did I choose this as today's title? Well, it's been a while since I have sat down to record what we've been doing, so today's post is going to cover our arrival and disembarkation in Broome and the next couple of days. This will possibly be the penultimate post of this sojourn. I anticipate Sunday night will be the final word and the unveiling of the next trip. Yes, dear reader, it is booked and it is later this year.

The final night at sea proved to be benign which made for a pleasant stay after the previous night. We packed and had our bags in the corridor before we went to bed. That left breakfast, collecting our passports, immigration and a bus into Cable Beach. At least breakfast went smoothly. It was a tad crowded because it was unusual for everyone to be converging on the dining room at the one time. Ken and Moya joined us for one last time and we said farewell to Rizal who had looked after us so well over the last 11 days.

The queue to pick up our passports and then immigration was long and unmoving for reasons that no-one could quite fathom. It is curious that we had to be processed by immigration since no-one left the ship anywhere but on Australian soil. However, sailing through the night into Indonesian waters and having our passports stamped by Indonesian Immigration ensured we had to complete immigration declaration cards. I'm still not certain why we required a "technical stop: in Indonesian waters "- it was speculated so that the cruise line wouldn't have to pay the staff Australian wages.

Once through immigration, the buses were delayed. The Broome wharf is quite long and pedestrian traffic is not allowed so everyone arrives and leaves by vehicle. With only one lane open due to rectification work, it was a slow process. The captain was at the door to say goodbye and expedition crew lined the wharf as we identified our bags for packing onto the bus. Aside from the minor issue of a temporarily missing bag, all went well.

Cable Beach

The view form the lookout on Dampier terrace

We arrived at Cable Beach Club Resort with 35 others from the cruise which meant that reception was very crowded and they were experiencing technical printer problems which meant no one could check out or in. We opted for a real cup of coffee, the first since leaving Darwin and allowed the queue to look after itself. The Resort is very large and quite well appointed. Around the corner from reception is an Italian style café where we sought refuge. 

There was no rush, we'd already been told our rooms wouldn't be ready until 3pm, so we booked a shuttle into Broome's China Town.

While wandering the pearl shops, one lady engaged us in conversation and suggested that Jayne purchase a single pearl to swapped out with her diamond pendant. Interesting, but not yet.

Same again

We located the Kimberley Bookshop where we wanted to purchase the book on Gwion Gwion art that Josh had recommended. Tim, one of the other expedition leaders was also in there buying books on Aboriginal art as well. We purchased the book after a chat with Tim and the owner of the store. It has an amazing array of books if you're ever up this way and is certainly worth a visit.

It appears that everyone on the cruise had been disgorged into the shopping precinct. We even ran into Ken and Moya one more time - it was like we had never left the ship.We wandered the streets looking at pearls - when in Broome. Until it was midday and time for our appointment at Paspaley Pearls. Disappointingly the talk had began before we arrived and before the designated time. A glass of champagne made amends. The talk was quite interesting and we both learnt a lot about pearls and what to look for when purchasing them. This would have been excellent information in 2015. Curiously, Jayne had brought some of her pearls with her and luckily they all passed the lustre test - we had done well.

Following the talk, we spoke with the assistant and tried to identify the pearl necklace Jayne didn't buy when we were in Darwin in 2009. We discussed what it looked like and flicked through back catalogues, all to no avail. It was not to be added to the collection.

It was a balmy 31° so it was time to seek shade, shelter, food and beer. It is important to stay hydrated. We went to the Roey for lunch. Lou and Jorge (expedition leaders) were also there. Wow too much food, massive serves. The beer was good.

Back onto the Explorer Bus for the 15 minute trip back to the Resort and into our room to unpack. The resort is directly opposite Cable Beach. There are plenty of food options: Zanders on the beach does breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Sunset Bar and Grill, attached to the resort, does breakfast and dinner.

We went for a slow walk along the top of the dune and then down onto to the beach. The water is the most amazing turquoise colour. The tides are massive, around 8 metres, which translates to over 100 metres from high tide line to low tide. The beach is over 22 km long and the section to the north of the designated swimming area allows 4wd vehicles. And camels. Apparently they co-exist. The sunset camel tours wander the northern end of the beach everyday at sunset.

At 5:30pm we were in position to photograph the sun setting on the water. The car park was now bulging at the seams, as was Zanders and the Sunset Bar. Apparently this is a daily phenomenon during the dry. Yes, I was there too, but it's not the first time I've seen the sun disappear into an ocean. I'm really not sure of the fascination.

It was now time to return to our verandah and sit in the shade and sip champagne. There was plenty of wild life to experience as the sun went down. A Tawny Frogmouth camped on the corner of our umbrella before seeking a higher vantage point. A couple of wallabies appeared in the darkness, eating their way along the verandahs of the downstairs units. A flying fox landed in the palm tree and began feasting on the fruit. Not to mention the blue tongue lizard that greeted us in the afternoon.

We decided that we had done enough for the first day back on dry land and retired for the night.

Thursday was another postcard day in Broome, starting with alfresco breakfast as the Sunset Bar & Grill, followed by another stroll along the beach, this time in the direction of the 4wd armada.  The tide was on the way out, creating a compact sandy road for the vehicles and us to walk on.  There were rock pools but they were curiously devoid of any sea life, plant or animal.

The view from breakfast

We decide to book for a late seafood platter at Zanders but we were told there was no need as our preferred time of 3pm would be very quiet.  In the meantime we decided to walk around the corner to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm Showroom to browse this outlet away from the town centre and then to catch a bus into Chinatown to buy some cheese, biscuits and wine for later that evening.  Jayne was also on a mission to try to find a replacement sun shirt for the one that had been ripped on one expedition walk.

The shopping expedition can only be described as a success. I bought a new pair of yellow boardies at Ripcurl. Jayne found a sun shirt. We procured supplies and a pearl from Kailis pearls for Jayne's necklace. Wins all round. We misjudged the bus times and found ourselves at the bus stop 30 minutes early and sat people watching.

The bus spruiks the local sights as you are driven around town. They have deals with certain establishments for freebies, one of which is a 2 for 1 cocktail deal at Zanders. Since we were lunching there we thought we might commence with a cocktail. I had a passionfruit margarita and Jayne had a mango daquiri, followed by a very nice seafood platter for two. We made our way through the oysters Kilpatrick, prawns, calamari, cooked prawns, battered fish, barramundi, blue swimmer crab, fries and salad, washed down with a Margaret River rosé. The food was beautifully cooked and the staff were attentive, the view of Cable Beach is brilliant. We sat and watched the sun move towards the horizon and the crowds built steadily to watch the sun set. If you've never seen the sun set over water it looks something like this:

There goes the sun

There goes the sun

And I say, it's alright

Well, that's what they would have sung had they thought more about it.

We bailed just before sunset to avoid the larger crowds. When paying our bill, we presented our cocktail discount voucher as we had been directed to do by the wait staff, but the manager would not honour it. Apparently you have to have a specific bus ticket. Interestingly we had never been offered a ticket on any trip. I re-read the timetable when we got back to the apartment and while technically he was correct, the wording is not very clear and they are doing sound business as a result. His, "not my fault" claims were not well supported when he also stated "you are not the first people". So, he knew and has done nothing about the misleading advertising. While we would still have eaten, there we certainly would not have had the cocktails. A disappointing finish to an otherwise lovely day.

Back home to some wine and cheese on the verandah once the sun had set to watch the wildlife and the stars.

Until next time.

If a picture paints a thousand words (Vansittart Bay, WA)

It's time to leave the Australian rock legends behind and wander back to the gentler times of the 1970s with Bread. This post dear reader will be relatively brief and devoid of relevant photos. However, to continue the visual feast that is the Kimberley region, I will include some previously unpublished photos to sweeten my dirge of words.

The reason for no photos you ask? Today's expedition was to Jar Island to observe Gwion Gwion rock art. While we were given permission to take photos, they requested that we do not publish them on social media. Since I'm one of those bleeding heart lefties that you hear that right wing bufoon Alan Jones spew about, it is my right to observe the wishes of the original inhabitants of this land. Therefore ... what you'll get today is a thousand words and no pictures of the art. See what I did there?

So at the expedition briefing the night before, we were unsurprised to find that group Yellow B would be the second of eight groups to depart by zodiac for the short trip to the beach of Jar Island for the first excursion of two planned for the day.  This meant another early start since departure time for us was 7:10am. We are hanging out for the rotation among the groups since we (read Jayne) really feel we have done our fair share of early risings already!

Once on the beach, we elected to keep our reef shoes on while others changed into joggers for the 500 metre stroll up to Gallery 1 to have the first set of Gwion Gwion interpreted for us.  The figures are quite distinctive in their style with defined bodies and detailed representations of hands, fingers and body adornments, especially the large and intricate headdresses worn for particular ceremonies.  The art has been dated at around 17,000 years old.

Interestingly, they are sometimes hard to discern as you look at them with the naked eye but they come out of the rock more distinctly if photographed.

We retraced our path towards the beach and crossed over with the other Yellow group to view Gallery 2, a slightly more rocky walk which took us in behind rocks to another, more extensive and diverse set of Gwion Gwion.  Here there were snakes, people, an echidna and fish. The scene was described whereby the paintings would have been used as a backdrop to tell stories around the campfire at night both to entertain and instruct - the world's first open air cinema. For some more detailed background read this: http://theconversation.com/aboriginal-history-rewritten-again-by-ignorant-political-class-43996

The colour that remains is a dark red ochre stained into the rock but originally it is thought that there would have been black, yellow and white as well as the red to bring this dimension of the Dreaming vividly into the midst of the gathering.

After Gallery 2, we returned to the beach and then the ship via the zodiacs for a lunch interlude until the second part of the day - another zodiac trip to walk over a salt pan to view the wreck of a WWII C53 plane that crashed on to the island.

We had already decided that the expedition leader's representation the previous evening of what we would see was less than inspiring - vandalised, parts missing, unable to go inside the wreck.  We weighed this up against the huge responsibility to you, dear reader, since the blog was well and truly behind in its usual daily production.  We opted to forego the C53 experience and stay on board to catch up on the blog and emails.  We duly discovered that many of our co-passengers were similarly uninspired by the briefing and had also stayed put that afternoon.  Therefore the C53 will have to remain a WWII mystery to you all.

For the dedicated reader, you will be pleased to know that Jayne has rediscovered her love affair with the Pina Colada. It has become the go to drink when we have time prior to lunch. Although that is not often - this is, after all, an expedition, not a cruising holiday.

Tomorrow we are back on the zodiacs heading up Porosus Creek off Prince Frederick Harbour.

Until then.