Wyndham-East Kimberley

After lunch, we went off on our first Xplorer cruise.

The Xplorer is an aluminum boat that is like a mini military landing craft. It has a shallow draft and can get into reasonably shallow waters after the outboard engines are pulled up. A small gangway folds down from the squared off bow for easy disembarkation from the boat. No disembarkation today, however, as this outing was a scenic cruise, with an opportunity to get wet by transferring to the zodiacs that accompanied us.

Coral Discoverer has one Xplorer, which is carried on a platform on the stern of the ship. There is an ingenious winching system that raises and lowers the boat from the Main Deck, where passengers board, to the water level.

(I’m not sure I mentioned that there are only 44 paying-guests on the Discoverer on this expedition, so we’re able to spread out on the Xplorer more than usual.)

We had a fairly long ride through Koolama Bay to the mouth of King George River — which is hidden from view until you are right in front of it. As a result, the river remained unseen by early seafaring explorers who came to Australia. Though Aboriginal people knew about the river, it wasn’t until 1911 that the white man first recorded this feature of The Kimberleys.

On our way to the river, we made a few stops for Anne and Steve, our guest lecturers, to speak to us about what we were seeing. In Anne’s case, she pointed some of the geology that makes the area special. In Steve’s case, he told us about the Koolama Incident, which involved the WWII bombing of a ship by that name … by Japanese zeros. The expedition team as a group pointed out interesting birdlife along the way … osprey, Brahminy kite, eastern reef egret; crested tern.

Once at the mouth of the King George River — named in honor of the coronation of King George V — we cruised into what is essentially a gorge with towering red sandstone cliffs stained black by algae. Known as the Warton Sandstone, this layer is some of the oldest rocks on earth … dating back some 1.8 billion years. Precariously perched rocks and weathering of the cliff face added additional interest to the layered rocks. As did colorful honeycombed rocks known as tafoni.

The highlight of our outing was Oomari Falls … often referred to as King George Falls. The twin falls are located at the head of the river. Like the mouth of the river, the falls remain hidden from view until you are practically upon them. You can hear them well before you can see them.

An amazing sight … especially this time of the year when the water flow is high following the recently ended wet season. In fact, our cruise to the Kimberleys is the first of the season because this is not an area that can be explored “pleasantly” prior to the end of The Wet.

Those who wanted to feel the power of the falls up close and personal were invited to transfer to zodiacs for a ride into the cataracts. We were happy to cool off with the mist carried on the air.

An excellent first look at the hidden landscape treasures of the Kimberleys.

Returning to the Coral Discoverer, we had ½ hour to rest before we were “invited” to the Sundeck Bar for drinks. And then it was time for dinner and a movie … the latter, a documentary entitled “Malice or Mutiny” … telling the story of the Koolama Incident Steve had told us about. (Too long to share it here, but if interested, you can read about it at this link … https://museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-d….)

Early call tomorrow … time to rest up.Read more