Australia Day 15 – Wednesday 13th June

We had a wake up call this morning at 7.00am – a chap knocking on the door saying “breakfast”. There are no phones, no TV’s, nothing except the bed and a chair in the room. When I opened my eyes, it was if I was looking at a widescreen TV in front of me – the wetlands and animals were just there, outside the cabin. There was a whole herd of buffalo that decided to move from the back of our cabin to the front – right outside the door. I think we’ll wait for them before attempting breakfast, The wallabies are also hopping right past the cabin – a family of three stop just outside, with the little one suckling from the mother. They are very kind and pose as I venture outside and get a bit closer to take a photograph.




Breakfast is a fairly informal affair, with mostly cold meats and pastries, but a hot bacon and egg tart. Loads of fruit and yoghurt, and freshly made bread for toast. Quite sufficient.



We get on the airboats at around 8.00am for our first trip out. They are only a matter of a couple of hundred yards away from the front decking, but as there are several hundred buffalo between us and them we have to get in the safari vehicles and drive all the way round to get to the water. In the wet season the water comes right up to the lodge, but further into the dry season it almost dries up completely. We are given ear defenders to wear whilst the fan is on full, as it is really noisy.



As we meander downstream, the amount of birds and the different varieties is amazing. No need to do any spotting – they are everywhere. Eagles up in the trees, kingfishers, heron, jesus birds (they walk on water) – we have all been given little booklets in the room if we wanted to tick off all the species we see. Can’t be bothered with that – might have done if they had pictures in there as well, so I could look and see what they looked like.



We drove about for a couple of hours, then we parked up in a forest of trees that looked as though we had arrived at Middle Earth. I expected Bilbo Baggins to appear at any minute. It was billed as “Kingfisher Café”. We then had tea and cakes – well what else in the middle of the Mary River Wetlands? It was so peaceful – only the noise of the birds could be heard. Until Justin got out his didgereedo that is. A very fine specimen – and he made a good noise. Some in our boat could, and some couldn’t. Anyone guess who was the one who couldn’t? I did try several times, but just couldn’t get the hang of it.



We got back to the lodge at around 11.30am – just enough time for a bit of relaxation before lunch was served on the deck, Prawn risotto, and more freshly baked bread. It really was lovely, then came out the home made vanilla gelato. Perfect.



It was a really lazy afternoon, by the pool and in the cabin just animal and bird watching. The afternoon safari left at 4.30pm, and we had Lauren to guide us. We drove out the back of the lodge and looked at some weird tree specimens. There was a weird beetle that drilled a hole in a dying tree, and then cut out a little door around it. The whole tree was full of little doors. We also saw a green ant nest made of leaves and hundreds of the little buggers marching up and down, and getting very angry that they had been disturbed. Lauren offered us some to eat – and promptly ate one herself. Very tangy – citrusy. So I am led to believe – I didn’t partake.



We then parked by a billabong, where there was literally hundreds of wallabies bouncing about. Beer and campari came out – so that may have been an exaggeration of my recollection of how many wallabies there really were. We then got back to camp just before the sun went down – and it was once again beautiful. Why do they have such stunning sunsets here? Every night.



The lodge had had more guests arrive during the day, so we were now at capacity of eighteen. We only had ten for dinner last night, so the table grew a bit longer. The meal was excellent again – steak for main course that must have been almost two inches thick. Diet will start again tomorrow – maybe!

Australia Day 14 – Tuesday 12th June

What a difference to other cruise ships on disembarkation day. Everything is really calm, nobody is hustling you to get out, and everything was available normally. Except that the breakfast was in the main restaurant and not up on deck – the outdoor café has been turned into a “hard hat” area where all the cases are being taken and the crane taking them onto the dock. This all happens whilst we are peacefully having our breakfast.




We are doing our own thing once we get off – there are several transfers to various hotels, but as we are catching a plane at 3.00pm we can leave our luggage in a secure area here and just have a leisurely stroll around Darwin. After saying goodbye to all the staff – and the captain is at the bottom of the gangway – we are given our DVD by Anya and then stroll along the waterfront for the ten minute walk up into the main esplanade area. It is absolutely pristine and beautiful. The grass is all cut neatly, and the flowers are lovely. There is a promenade walkway about 100 metres above the sea along the front, which is beautiful. Paul spies a public loo – a stainless steel box type thing. When he works out how to get in (an aboriginal homeless person tells him which button to press) a man tells you that you have ten minutes, and music plays. A bit different to our smelly loos back home!



We find a Mcdonalds and use their free wifi to catch up on emails etc whilst having a latte. Then we just wander around – it is a very compact town. We bumped into several other people off the ship doing the same thing – most people have got afternoon flights to various places around Australia. We walked down to the seafront and took some more pictures of birds (!) and then headed back the way we had come, but down Mitchell Street, one of the main streets through the city. We sat under the shade of a huge tree next to the Parliament building, before walking to the taxi rank in Knuckey Street. We bumped into one of the bar lads from the ship, so he shared our taxi back to the ship, where we picked up our luggage, and then headed for the AV8

Aviation Building on the outskirts of the airport. It is only a small plane – the check in building is a bit bigger than Paul’s new shed! “ Mr & Mrs Keevil” the chap says. How did he know that – I am impressed. Perhaps we look English? No – we are the only people going. Must be a really small plane then! Was that a gulp I heard from Paul? We are leaving the main suitcases here – hope that I have packed what I need for the next three nights. Don’t think there are any nearby shops if I haven’t. Paul had forgotten to put his tee shirts in, so a bit of packing and repacking had to be done.



We have a small delay here – the aircraft we were supposed to have has got a fault. Better to find out now I suppose. We are about 45 minutes late taking off. Brenton, the pilot, looks more like a cattle rancher than a pilot. He also takes our cases out to the plane – can’t see the captain’s of jumbo jets doing that! We walk out of the little aviation building, and through a gate onto the runway. There is a tiny, tiny plane at the end with the back door open – “that’s ours” I thought. Yep – it was. I can only imagine what was going through Paul’s mind at that time – probably trying to think of an excuse to stay in Darwin for the next three nights! But, give him his dues, he doesn’t hesitate. He asks if he can sit up front with the pilot, which is no problem. I have the back all to myself – although it isn’t any bigger than the back seat of a car. We are both given earphones – we can hear all that the pilot can hear from Darwin Air Control. Just as we are taxiing onto the runway, a couple of planes ahead of us, it comes across that take offs have been halted as a bird has been hit, and the carcass has to be retrieved. Didn’t take long for that to happen, so we were on our way. The planes ahead of us were somewhat bigger, and turned left to go to the end of the runway. We just turned right and off we went. Paul is actually quite chatty with the pilot – I told him it was mind over matter, and he obviously has got his mind over the matter!



We flew up and over the Adelaide River – and were told that at low tide from up here the shapes of crocodiles can be seen. It was high tide so we couldn’t see any today. The whole journey only took just about half an hour, and it was a really pleasant one. The pilot got out his ipad, and said he had downloaded an app that showed the area where we were flying, and even had a picture of the plane on – just like you get on the tv map on normal flights. We landed on a short gravel airstrip in what looked like the middle of nowhere – over herds of buffalo and thousands of birds. The white Bamurru vehicle with Al as the driver was there to meet us. As we were late, there was another couple of guests flying in from a day in Kakadu National Park, so he said we would just go for a drive and wait for their plane to land. In the short journey we had, we saw so many birds of prey, flocks of magpie geese, bee eaters – and they are only the names that I can remember. The whole area is just alive with wildlife. We went down to the Mary River, and on a little jetty there had a look out, and saw a couple of what looked like mud skippers swimming in the water. My photography is getting better – I actually got them in the picture.



We saw a plane coming in overhead, so went to pick up an American couple and we all took the twenty minute trip to Bamurru Plains. This is an eco lodge, that has solar power, and everything is done with as little harm to the environment as possible. We had a drink and cold towels, and were then shown to our “room”. Three of the sides has nothing but mesh, and looks over onto the wetlands – full of buffalo, birds, wallabies and god knows what else. The sun was on its way down, and what a sight! This is the view that costs all the money!



The shower is wound around a tree, and there is a branch to hang your towel on. The bed looks out to the wetlands, and there is a fan overhead if needed. No door locks – only nine of these cabins here. There are wind up torches that you need to take to the main lodge at night – just in case there is buffalo in your path. What do you do with your torch – shine the light in their eyes or hit them on the head with it? Hopefully I will not have to find out! We shower and change – no hairdryers in the room, but I read that they did have one to borrow so I got that. Can’t live without a hairdryer! The shower was surprisingly good – really hot and very powerful. The only thing is you can hear things walking about outside – and they all sound really big!



We walked to the main lodge for canapés on the deck to watch the last of the sun going down. See – it is civilised! They have actually lit a fire out here – I suppose it is their winter. We have put plenty of bug spray on, but there is still quite a few mossies flying around at this time of night so I got a bit nearer the fire. I will burn them off! Dinner is ready – there is a total of ten guests and Justin, the guide, eating tonight. It is a fantastic meal – there is an open bar, and would you believe that in the middle of the Australian outback they have campari! Ha! The three course meal was worthy of any high class restaurant – deep fried mud crab and prawn fishcake with salad, duck, and then a crumble and ice cream all very well presented. There is an American family also with two teenage girls – I would not be surprised if their surname was Walton and John Boy and Jim Bob are round the corner!



After a really lovely evening, we wind up our torches and make our way back to the third cabin on the right. It is now pitch dark, the stars are so bright the Southern Cross can be seen clearly as well as millions of others. You can also see the milky way if you look hard enough. Why is it that the stars here are so different to ours? I am sure Paul could tell me if I gave him a few hours! Just as we reach our cabin, there is a loud rustling just to the right of the path. That made us get a move on! No idea what it was – but I bet it was big!

Australia Day 13 – Monday 11th June

Another day at sea, so another leisurely start. Today was the first day that there had been clouds in the sky – it has been clear blue up to now. It wasn’t the nasty grey ones though, more like the fluffy white. Paul was still not feeling completely at ease, so had just a light breakfast. The first lecture this morning was with Mick entitled “Captain Courageous” and was about the sinking of the SS Koolama in 1942. Paul decided to sit this one out – maybe a good idea! It was very interesting though – as the ship actually still sits in the dock area in Wyndham, where we had been yesterday. It was sunk by the Japanese, and the story revolved around the Captain, Jack Eggleston. There was one picture in the presentation with our Captain and an elderly lady by the commemoration plaque in Calamity Cove, where most of the passengers were evacuated to. It turns out that this lady was the daughter of Captain Jack Eggleston, and so the Orion made a detour to stop off in Calamity Cove as she had not been there. The rescue of these people was down in no small part to two aboriginal runners, that alerted the authorities in Darwin where the ship was. They ran over 120 kilometres over the Kimberley land in two days, which is amazing. I remember that the driver we had in Wyndham had said that his grandfather was one of the two runners that rescued passengers of the ship – now I know what a grand feat it was.




It was a bit of frivolity after that – we had the “Orion Cup” horse race. We had initially five “horses” – Clothes Horse (Ricky the waiter), Manila Maiden (Cat from reception) One Hung Low (Harry) and Too Phar Gone (Brad). Heinkickin (Anja) was disqualified after a blood test proved too many cocktails in the sample!



The horses had to be auctioned first – there was no shortage of people who paid up to $150 for each horse. Then we could put a $10 bet on which horse we thought would win. Each horse was allocated either a heart, diamond, club or spade, and then the cards were drawn. The first one to 13 was the winner – and it was mine. I won $30. Paul still hadn’t ventured indoors – he felt it was safer on deck. He also missed out on the champagne that flowed to celebrate all the winners!



After lunch, we had another lecture entitled “Why aren’t there Monkeys in Australia” which was a really interesting biography on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, who I had never heard of. It was he that discovered and recorded many of the species that had been attributed to Darwin. Both of them British, and Wallace being a descendant of William Wallace of Scotland. Fancy coming to Australia to learn about your own history!



Then, crepes suzette on the deck. How can you resist? They were delicious.



We had a final recap in the Leda Lounge this evening on the whole cruise – it has gone so quickly. It seems only yesterday that we were being welcomed on board with champagne. We had a compilation of photos from every day of the trip – all put to music – and the bonus is that we will all be given one when we leave the ship tomorrow. Perhaps I can pass some of those wildlife shots as my own? Maybe not! Dinner was again exquisite – maybe we will have to go to Serge’s restaurant in Sydney to see how it compares! Back to the packing, one bag to leave in Darwin and one bag to take for three nights to Bamarru. See how that goes then!

Australia Day 12 – Sunday 10th June

Today is the first of two days at sea. For reasons of a political nature, since 2010 Orion has to clear immigration internationally. This means that the nearest place to do this is Com in East Timor, but means a day travelling to there and a day travelling back. Should be some good R & R though!




No slacking to start with – the first lecture of the day is at 9.30am with Mick, which is on the history of Australia called “Footprints on a Forgotten Land”. As most of the guests are Australian, I was surprised at how many were in the theatre – it was virtually full. It may be the way that Mick presents as well, as he is so knowledgeable, needs no notes, and very slick in his delivery. And I learnt some history that I was unaware of – I thought it was Great Britain that found Australia and colonised it. The Spanish and the Portuguese and the Dutch had all been there before us – but never actually laid claim to it. It was only when James Cook landed, he claimed it as part of the British Colonies. We didn’t come out of it as such baddies as I thought we would!



After a short spell on the sunbed with the kindle, the Bridge was opened up for an hour for all who wanted to visit. The Captain was at the helm, and he actually entertained everyone for nearly two hours with his stories and explanations of how things worked. This was a really informal chat, with stories of breaking ice, near misses and polar bears. What a lovely man he is – no standing on ceremony, no feeling of grandeur, just a good natured, normal gentleman. He had everyone hanging on his every word.



After lunch, there were various activities throughout the afternoon, but I passed as this was really the first day that we have been able to unwind. And doesn’t doing nothing make you tired!



There was one more lecture in the afternoon that I went to – Paul elected to give it a miss. Again, it was really interesting. It was about the history of East Timor – the place that we are going to get to at 3.00am tomorrow morning. By the way, we will only be docking for an hour – just enough time to get the paperwork done. Anyone that wants to get off can do – but most certainly wasn’t encouraged to do so. You are only allowed on the jetty, if you go off your shoes have to be sanitised before getting back on board, and they really did their best to make you not put your name on the sign up sheet. I don’t think anyone is going to bother. Harry put together a presentation called “East Timor; The Declassified Truth” and it was quite shocking. I can remember an event ten years or so back when East Timor hit the news in the UK, but couldn’t really remember what for.



It has had a very violent past, and really hasn’t had any time of stability. Between the Indonesians, the Portuguese, the Military and the Police there has been war and killings for the past 300 years or so. Even as recent as ten years ago, there was a genocide where a third of the population were killed. A third of the population have been driven over the border into West Timor, which leaves just a third of the people there should be – 50% of them under fifteen. They had elections in April 2012, and so hopefully the new president will help to educate the young people to allow them to become self sufficient. They are a fairly rich nation because of oil and gas income, but have no core of skilled people to get the country on its feet. A very sad story.



The ship is certainly swaying a lot more on the open seas – I actually had to lean against the wall in the shower to wash my hair, otherwise I would have toppled over. Walking down the corridor in a straight line is not an option – must be better for you to travel twice as far to get to the same place! Paul is now regretting deciding to come with me I think – he is not a good traveller. Oh well – he can’t get off! He had one course only for dinner – that won’t do him any harm. I didn’t – I had it all. Will take more than that to put me off my food!

Australia Day 11 - Saturday 9th June

Today started rather sedately with breakfast a la carte in the restaurant. We were the only two in there – everybody else had had theirs up on deck, but we were too late as it finished at 9.00am, and now it was 9.15am. Not a problem – nothing is a problem on this ship.




We boarded the bus at 10.00am to drive to Kununurra, where we were going to pick up our scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles. We had a choice here today – either a flight or a cruise up the River Ord . Both looked unmissable, but we had to choose one, so the Bungle Bungles it was. The bus driver had verbal diarrhoea. He knew everything about everything, and continued for nearly an hour telling us all about the route we were travelling on. Stories like how they used to get camel trains to take supplies to the men who were working the mines. The camel trains were owned by muslims, who would not transport anything pig. The miners liked their tinned pork, and were not happy when they didn’t get it. So, all the labels were taken off, and relabelled tinned cheese. This was no problem – until one day one load fell off, some of the tins split open, and then all hell broke loose. The place where that happened is now called Tinned Cheese Creek. How do you know when you’re being led up the garden path??



We were given a packed lunch bag when leaving the ship. When we arrived in Kununurra, we went to a place called Celebrity Tree Park to eat our lunch. Several celebrities, when visiting the town, were asked to plant trees here, and each one has a plaque to say what it is, when it was planted and who planted it. Australian celebrities I think – didn’t recognise any of the names of the few that I looked at. We had to eat quickly – it seemed like we had only just finished breakfast. Oh yes – so we had! Most of it went back in the bag. What a waste.



We then drove the five minutes to the airport. As we went in we were all weighed – didn’t like to look at this stage of the cruise! This was to allocate the correct weight in each aircraft. We were called, and had to follow our pilot onto the runway, and go through a quick safety check. Not quite like BA first class! We boarded our twelve seater aircraft – I had already decided that the back seats looked the best to take pictures from, as it didn’t have the wing obstructing it. Paul pointed out that he had never been on a plane as small as this – I pointed out that it had only got one engine so our travel insurance probably wouldn’t cover us if there was an accident. It was a Cessner Caravan – I am reading a book at the moment that is about a cessner. I pointed out to Paul that, as I had discovered from this book, that it sits very low at the tail so the pilot can’t see out of the windscreen until he is airborne. I said he would have to weave out to the runway, so that he could see if there was anything in his way out of the side windows. I think this might have been where it all started to go wrong.



We whizzed down the runway, and there were birds just sitting at the side watching us take off. Better than being in the way I suppose. We got airborne, and after a few wobbles and dips and dives the camera got some good shots. I then noticed Paul wasn’t taking any photographs. I asked why this was – “I am not happy”. He spent most of the flight hanging on to the steps that had been tucked in just in front of him, and pouring water over his head, as the pilot had suggested if you feel queasy. Oh dear – he should have chosen the river cruise!



It was a fantastic experience. We were up in the air over two hours (the longest two hours of my life, from you know who!) and it was so good. We started off from Kununurra, and flew south over the Kununurra Diversion Dam that helps irrigation in the area. We flew over Lake Argyle, which is approximately 27 times the size of Sydney Harbour. There is over ninety islands in the lake – some looking like countries like New Zealand and Italy. We then flew over the Bow River diamond mine, which is now shut. We flew over a couple of “small” cattle stations – around 400,000 acres each. The biggest ones in the Kimberly are over one billion acres.

Wouldn’t like to rustle cattle up on them! Apparently, because of the terrain, they are herded by four wheel drives or even helicopters. Not like Hugh Jackman in “Australia” which was filmed in and around here, who did it on horseback.



We then flew on to the Purnululu National Park, which houses the Bungle Bungles, a spectacular landform of striking beehive dome-shaped sandstone towers and breathtaking gorges. It was formed some 360 million years ago, but only discovered and named in 1983. The most striking are those in the south, where the weather has eroded more of the “topping” so that the distinctive tiger striped rocks are on the outside. It has always had cultural significance to the aboriginals, but before it was discovered it was “only a heap of rocks that you flew over to get to Halls Creek”. The pilot very kindly kept banking steeply to the left, and then steeply to the right so that both sides could get good pictures. I kept feeling a flick of water every now and then. I was really thirsty, but didn’t feel able to ask for a sip! I felt it had a more immediate necessary use.



We then flew over the Argyle Diamond Mine on the way back to Wyndham Airport. Amazingly, this is the biggest diamond mine in the world. I thought they were in South Africa? They produce over thirty million carats every year, and about one quarter of the world’s natural diamond production. Perhaps we should drop in for some samples! It is the primary source of the rare pink diamond. They are shipped to Perth, where they are prepared for international sale by Rio Tinto Diamonds – the majority are exported to India. On the way back from here, we could see several forest fires below – it is very hot and very dry and the moment.



“Ten minutes to landing” says the pilot. “Thank god for that” says Paul. I somehow think today hasn’t been his favourite. As we bank round to land at the airstrip, there is a little kangaroo on the grass at the side just watching us go past. How bizarre. Everyone gets off the plane and says what a wonderful flight it was. Paul needs a couple more minutes to get some colour back in his cheeks!



The other two planes come in to land behind us – and one person had been sick on her flight. Well done Paul for feeling bad, but not making all the others in the plane feel worse!



It is only a short trip back to the ship. There is a shuttle going up to the Five Rivers Lookout Point, so I decide to hop on and get a few more photographs. Paul went to lie down in a darkened room. We had an aboriginal driver that took us up there, and was full of stories about the area. He told us how the producer of “Australia” had met with the aboriginals and asked to film on their land. They were welcomed in, as they were working with the aboriginals, and he had stories about meeting Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. Hmm… He was very entertaining though. The lookout point was nice, but after what we had just seen was definitely a “couple of photos and go” place. The sun was going down, and the ship was meant to have sailed fifteen minutes ago. Whoops!



Not a problem – what did I say? Nothing is a problem. They waited for us, and I took a few more shots of a bird or two along the dock. I like taking birds. Paul came to find me – he thought the ship was sailing without me. No such luck!! We had a couple of glasses of wine on the deck, and chatted whilst we were sailing out and darkness came.



We were invited on a table of twelve for dinner on the deck tonight – they can seat around thirty people out there and anyone can book. It was a most entertaining table – stories that perhaps will not go in the blog! After dinner, the crew gave their own show. It was really entertaining, especially as we have got to know many of the crew on first name terms. They may not make Las Vegas, but charisma and enthusiasm they certainly do have. From magic shows to John Travolta’s Stayin Alive to In the Navy and Frank Sinatra, they kept us mesmorised for an hour or so. What a day!

Australia Day 10 – Friday 8th June

We had an early morning call at 5.50am this morning – it is getting worse! We were due in the zodiacs this morning a 6.30am – but a full breakfast was waiting for us on deck if we needed it. Not enough time – although some did. We are going to climb the King George Falls this morning. It is a fairly hard climb – 80 metres up, in about 160 metres, so one to one. We had to choose yesterday whether we wanted to do the hike to the falls, and surprisingly 32 of the guests had signed up for this mornings hike. I honestly thought that it would have a maximum of around ten guests. But, so I thought, at least I wouldn’t be the slowest!




The zodiac journey over the falls was about an hour. We saw an osprey high up on the top of the rocks, and a heron on the side near the bank. As we moved into the mouth of the river, the gorge soared high above us on both sides. The sun was shining down on the sandstone, and made it look alive. When the six boats got to the end of the river, there were two dead end gorges, each having a waterfall flowing from top to bottom. There was another ship, the True North, that had passed us along the way and was already at the falls. This is a very sleek yacht with a helicopter on the back. The zodiacs pulled up at what looked like a load of rubble, and we all got off. Oh my god! As I looked up, I could see that it was as hard as they had made out. Rather by luck than judgement, Lubo, the Chief Engineer, was in our zodiac. He hopped out, and was with me all the way with that magnificent grip pulling me from one rock to another. Paul was helping also – and yes, you have guessed it – I was the slowest one. There was one gentleman of 78 years old that was at the top before me! It was single file, and no overtaking, but I don’t think that would have made any difference. If I hadn’t had help, and lots of it, I would have really struggled to get to the top. Some of the boulders were four feet tall – some sturdy, some wobbly, some smooth, some sharp. I was very glad when I reached the top. Until I realised that I had to get down again. Oh well, enjoy the view in the meantime. No point worrying about that until it is imminent!



The flat plateau at the top was filled with little rivers and waterfalls and water holes for swimming. It was delightful. We walked all along one side, and crossed the top where the rivers come to meet at the waterfall. I don’t know where all the water was coming from that was gushing down the side of the gorge – there was no fast flowing river up here, only a gentle stream. We walked along the edge, and could look back at the waterfalls – Mick had climbed down about twenty feet and was taking pictures from a very weird angle. There was a beautiful rainbow in the spray of the water – I bet he knows that that is the best spot to get the full colours of the rainbow. Mine will look very wishy washy – I expect to see a full rainbow in glorious technicolor in the photo recap of the day tonight!



We had around an hour and a half up there – Paul went for a swim in the water hole, but I had not brought my swimming things, so just sat on a rock and surveyed the whole area. Beautiful. The helicopter from “True North” came and landed a couple of times bringing people from the boat to the top of the falls. Bet it doesn’t make them as grateful to be there getting a lift like that! We had a group photograph taken at the top – I will sit and study that when I get home – and it will hopefully encourage me to lose weight and go to the gym when I look at all the old people that showed me up!



Now I need to worry – time to go back down! Going down, we were ably informed, is much harder than going up. Great. Is that helicopter still there? Do you think they take American Express? No – swallow hard and onwards. A great guy called John led the way of our party – he was very good at finding a good route down. Paul followed, and helped balance me no end – Max was behind, so between them I should be safe! I apologised to all the older people I was holding up – but none of them seemed to mind. What lovely people! It took longer getting down that going up – and it was really hard on the knees. I used my bottom a great deal! Boy, was I glad when the river level was the same level as me. Safe and sound – no slips, no cuts, no bruises. Easy peasy!



We got back in the zodiacs, hot sweaty and tired. We turned in the direction of the falls to go and get a better look. In a hidden corner just by the falls was the Orion flag and umbrella on a zodiac – serving Mimosas and ham and cheese croissants. How do they get it so right? It was perfect. The champagne flowed – it felt rather surreal drinking and eating in a zodiac underneath a waterfall. A couple of tenders from another boat, the “Discovery One” came over and started taking photographs. Their tour obviously doesn’t have the “extras”! They did look rather envious.



“OK” said Mick in the next zodiac. “Pass everything over here that you don’t want to get wet – you’re going under the falls!”. Hmm – camera bag went over, as did the life jackets. Why are we sending the life jackets over, I thought. Then I remembered that they were the sort that self inflated when they got wet. Perhaps we were going to get a little more than a spray? Better take shoes and socks off then. Paul took off his tee shirt – but as I had only got normal clothes with me, they all had to stay on. I did pass over my hat and sunglasses, just to be on the safe side. And I am glad I did. We passed not behind the falls, not just in front of the falls, but right underneath them. The force of the water on my head was like a quadruple power shower. Then we backed out – phew. No – let’s go back in again shall we? No choice. In we went again. My god – did I sign up for this? Thank god I sent as much as I did in the other boat – it would have been swimming in this one. There was about four inches of water in the bottom of the boat. We weren’t special – all of the boats got the same treatment. Some more than others. Mick was a little sadistic with his lot – they went under about four times! Oh well, I have seen the falls from all angles now.



We set off back to the ship after that, and it didn’t take long for the top half to dry off. The shorts and underwear were ringing wet all the way home. Not sure where all the water in the boat went though – after we set off it all disappeared. Perhaps there is some sort of one way valve that lets water out but not back in? Whatever, we didn’t sink. Thankfully! We saw a cormorant on the way home that had dived into the water for it’s lunch and now sat on a rock. It apparently cannot fly when it has wet wings, so has to wait for them to dry off before it can go anywhere. Hope there’s not a crocodile round the corner!



The wind had got up a bit then, and the way back was a bit choppy. Not a real problem though – it had been an exhilarating morning. And lunch was in full swing when we got back. Just needed to get out of those wet clothes though! I was even thanked when I got back on board for leading a very slow and safe procession from the top to the bottom – at least they weren’t cross!



An afternoon of leisure – what a treat. A sunbed and a kindle, and I am only on my second book. What on earth is going on?? Tonight there was an Aussie barbeque on deck – a whole suckling pig, huge prawns on skewers, barramundi, veal etc etc. The wind had got up, so the boat was pitching a bit, but after a few glasses of wine I don’t think anyone noticed. We then had a rendition of “Waltzing Matilda” by the Manila Male Voice Choir – aka the restaurant waiters. Surreal!

Australia Day 9 – Thursday 7th June

A comparative lie in this morning – our zodiac out to Jar Island didn’t leave until 9.45am. We had anchored in Vansittart Bay, which is quite close to Truscott Air Base, which was operational during the Second World War. There was quite a breeze this morning, so it made our transfer a little bumpy – and not only were my boots hanging precariously over the sea, they were getting full of spray from the boat. Paul’s were fine inside his back pack! We arrived on the beach, changed into our boots and made out way up across some fantastic rock formations. The main reason for coming to Jar Island is the Rock Art. Here, it is in a different style from the Wandjina that we had already seen. The first “gallery” we came to was relatively easy to get to. Some of us went up to the second “gallery”, which was a little harder. You needed to be a little bit flexible to squeeze through rocks, climb up, duck under and scramble around. The cave at the top was full of art. The figures were more stick like, and harder to see on the rock. Unlike the Wandjina that repaint the lines, these are thought to have been there for thousands of years, untouched. The style of art is called Gwion Gwion, after a bird that the aboriginal people thought created the art, or Bradshaw Art, after Joseph Bradshaw that was the first European person to record it in 1891.




There are several different types of art, from stick figures to figures with adornments on their arms and heads, and animals and scenes that could be battle scenes. Because none of them have been repainted, it is very hard to date them. The best guess has come from a chap called Graham Walsh who discovered a Bradshaw Painting covered by a fossilized wasp nest. Scientists removed the nest, and by a carbon dating method discovered it to be over 17,000 years old. That was the nest – the painting was obviously older than that, but as there is no pigment left on the rock surface from the whatever made the painting it is impossible to do. I can imagine sitting up in the rocks doing paintings. It is away from either the searing heat of the sun, or the deluge of the monsoon. It is so peaceful up there (apart from when a boat load of people descend on it). I bet the reasons the aboriginals painted were not so different as to why people paint today!



We then went down from the second gallery, and took a detour on the way back to the beach to a third spot. This had only been found a few months ago, as was a small cave system. Some of the best pictures were taken whilst laying on one’s back – until I saw how many ants were running around down there! What I had, I had. What I didn’t, I wasn’t going to get! Another gloriously sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. How used to this weather can you get? The walk back to the beach and then into the zodiacs took us nicely back to the boat in time for a lecture by Mick Fogg on “Stories in Stone”. This explained, as much as they know, as to how the art came to be. There is still so much to be found out there – new research was stopped at the end of the last century as it appeared that some of it was deemed racially against the aboriginal people and became a bit sensitive. The government stopped giving grants, and so research stopped. A couple of years ago a new initiative in the Kimberley has given funding to a university, and so hopefully more of this art will be found, and maybe some answers to so far unanswered questions will be sought.



Enough of all that intellectual stuff – lunch is ready! On the way out of the lecture theatre I looked at the fantastic wildlife photographs that are framed on the walls – all taken by Mick Fogg, our expedition leader! Wow, what talent that man has! Not having much connection to the internet (the $30 for an hour doesn’t go far when it takes fifteen minutes to upload a picture!) I really miss google. I could be looking up all sorts of things that we have seen and done, but will have to wait until we get back on inhabited dry land and find a McDonalds with a free wifi connection. I have had no phone signal either – like going back to the good old days!



Lunch was good out on the deck, and in the meantime we were repositioning a few miles for this afternoons trip. On the zodiacs again, this time to go to the crash site of an old C-53 transport aircraft. After landing on the beach, we headed up the sand dunes and across some bush. When we got to the top, we could see a lake like shape of mud, with a few rocks sticking up. “It’s quicker to go straight across than go round” says Max – “It’s not that muddy”. It actually wasn’t. I imagined it to be like the mud you get in England, where you can actually get your boots sucked into it and the mud comes up over the top. But this was quite firm. There was a small film of water over the top, but the mud underneath held our weight, and we didn’t sink at all. Once we were in a few metres, we could see hundreds of holes, and bright pink and blue crabs were scuttling about all over – as soon as we got near they shot down their holes. Got a few pictures of one or two though! When we got to the other side, a few more yards and the plane came into view.



Apparently, the plane was on course from Brisbane to Broome, but missed by several hundred miles. As it came back to find Broome, there was not enough fuel on board so they had to look for somewhere to land. They saw the mud flats, and decided to land there. The trees and scrubs took out a wing, caught the engine on fire, but all crew landed without injury. It took a few days for them to be found, but they were rescued eventually. The plane has been there ever since, and is still in the same state as it was when it landed. After a fairly good look round, we made our way back across the mud flats again, and over the sand dunes. Back to the little umbrella, and cold pineapple juice! This is the sort of expedition I like! The beach here was beautiful, it went for miles both ways, and the rocks made it so interesting. My pictures, I am sure, are not going to do these places any justice – they never do!



We got back on the zodiacs – and this time Paul’s boots were hanging over the edge of the sea and mine were safely tucked away inside. Result! Afternoon tea awaited us on our return – just had to have a little, it would be rude not to!



When we went to the Leda Lounge for our photographic recap of the day, I realised that the mud plains had, in fact, been full of water when the first couple of groups went over. I thought they were empty all the time! Not only that, the tide had covered around 50 metres of beach from one trip to another. The difference in the water levels wherever we have been in incredible. We had dinner this evening with a couple of guys that have joined the ship because their company is thinking of chartering it for a few tours. They are American, and their company puts together tours for the National Geographic. Hmm – think there might be a plan coming together…. Had six courses tonight, so plenty of time to think about it!