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Days 1 to 5
Week 1, Day 4 (Cruise Day 1)
Leaving Darwin
Ship: 240kms (over night)
In line with good Covid procedures, we all took the test and all passed. Then it was on the bus and down to the dock and get ourselves settled into our cabin..
(Lt) Darwin harbour at Ungodly O'Clock as we had to be up to gather for our Covid tests.
(Above) Mrs Covid Incognito about to board.
(Above) Darwin's skyline as we sail out of the harbour. (Below) The MV Coral Adventurer, our home for the next 10 days. 100 pax; 48 crew.
(Above) Today would be the only day that we weren't in sight of land.
Our good ship, the MV Coral Adventurer. 5516 tons displacement.
The rest of today and all of tonight will be sailing across the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. We spent our time getting to know the ship and our fellow passengers.
Week 1, Day 5 (Cruise Day 2)
Xplorer: 40kms, Ship: 188kms (O/night)
Our first trip in one of the Xplorer craft (there are two) was fascinating. Unlike other vessels that have shore excursions, in addition to 5 Zodiac inflatable craft, our ship had two mini landing craft ('Xplorers') that could be boarded without using ladders. You boarded straight in from the Promenade Deck through a door in the side of the Xplorer's hull (above the water line!), and when everyone has boarded, the whole Xplorer is lowered into the sea on an elevator-like device attached to the stern of the ship. When not in use, these craft are stored on the roof of the Promenade Deck.
One of the two Xplorers stored above the Promenade Deck.
2 x 300HP Yamaha outboards proves that applying sufficient grunt to anything can make it plane. They do about 30kts with 50 people on board!
Xplorer 2 getting ready for another trip ashore.
We moored in Koolama Bay and took the Xplorer up the King George River to the King George Falls (there are 2).
Our destination: The twin falls of the King George River. While the actual height seems to be open to discussion, general opinion is that they're between 80-100m (265'-330'), making them the tallest falls in Western Australia.
To get up close and personal with the falls, some of us boarded one of the Zodiacs that had preceeded us up-river. This took us under each of the falls for a refreshing shower - one warm/tepid and one cold. The explanation for this difference was that the warm/tepid falls had flowed over more sun-warmed rocks upstream.
Suggest you click the 'Watch on YouTube' button for better resolution. -->
We passed through really magnificent scenery.
Week 1, Day 6 (Cruise Day 3)
Vansittart Bay Rock Art and Aircraft Wreck
Xplorer: 8kms, Ship: 160kms (O/night)
Our next expedition ashore (there seems to be at least one per day) was to visit an Aboriginal rock art and ceremonial site on Jar Island, and then see athe remains of a USAAC[1] C-53[2] transport that made a forced landing here in Feb 1942. These were two separate visits; one after breakfast, and the second after lunch
Aviation trivia:-
[1] USAAC - U S Army Air Corps. The United States Air Force (USAF) didn't exist until September 1947.
[2] Douglas C-53 - If it looks like a Dakota/DC-3/C-47 it's because it was originally a civilian airliner built without the reinforced cargo floor, large cargo door and hoist attachment of the Dakota/C-47.
Vansittart Bay - not named after a Dutch explorer as you might expect, but named after the UK Chancellor of Exchequer by early explorer Phillip Parker King.
Landing on Jar Island.
We were advised that this particular rock art site is culturally sensitive and requested that we not post photos of it online, so here is a rare (according to our guide) local butterfly at the site.
(We get to see some other rock art later.)
After getting back on the Xplorer, we rounded Jar Island where there was a pearl farm (you could only see rows of bouys) and the rather unimaginatively named 'Split Rock'.
The aircraft was on route from Perth to Darwin via a refuelling stop in Broome. He overshot Broome and was running out of daylight, fuel and ideas, so opted to try to land on this salt flat. There was a crew of 4 US personnel and 2 Australian Army telegraphers.
"Any landing you can walk away from...". The wreckage is only about 20m inside the tree line and remarkably well preserved. All survived and were rescued by a Qantas flying boat about 4 days later. The hole in the side was made by a salvage crew retrieving cargo.
Back to the ship for afternoon tea. It's a rough life...
Where the Xplorer craft gets hauled aboard at the stern of the ship. Click on the 'Watch on YouTube' link on the right to view how it happens -->
Week 1, Day 7 (Cruise Day 4)
Xplorer: 6kms, Helicopter: 80kms, Ship: 120kms (O/night)
A big day today - On to the Xplorer for a short trip to the beach, then onto a helicopter for the 20 minute flight to Mitchell Falls. From there, just a short stroll from the landing site to one of the best views so far this trip. After that, lunch, a swim above the falls for those so inclined, and then the flight back to the beach. This is one of the few times we could actually go swimming as there are no salt water crocodiles above the falls.
(Above) Our favourite mode of transport! (Bell Jet Ranger)
(Lt) The pink line is about 40kms long.
Two videos of the helicopter flight to and from the Mitchell Falls. Flight in is 6:15; flight back is 5:25. In real life, it was about 20 minutes each way.
Note there is no audio; you'll have to make all the whop-whop-whop... helicopter noises yourself! Suggest you use the 'Watch on YouTube' button for better resolution.
Mitchell Falls. There are actually 4 sets of falls, the first being out of sight at the top right of the screen, but unless you're airborne, it seems hard to get all four in at once.
The swimming hole and small rapids above the falls. Guaranteed 'salty' free.
Week 2, Day 1 (Cruise Day 5)
Xplorer: 6kms, Ship: 50kms (O/night)
An early start with breakfast before sunrise. There were two landings today but we gave the second one a miss (a Boab tree with 19th century naval grafitti from HMS Mermaid). The first one was a landing on Bigge Island which contains examples of both 'First Contact' and 'Wandjina' Aboriginal rock art.
Breakfast on the deck outside the dining room. As the ship stayed on Darwin time, sunrise was seemingly getting later every day.
Today's landing site on Wary Bay, Bigge Island. It's the 2nd largest island in the Bonaparte Archipelago.
Our expedition leader, Ashleigh, aka 'Dora the Explorer'.
These two seemed to be lost. (I'm only looking at my phone to see if I got a photo correctly! There's zero mobile signal out here. (Photo © Ashleigh)
Wary Bay, Bigge Island. All of the fissures along the cliff house Aboriginal rock art. The temperature in the caves and cracks was somewhere above 40°C and with very high humidity, so we took a break from viewing from time to time.
(Above) An example of Wandjina rock art. They are cloud and rain spirits.
(Rt) An example of 'First Contact' rock art. This represents the large hats that Dutch sailors used to wear, so presumably this art dates from the 17th Century. Other parts of the anatomy we'll leave to your imagination.
(Below) More Dutch sailors with big hats.
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