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The tidal currents ebb and flow strongly in
these waters with whirlpools and overflows.
Craggy islands, little inlets and bays the scenery reminiscent pirate
movies secret coves to elude the admiralty fleet vessels in pursuit and hide
treasure.
The “drain Hole”, as named in the charts is just that. We passed this inlets small entry and could
see the waters in a huge whirlpool within the small bay swirling like water
going down a sink hole. Capt Teza exclaimed “if we get caught in that whirlpool
I will just throw out the anchor and we will go round and round” , like a scene
from Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
The industrial industry of mining emerged at Koolan Island Iron ore mine. A stark contrast to the wilderness areas where no man-made structures for many weeks. The remote wilderness of the Kimberly region was coming to an end as we get closer to Broom and civilization. This area is still remote and beautiful.
The familiar
“ping sounds” coming from our phones
after 10 weeks of no internet or phone reception heralds that we were now in
populated areas.
We anchored in Silver Gull Creek, Sea leaf still with us but
were leaving early morning.
Our on-board freezer stopped working for unknown
reasons. Sens de la Vie is an old boat
and the condensers on the fridge and freezer units are now 15 years old. Regularly checked and maintained with our
last service in Cairns the freezer gave no pre warning. Failures of both new and old equipment on
boats is very common so we resigned that this could not be fixed until we got
back to Darwin. Our food stocks are low
now in the freezer using our Engel portable fridge on board as the backup we
shuffled around the food and switched on the Engel to freezer mode. This is a little inconvenient to the Capt as
the Engel fridge is the captains drinks and fish fridge.
No fresh vegetables or fruit other than a couple of carrots
and some onions are left ship stores however, we have plenty of canned and
dried foods and we plan to replenish at Honeymoon Bay on our return passage. Our bodies are craving craving fresh
vegetables and fruit and supplements are needed to ensure we get the mineral
and vitamins that we need.
Lisa and Sandra kindly gifted us some peaches, Saos, long life milk and other assorted groceries as they were all stocking up in the next couple of days in Broome.
Tears welled waving goodbye to Brian and Sandra of SV Sea
Leaf as they departed in the morning.
What wonderful fun and fellowship we have enjoyed together since we left Cairns back in April
2021 and we hope to reunite on the Eastern Sea board in 2022.
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| WWSA (Women who sail Australia) Members and friends |
Quote from Ella Wheeler Wilcox
“One ship drives east another west with the self same
winds that blow.
Tis the set of the sails and not the gales which
decides the way to go.
Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate as we
wander along through life
Tis the set of the soul that decides the goal and not
the calm or strife.
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| Brian and Sandra SV Sea Leaf |
Cool Change stayed with us at Silver Gull for our last
couple of days together.
We explore up the small creeks through the gorges. The rock formations in this area are
different again with rock seams pointing vertically to the skywards. As if the earth violently erupted upwards
from the seabed millions or years ago.
We visited the old, abandoned Silver Gull Camp which was
leased and operated by Phil and Marion for 30 years welcoming Yachties and travelers. Phil and Marion made a
living out of carving jewelry from coral and pearl shell. Grew vegetables and
had lovely gardens with BBQ shelter for yachties to congregate. A huge Mango tree and other fruit bearing
trees still remain.
Sadly, Marion passed away and Phil abandoned the Camp. He stills sails to the area and by chance he was onboard his yacht at Silver Gull anchored near us however we did not get to meet this colorful well-known character of this region. The camp has an abundant amount of fresh water fed by a natural spring that never dries.
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| Fresh Spring Water |
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| Beautiful Lisa |
Fresh water can be obtained here anytime as it is crown land. Phil built 30 years ago a swim tank which is still being maintained by passing Yachties and locals from Broome that still come and camp out on the site. There use to be a membership for boaties Silver Gull Boat Club.
Some new structures of Safari Tents and an ablution block have
been installed by National Parks but sadly that these facilities are also
abandoned. The local gossip is that National
Parks in partnership with the local tribe developed a project to manage this as
a tourist destination and encourage local tribe to operate guiding and
management. This appears to have failed.
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| My day spa experience in the Wilderness |
The freshwater swim tank complete with a viewing window,
overhead cover, fixed tables and chairs is a welcomed relief to sea travelers to soak in the cool refreshing waters with no threat of crocodiles.
The fuel we ordered in Darwin is on a barge in Dog Leg
Creek, we both made way to get fuel.
Lisa and Matt decided that they only needed to fill Jerry cans, so they anchored
outside of the creek, transferred to our boat to fill up their Jerry cans. The tidal current was running very fast which
made tying up difficult, even with the extra hands-on board. Unfortunately, another repair to the side of
Hull, that won’t buff out, as we scrapped the metal barge on tie up.
A colorful character, Mick, lives and runs the fuel barge during the dry season and has done so for many years. Refueling takes some time with an old-fashioned crank pump which is all OK as Mick loves to have a chat and we were interested in local knowledge and his life onboard a barge in this remote area. Very entertaining.
We told Mick this was our last couple nights together and how we longed for fresh fruit and Veg and a meal out. Mick told us of the resort at Cockatoo Island and promptly got on the phone to the Manager Lorraine and organised our visit to the resort and dinner. A “Roast Dinner”, we were salivating at the very thought.
After leaving the fuel barge to go back to Silver Gull for
another day we made an attempt to explore Crocodile creek and the waterfall. We could not get holding over the rocky
seabed but enjoyed the of rugged beauty.
Our last sail together to Cockatoo Island.
The arrival is so different to any of our other shore landings with the red ore stain the waters and a beach made of iron ore. You arrive to the mining operations side of Island wondering if you are in the right place. The little landing bay has huge tidal flows and is quiet choppy Capt Teza finding it difficult to secure the Tender. A short walk over the iron pebble shore and you find the resort main Bar and recreational facilities on the other side of the Island.
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| Capt Tezas "what the F" Moment |
Cockatoo Island is the richest deposit of Iron ore in Australia not because of its amount of the deposits but because it has the highest percentage of Ferrous in the extracted rock in Australia. There are 2 mining leases on the island one Australian company the other a Chinese company. The mining is not active at the moment and there is a skeleton crew currently doing core drilling activities. Resort buildings were once used as housing, administration, clinic, and recreational buildings for the large mining community that lived on this Island in the 40’s to the 80’s.
Mining leases were purchased by Bond including all the buildings which Eileen Bond decided to paint pink, and the Bonds turned it into a resort.
Buildings of single skin Queensland tropical
style houses built in the 1940’s have been turned into accommodation and the
current owners are gradually renovating sensitively to its old charm in a
modern” shabby chic” style.
The original Club House is being lovingly restored and a museum of the islands history with artifacts and photos is in progress.
The Club House at the top side of the resort village also has a infinity pool and the Manager Lorraine kindly offered for us to swim and enjoy the club house all to ourselves as there were currently no guests.
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| Matt and Lisa Cooling off |
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| Capt Teza in "Full I could Live here" mode |
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| The View is stunning |
The club house is a venue for
wedding and conferences, sadly Covid is impacting the business, but they remain
positive as forward bookings for the next dry season look promising. Day visitors and weekends are still busy with
guest coming from the Broome and Derby regions. The resort also welcomes and
accommodates volunteers to help in its restoration and running both Terry and I
are keen to come back at some stage to offer volunteer services.
After our swim we went back down to the main recreational bar and pool area to have dinner which is situated overlooking a small bay.
We had a wonderful last day and night with Matt and Lisa. We have shared many extraordinary experiences along the way together since meeting them last year at the Turtle Rescue and Research Center at Fitzroy Island FNQ.
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| Matt and Lisa SV Cool Change |
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| Kimberly Rose |
Cool Change is only half through their adventure to
circumnavigate around Australia and we wait with keen interest to read their travel
blogs and view Matts Photography. Many
of the photos posted on my Blog have been generously shared by Matt since
leaving Cairns in April.
We devoured our roast dinner in silence……………………..not that as
a group we were ever stomped for lively conversation on a range of topics.
We simply in silence devoured with relish a delicious and
hardy Roast Pork dinner completed with a huge selection of fresh roasted
vegetables, crusty bread rolls, proper gravy, apple sauce and crackling. Our plates were licked cleaned.
As the tide was going out rather fast, we could not stay on
the island no later than 7pm as we would be stuck on shore with a rock reef
exposed and impassable back to our yachts.
One of the residents kindly offered his tinny trailer on the Landing
beach to get our tenders back down to the waters which were now a good 50
meters from the waters edge which was fast receding even further.
Capt Teza and I would have struggled doing this ourselves. With Matt and Lisa’s assistance getting our tenders back in the waters, which were considerably choppy with the tide change. This act of support was testament to this incredibly special friendship and their kind support to us “the Oldies”.
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| Last Cocktails Silver Gull |
We had Nightcaps and last hugs on board Sens de la Vie.
We departed early morning, blasting our horn to wake Matt
and Lisa up at dawn, “It was time the kids were out of Bed” we laughed.
They needed to be up as well with a big day sail ahead of them.
Now we are truly on our own for the passage back to Darwin. Mostly, this is due to being one of the last boats returning from the Kimberly going East.
Although tempting to keep going south with Australia on the left,
both the Captain and I do not want to sail the Southern Ocean, for multiple
reasons. We have limits.
So many places still yet to be explored in the Kimberley that we missed due to wind,
currents, tides and making sail to catch up with Matt and Lisa, which was
important to us.
It is not possible to do all the beautiful rivers and inlets
in one sailing season without sacrificing the experience of being fully present in this
wilderness. Many members of the Kimberly
Cruising yacht Club who travel these waters each year say they are still
discovering new places to anchor and explore this amazing landscape and its
wildlife.
With good conditions, we can explore some areas on our
return.
Our hearts are also longing to be homeward bound to see
family and friends again or at least be able to communicate. We have a Satellite phone but we limit use due to clarity of voice calls and expense.
Our adventure does no end here on returning back over waters traveled. We are excited for what comes our way, new places to discover and
explore, spending more time in our favorite islands and reefs, meeting people
along the way and learning and experiencing more, sailing this amazing country.
Poem by the late Irish Poet and writer John O’Donohue
whose written words inspire me greatly.
When you regain a sense of your life as a journey of
discovery, you return to the rhythm with yourself.
When you take the time to travel with reverence, a
richer life unfolds before you.
Moments of beauty begin to braid your days. When your mind becomes more acquainted with
reverence, the light, grace, and elegance of beauty find you more frequently.
When the destination becomes gracious, the journey
becomes an adventure of beauty.
