Kimberley Cruise, Western Australia - Part 2

The rugged cliffs rose from the water like the walls of a fortress. Block upon block towering above us. The walls seemingly impenetrable. Plants clung impossibly to the cliffs, their roots burrowing deep into insignificant gaps between the rocks. Somewhere up high a hawk screeched - the sound echoing off the walls of the gorge. 

What must the first European visitors have felt when they first saw these walls. But the aboriginal people who had lived here for thousands of years knew their secrets. The creek lines, the fish living in the protection of the mangroves, where to find shelter and what food could be foraged. Their drawings etched onto the rocks tell their story and are still visible after thousands of years. 

Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are doing well. Today I take you back to the Kimberley in far north-west Western Australia. This is Part 2 of my 9 day Kimberley cruise on the 82 foot (25 metre) catamaran - Diversity III with Diversity Charters.  If you missed Part 1, where I showed you around the boat, delicious breakfasts and lunches, some of the waterholes we visited, and the iconic Horizontal Falls and the Montgomery Reef, you can catch up with it here - Part 1 Kimberley Cruise

This week I am going to take you to two huge cascading waterfalls, and look at some of the ancient aboriginal rock art we saw. Here is a view from our window - 

After delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast we cruised up the Prince Regent River to Maamboolbadda - King Cascades - located in the 633,825 hectare Prince Regent National Park, which is an important conservation area containing half of the known bird and animal species in the Kimberley as well as more than 500 plant species.

The Prince Regent River has the distinction of being one of Western Australia’s straightest rivers, flowing through a fault line known as the Prince Regent lineament. From its source in the Caroline Range in the south east, the river runs for 106 kilometres, often between near-vertical 50 metre high cliffs.

Really this photo doesn't do the river justice. You can see another 2 tour boats in the river - to the right is the entrance into the King Cascades. So isolated, you can only reach the Prince Regent National Park by boat. 

King Cascades is a spectacular terraced waterfall approximately 50 metres (164 feet) high.  It is a pity there is not a boat in this photo so you can see how high it is. 

Explorer Phillip Parker King gave the waterfall his own name after visiting in 1820 aboard his ship the Mermaid. For the Traditional Owners of the land—the Wunambal Gaambera people— this sacred place is known as Maamboolbadda.  The indigenous name means “place of the Kingfisher,” a reference to the ancestral Kingfisher who they believed created the falls in the Dreamtime. 

The tide was right for us to motor in Diversity III down the narrow gorge to the King Cascades waterfall. Standing on the front of the boat the falls gradually came into view - the water thundering down the plant lined terraces. Fed by a permanent spring it is one of the few waterfalls that flows in the dry season. 

 

Skipper Mark took the boat right up to the rock face and we all had what was known as the waterfall dump. Invigorating! You can see this in the photo below from Diversity Charters. Click on the link to read more and see a video of King Cascades from - Diversity Charters

After the dunking some of the more adventurous of our group climbed to the top of the King Cascades for a swim in the freshwater pool - you can't swim in the river around here or anywhere along the coast due to the dangerous salt water crocodiles. There was a tragic death at King Cascades in 1987. The death was certainly on our mind when we visited. 

Here is a crocodile we saw on another day - we didn't see any at King Cascades - however you don't know what lays beneath the surface .....

Below you can see some of the climb up the side of King Cascades - photos taken by husband, and a boat from another cruise with people climbing up the rock face. 

Once you climb to the top there is a beautiful freshwater pool where you can swim. Although I didn't do the big climb up to this pool, there were other pools I visited for a swim with the group. In this part of the country you need to climb up away from the river to swim. I shared some last post - Kimberley cruise part 1

While the intrepid 6 climbed to the top of the King Cascades for a swim the other 6 of us went in one of the tenders with skipper Mark to a lovely little fern grotto near the Cascades. I was very happy with my choice. 

Then all back to the boat and we went further up the river to Amphitheatre waterfall off a small tributary of the Prince Regent River. So called because this 30 metre (98 foot) towering waterfall tumbles down a circular rock wall. Truly beautiful - and probably my favourite of all the waterfalls we saw. 

On the way out Skipper Mark took us to see a colony of fruit bats - flying foxes - hanging in the trees nearby - what a racket! 

Flying foxes are an iconic Kimberley species. Also known as fruit bats, they are the largest of all bats. They are extremely social animals and a fruit bat colony can easily number in the thousands. You’ll likely see them at dusk as they take to the sky in search of ripe fruits and nectar, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem by pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds. From my research these could be - Black Flying-fox (Pteropus alecto).

From here we travelled out of the river to Rothsay Waters where we anchored for the night. 

Here is a sample of the restaurant quality three course evening meals we had - 

Day 7 - How about a bit of a spin up the river after lunch - 

We travelled up Rothsay Waters in the tenders to see some aboriginal rock art believed to be over 12,000 years old - around 10,000 BC. It is truly amazing that the art has survived this long in the harsh Kimberley climate. 

Previously known as Bradshaws, this art has since been renamed Gwion Gwion. (Joseph Bradshaw is thought to be the first European to see this type of art in the late 1800s) Unfortunately you can't see it very well in the image below, but if you go to the links you can see clearer samples. It humbling knowing we were standing where painters had stood thousands of years before us. 

According to Aboriginal legend, a long-beaked bird, known as Gwion Gwion, would peck at the rock faces to catch insects, and its blood, dripping from its beak, would create the images. www.artslookup - Kimberley Rock Art - Gwion Gwion    

Gwion Gwion art is believed to be the oldest figurative art in the world - depicting very graceful figures adorned with headdresses, arm and waist decorations. The art we saw they believed depicted ceremony. The Gwion Gwion art seems to be typically found on vertical rock faces. 

The remote coastline of north western Australia was probably the first landing site for man on the Australian continent, as groups crossed by boat from Timor around 60,000 years ago. It is thought that the Kimberley region is host to Australia’s oldest known rock paintings, at least 17,300 years old.

There are many websites detailing aboriginal art and carbon dating. This link takes you to a site depicting and explaining aboriginal art - Bradshawfoundation.com/australia/gallery

And with thanks to www.aboriginal-bark-paintings.com/kimberley-rock-art/ - this image depicting various Kimberley Art 

Here is a link to an extensive study using wasp nest to date Gwion Gwon art in the Kimberley - abc.net.au/news/science  On one of our nights on Diversity III we were shown an interesting video explaining this. 

More about Gwion Gwion art - www.creativespirits.info

Another day we were taken to see Wandjina Art (1,800 BC) under a low rock overhang near a small beach. Wandjina art is thought to depict rain spirits.  To aboriginal Australians in the Kimberley, the "Wandjina" is the supreme Creator and a symbol of fertility and rainfall. Wanjina paintings feature halo-like headdresses (depicting differing storms) over mouthless faces that have large round eyes on either side of an oval-shaped nose.  www.artslookup-Kimberley-wandjina   We were told that the Wandjina figures have no mouths as it would give them too much power. 

Looking at Wandjina art under a low overhang. You must not touch it as you could damage the art. 

On other days some of our party saw other aboriginal art under overhangs on cliff faces near some of the fresh water pools we visited. 

After another wonderful full day exploring with Diversity III we had sunset drinks on the foredeck before dinner and watched the sun slip into the ocean. 

Before being lulled to sleep by the soft slap of water against the hull and the gentle rocking of the boat. 

That's it from me today. I hope you have enjoyed Part 2 of our Kimberley cruise adventure with on Diversity III with Diversity Charters. 

If you missed last weeks Part 2 of our cruise you can go back to it here- Kimberley cruise part 1

Next time I will be back with a beautiful easy to walk a swimming hole with the delightful name of Pebbles & Bam Bam, more nature, some European history, and fishing, mud crabbing and oystering. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 
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