Day Two

On the second day of the Ponant cruise, we stopped in Talbot Bay. The ship had an awesome marina that slides out of the back, where they can pull up with two rubber dinghies at a time, called zodiacs, loading the passengers on very efficiently.  This morning, we took our zodiacs out to see the Horizontal Falls. This natural phenomenon occurs when the tide goes out through a small gap between two cliffs. Given the 10 metre tidal range, the water flows so quickly through this bottleneck that you can have up to two metres of height difference between the water flowing on either side of the gap. The power of the water is so strong that there are massive whirlpools that our driver purposefully drove into, leaving the zodiac spinning.

I also took a cute shot of a rock wallaby!

Day Three

On day three, we rose early and visited Montgomery Reef, Australia’s largest inshore reef which stretches 80 kilometres and covers an area of 400 square kilometres. This place is unique, the massive tidal range causing the vast, coral covered reef to rise four metres out of the water at low tide. The millions of litres of water over the reef pour off the sides of the coral islands like waterfalls for hours on end and don’t stop until the tide rises again.

That afternoon we shifted position and moved to Wijingarra Bard Bard (Freshwater Cove). We took the zodiacs and landed on the beach. After a short walk, we arrived at a cave structure where we were met with Worrorra man, Neil and his 8 year old offsider, Razel. Neil showed us the rock art that was created by his ancestors, who have been on this land for 55,000 years. Neil was a delightful man, who was very keen to share the meaning of the art through stories passed down through his ancestors. I had a chat to him while we were walking back to the beach and he explained to me how you can use a termite mound as a compass! Amazing.

While Lidia was making her way across the rocks to the zodiac, she slipped on the algae and fell right onto her butt. She now has an impressive black bruise there. I didn’t see the incident, however came walking across the same rocks a couple of minutes later. My wife didn’t warn me to be careful and I did slip, but thanks to my agile, cat-like reflexes, I did little more than ice skate across the rocks, my arms waving around like a tap dancer on crack. I did, however, manage to keep my balance.

Day Four

We began the day at Careening Bay, named because in 1820, the explorer Philip Parker King, who charted most of the areas in the Kimberly, purposefully ran his ship aground (careened) on the beach so that his carpenter could make much needed repairs to the damaged hull. While they were there, they carved the name of their ship, HMC Mermaid, and the date into a giant boab tree, which they estimate to be 1,200 years old. It’s a massive boab and the carving has grown with the tree over the last 200 years.

We were over there for a couple of hours, during which time Lidia revealed that she had been wearing her pants inside out for the whole day. Looks like I’m not the awkward one on this trip!

Day Five

We started the day in the Hunter Estuary, where we anchored near a Coral Expeditions ship, then took our zodiacs down the river looking for crocodiles. We found plenty of them and I managed to get a few fantastic photos of these impressive creatures. We were told to keep our limbs inside the dinghy, and they actually spotted one crocodile swimming underneath one of the zodiacs. So, when my camera lens fell out of my pocket and plopped into the river, it probably wasn’t the best move to automatically lean over and pluck it out of the water! Luckily, I still have both of my arms intact.

Just before we left home, I was chatting to Col, who plays trumpet with us at Awkwardstra Geelong, and it turns out he was taking a Coral Expeditions cruise from Darwin to Broome at the same time that we were taking our Ponant cruise from Broome to Darwin. When we got back to the ship after our crocodile expedition, I messaged him to see if he was on the ship anchored near us on the bay. It turns out that it was indeed his ship! What an amazing coincidence! Col messaged me saying that he would toot on his way past us. I thought he was joking, but after we took a second zodiac expedition in the afternoon, we were floating in the zodiac near our ship when the Coral Expeditions ship passed us. They sounded the horn as they passed, which we thought was funny. After I boarded our ship again, Col messaged me asking if I heard it. Apparently, he had wangled his way onto the bridge and asked his Captain if he could sound the horn as he passed us and the Captain obliged!

Day Six

An early start this morning as we took the zodiac onto the beach in the mouth of the Mitchell River shortly after 6:00. Waiting for us on the beach was a helicopter. We boarded, and once we got used to the fact that they’d removed the doors, it was great! We flew over the Mitchell Plateau and had a magnificent view of the famous Mitchell Falls, a series of four waterfalls that cascade down the orange and red-walled gorge. We landed near the falls and hiked over to take in this impressive scenery.

After returning to the beach and taking some great photos of our ship anchored in the bay from the air, we spent the afternoon exploring different sites for rock art. There are many different styles of rock art that can be as old as 17,000 years.

Day Seven

This morning, we anchored just off Jar Island, where we braved the searing heat to visit more rock art on the island. After lunch we visited the site of a C53 troop transport plane that crash landed there during the second world war. On the way to the site, we crossed a flat expanse that is covered in water at high tide. It was low tide at the time, so we were able to walk over it, taking a few photos of the very cute fiddler crabs on the way.

Day Eight

We took our zodiacs out one more time to travel down the King George River to the famous King George falls, which pour down the 80 metres cliffs on either side of a massive rock plateau. These twin falls are apparently a site to behold in the wet season. Unfortunately, we were there in the dry season and there was little more than a trickle running over the falls. The scenery was still spectacular, though and Ponant made it extra special by parking a zodiac full of champagne next to the falls so that we could sip bubbly while taking in this magnificent scenery.

Then it was back to the ship for our farewell dinner. One more day at sea and then we dock at Darwin. In closing, it is worth mentioning that Ponant is a fantastic way to experience this part of our beautiful country. They have been wonderful. Professional, friendly and super organised. Being French, we have been totally spoiled with magnificent French food and wine every day. I think I have gained 64 kilos in 10 days! Our next trip will have to be a boot camp!