Broome 5 Sept

Well we come to the final morning. Didn’t sleep very well on the final night. I think I was a bit sad knowing that when we woke up we would all be heading our own way.

My special request for pancakes for brekkie was granted by Nathan. Yuumm! As we cruised down the coast to Broome some sat and chatted while others packed their bags.

Photos on the back deck then farewells to the crew.

L to R: Stephen, Trippy, Clive, Dave, Nathan (Back Row)
Adrian, Ali, Sue, Jane Jennifer, Warren, Brian (Middle)
Suzanne, Anne (Centre Front of course), Megan, Tim



The red and green detergent bottles stand nearby ready for action as the boat will be heading off tomorrow night. All but Nathan are heading home for a couple of weeks and Trippy is heading off for the delivery of a new baby (it was a girl, Kate).

We are driven back into Broome where we all split up. Sue, Ali and Dave to the Pentelow’s in Cable Beach, Adrian and Suzanne to the airport and home, Warren, Jen, Brian, Jane and ourselves to Cable Beach Resort for a night before also heading home.

Well it has been a great adventure. The Kimberley has blown us away. Little did we know what hidden treasures can be found there. We were very surprised by the amount of fresh water springs that are scattered throughout. Who would have thought that we would have luuuvved getting up at 5.30am to go fishing! It is all out our own back door, you just have to take the time to go and see it. Trust me, it will be worth your while. But most of all we met some new and very wonderful friends that I hope we will see again.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the journey.

Talbot Bay 4 Sept

Up at 6.30am to attack the Horizontal Falls at 7.00am. We can only have a maximum of 4 in each boat, including the driver so Jane and Brian will go after everyone else.

The Horizontal Falls are created by the enormous variation in tides - which are as much as 12 metres. The water level rising, or falling, in Talbot Bay (due to the tide) causes a major height difference with the water level in the inlet on the other side of the Falls.

As we approach the Falls Trippy decides that they are a bit strong so we will wait for 30 minutes and try again. We return and pick up Jane and Brian and cruise around Talbot Bay for a ‘look see’. Small seaplanes land hourly in the Bay bringing tourists in to ride the Falls. A number of yachts and cats are anchored in the Bay. We are finally starting to see other humans.

We head back to the Falls. You can visibly see the difference in height of the water masses and the water is pumping through the gap in the rock faces. Each tinny takes its turn to go through the gap. We are the last to go and by this stage we are really looking forward to it. Tim takes us through and holds the boat on the wave. The water gushing past us on either side of the boat is unbelievable.

We now find ourselves in the inlet and approach the second of the Falls. We are no longer allowed to go through this gap as there have been a number of accidents and the operators have agreed not to put people at risk. When you see the water gushing through you are very grateful that this decision has been made. As we go back to the boat Trippy is coming back with Jane and Brian so we turn around and go through again only this time Tim ‘fangs it’ and we go through much faster. Very exhilarating!!

We return for bacon and eggs and are joined at the back of the boat by a tawny nurse shark. Megan and Jennifer feed it fish frames, by hand. Obviously not a man-eater!

We spend a fair bit of time cruising between small groups of islands. The crew are acting very strangely, they are up to something.

We drop anchor at Crocodile Creek for a BBQ lunch. The crew pack a lunch of salads, steak, snags, fruit, wine, beer etc. We arrive at the landing and find a yacht anchored there. Don’t like this other humans thing, who do they think they are? They soon leave. This landing was built by the workers from Koolan Island, a nearby mining project, some years ago. They built a concrete landing complete with a barbeque, shade cover and stainless steel ladder that allows visitors easy entry to the rest area. Tourists often leave a memento of their visit - everything from jocks, thongs, boardies and cutting boards to boat buoys - hanging from the cover. The oldest dated object I saw was 1985. We left a can of Emu Export, empty of course. Surprisingly there were quite a few left in the bar fridge, courtesy of Brian.



The landing has a waterhole above it so we go for a swim before lunch – another climb but not a big one. This is our last stop before Broome so we make the most it.

We spend the afternoon catching up on map marking and journal writing while the crew start the big clean up for the next trip. Stephen and Sue have duelling whale footage on the screen and have their heads buried in Sue’s video manual. Dave joins them and we have a look at his photos on the big screen when suddenly we are confronted with a photo of Nathan in a mankini, laying on Dave’s bed. Dave’s fishing rod also appears in the picture. Let’s not go there!! Ah yes, that would account for the skulking around by the crew this morning. We also have a stubby holder tossing competition on the back deck and the crew can’t believe its taken 13 days to kick this off. It appears there is usually one per day on other trips. We are all thrilled when Jen has a big win and is voted the “Biggest Tosser”. Dave, trying to conceal a tear in his eye, hands over the gold medal while we stand for the presentation and sing the national anthem. I think everyone has forgotten the Olympics have been over for a week. Jen was magnanimous in victory. In her speech she thanked all: her parents, her junior coaches, her personal coach, even her main rival, Warren, who had spurred her on to great heights.

Megan cleaning and the boys version of cleaning

Trippy in complete control?? Good book?

All of us, including the crew, get dressed up for dinner this evening, sparkles and bling being tonight’s theme. At no stage do I remember bum crack being mentioned Tim. Your mother would be very disappointed Tim. As it is my turn to be head of the table, and with some prompting from Stephen, we have turns talking about our unforgettable memories of the holiday. The beauty of the Kimberley is high on the list but the camaraderie developed between all on board is a constant theme throughout the comments. Stephen’s particular memory is of Laurence: as we were mostly novice “casters”, there were many occasions when the lee-oo-ah landed up a tree, in the mud, on a rock or just generally “snagged”. When this happened, while most of us naturally reverted to the Aussie vernacular, “Ahh Shit”, Laurence, with his special upbringing, would simply exclaim “Ooohhh noooo”!!!! Forever more, wherever he is, if Stephen hears “Ooohhh noooo” – please use plum in mouth when saying this - he will naturally assume that someone’s lee-oo-ah is snagged.

All chocolate left on board is polished off before we head to bed. We cruise throughout the whole night.

Doubtful Bay 3 Sept

Awake early for our last fishing expedition. Stephen is feeling poorly, hot, cold and has the aches. We flick our lee-oo-ahs until about 9.30am without even a nibble, not even a fish other than barra! Very disappointing for our final trip out with Tim. I should say at this point that we have become very capable fisherpeople by this stage – casting with ease and winding in the line with professionalism, not a birds’ nest in sight. Tim is very proud. On the way back to the boat one of the tinnys breaks down and has to be towed back.

We return to the GE. The whiteboard is updated with Warren proving that bringing your own rod helps to catch the elusive barra with his count at 3. Well done Warren! He also proved to be a winner with the girls with his Verve supply now depleted.

We cruise to Threeways and then Ruby Falls where we get out of the tinnys and walk straight across the rock to the waterhole. We are very grateful of this as today is very hot and none of us feel like a long walk. This is the last opportunity for the boys to jump off the rocks. We enjoy this lovely, refreshing pool and waterfall and the magnificent surroundings. Everyone seems a little quiet today. It could be the realization that tomorrow is our last day and we are all a bit

sad that the trip is coming to an end or the fact that it is so hot we don’t have any energy left.

While we have lunch Trippy checks out the motor on the tinny and Stephen, who is feeling very ordinary, heads for his bed. We move to Raft Point where we climb to look at some more aboriginal art before coming back to the boat. Stephen still asleep.

We cross Collier Bay and through the Kingfisher Islands and seem to be covering quite a few kilometres this afternoon as we steam towards Talbot Bay where we will anchor this evening. Very pretty scenery.

Dinner tonight has a Chinese theme. We have the fresh oysters we collected, sashimi (my mackerel), rice paper rolls, ginger beef, chicken sweet and sour and a lamb dish with rice. Jane entertains us with her Ode to the Passengers and we laugh at how accurate it is.

Ode to the passengers aboard this ship
Clive, Nathan, young Tim, Megs and Trippy the ‘skip’
Oh……and yes, before I go….
To the steerage class in the holds below.

TRIPPY is the good guy who runs these great cruises
He pulls up the anchor at times that he chooses
He sails through the night and God knows when he sleeps
He plans the program and strict schedules he keeps.

Designer rumpled CLIVE with the 50 lb braid
When he caught a fish he made sure it stayed
This buccaneer never strays far from the sea
You name, it he’s done it, his life is carefree
He tells a good yarn with little persuasion
And it certainly doesn’t take much lubrication.

NATHAN the cook has kept us force fed
Pate de foie gras has gone to his head
He’s a very good cook this multi-skilled chap
Producing top meals with little mishap
A ‘Jack of all trades’ who keeps changing his hat
First carpenter, deck hand then cook is our Nat.

We were met at the docks by young TIM and the crew
But hey, he’s too young to know what to do
Very soon he left us in no doubt
That he definitely knew what he was about
He caught the biggest Barra fish
Which was our young Tim’s greatest wish
Of course he had to throw it back
But he’s still the leader of the pack.

Oh Meagan, dear Meagen, what a to-do
She slipped, cut her foot and was sewn up by Sue
Trippy was rubbing his hands at the thought
Of practising the first aid skills he’d been taught
He was trying to recall the notes he had read
On anaesthetic, antiseptic, needle and thread
But Sue and Suzanne took over with care
Leaving Trippy the ‘skip’ with his hands in the air.

Megan has a kind, caring nature and a face full of smile
To look after us she goes that extra mile
She and the helicopter pilot got on quite well
She pressed his right button it was easy to tell.

Sweet ANNE has short legs that scurry up rocks
She’ll never be in danger from renegade crocs
She’s the ‘Cod Queen’, she’s serious, she fights tooth, nail and claw
But ‘she still hasn’t found what she’s looking for’
But beware this blonde following you with eyes all agog
You may end up the subject on the site of her Blog.

STEVE’S a man of few words and he considers them all
He’s fit and athletic and good with a ball
At home he’s a cyclist but out here at sea
He’s exchanged his lycra for fluorescent T’s
For him the oyster trip came not a moment too soon
Then he and Anne disappeared for the whole afternoon!

Vivacious SUZANNE with the hormonal hair
‘There’s a sheep on my head’ she was heard to declare
Her mission in life is to look after the ‘Pom’
And this she does with the greatest aplomb
She’s always around when we fall in a hole
She looks after our cuts and is good for our soul
Sue’s an interesting lady, a listener, a gem
She doesn’t like oysters and describes them as phlegm.

The cream-covered ‘Pom’with the Arafat band
Lives in a world that we don’t understand
His brain is so active, his mind is so keen
We hear what he says but what does it mean?
He comes up from his ruuum and selects his lee-oo-ah
How did evolution produce the wonder that you are. (ADRIAN)

Then there’s wise WARREN who knows lots of stuff
As a lad he dreamed of the sea and has not had enough
He talks with the skipper and they compare notes
On fathoms, degrees, navigation and boats
Warren can flick a long line with consummate ease
He’s after the fish, those that climb trees!

JENNIFER has decimated the Mangrove Jacks
She casts a line well, no skill she lacks
When she catches a fish she exclaims ‘Oh dear, Oh dear’
Folds up her parasol and winds in her gear.

ALI’S beautiful jewellery was such a hit
Just wish she’d brought more so we could all have a bit
Sore neck, aching back, things that go bump in the night
Just go and see Ali she’ll soon set you right.

DAVE the bull catcher, what a tough bloke
He has walked on the edge compared to most folk
He and Anne entered the profiterole race
And into their work they put their face
Dave wrestled the gold medal from the arrogant crew
After a disqualification under the rule ‘Spew’.

SUE attempted to form a synchronisation team
But lack of co-ordination put an end to that dream
She’ll overcome that disappointment, she’s strong is our Sue
She caught not only one Barra but two
Cam recorder in hand , always on the alert
Sue’s taken great movies, what an expert!

BRIAN is the quiet one who knocks back a few
But of course we realise he’s drinking for two
He walks through the creeks, up hills and up rocks
And always is wearing his sneakers and socks
He kept his job quiet, letting Laurie take the heat
And with a sharp sense of humour never missed a beat.

JANE is so trim with an elegant stance
Who’d think she’d tell stories of men staining their pants
She’s a beautiful swimmer who keeps up the pace
But we’ve mainly seen legs not her mischievous face
And a wonderful poet with school teacherly wit
Through her we’ll remember the mob on this trip.

That’s all aboard this wonderful ship
And thanks to the crew for a magical trip

The sights from the boat just struck us all dumb
And as they continue the mind starts to numb.

When we go home and resume life’s intensity
We’ll recall the Kimberley and its serenity.

Montgomery Reef 2nd Sept

Up early, yet again, to go and collect oysters from the rocks. Yuk! Both Stephen and I don’t like oysters. Stephen tries one and agrees that he still doesn’t like them, however he claimed he was experimenting to see if they work as an aphrodisiac. Hmmm, worrying!


We drop them off at the boat and head towards Sheep Island and Camden Settlement. This was the one and only settlement in the Kimberley (1864 – 65). Those poor people. The land is so harsh it’s not surprising only a handful of the 124 people survived the 12 months they spent there.

Back to the GE for brekkie while we watch a pod of dolphins frolic in the boat’s wash. We spend the afternoon travelling towards Montgomery Reef. Don’t know why but Stephen kept wanting to go to our ruuuum???? We sat out the front of the boat watching for whales. We soon came across a mother and baby who put on a wonderful display for us including swimming under the boat. An hour later we come across another mother and baby. We cruise right up to them and the baby is playing around but the mother is not moving. All of a sudden she becomes aware of us and takes off breaching the water 3 times. The baby doesn’t follow so she returns to gather it up before swimming away. They truly are magnificent creatures.

Under the Boat

Up she comes and down she goes

Finally

We anchor in a channel at Montgomery Reef and head off to some nearby islands for a fish. Finally I land a decent sized fish, a mackerel, that doesn’t get thrown back into the water and is not kept for bait. Lots of line tangling this afternoon courtesy of Ali.

Trippy announces on the radio that we should all start heading back to the GE as the tide is dropping quickly. As we reach the channel where the GE is anchored, the tide drops and the reef is revealed.

There are turtles clambering to get off the reef and fish jumping across the water. The boat is now in a lagoon surrounded by the reef. We wait about an hour for the tide to drop a little more and then we get back into the tinnys and go for a walk on the reef. It is a stone reef and the coral is quite hard. The colours are wonderful. The tide continues to drop at a rapid rate and waterfalls appear in gaps in the reef. It is such a weird feeling walking around in the middle of the ocean. It is sunset and the colours are fantastic.

Waterfalls in the middle of the ocean

Another beautiful sunset

We are on a tight timeline however as we have to get back to the big boat and out through the channel before the tide gets too low. We sit high on the deck and watch the sunset with a gin and tonic or two. Aaahhh, the serenity!!

We cruise onto Doubtful Bay. Later that evening Trippy received a distress call from a nearby yacht. A woman on board has fallen and broken her leg. They don’t have a satellite phone and need to contact a doctor. We have just finished dinner and the booze is flowing tonight. We only have a couple of days to go and everyone is trying to clear the grog fridge by the time we get to Broome.

Trippy and the twin Suzanne nurses get into the tinny and go over to the yacht. Trippy and the husband come back to contact the doctor. I don’t know what the husband made of our General Hospital jokes. When they all get back we are told the woman has quite a bad break requiring surgery and will have to be evacuated in the morning by seaplane. Trippy is all for resetting the fracture – he just luvs playing doctor – but the Suzannes hold him back and do their duty, blow up splint and medication for pain. Unfortunately the poor woman is not going to have a very restful night.

We all troop off to bed a little worse for wear tonight, except for Stephen who for some reason is full of beans.

Camp Creek 1st Sept

Today is the first day of spring. No such thing up here!!

We go fishing and only catch one fish – a fish other than barra (the new phrase for the word cod)! Today’s fishing story is about Adrian Momber’s brother, Hugh. His nickname at boarding school was Huge Member, Adrian therefore became Huge Member’s little brother! I swear to God I thought Stephen was going to bust a gut he was laughing soooo much.

We have a hearty breakfast and head to Camp Creek in the tinnys. We follow the creek, over rocks and some sand. Not too difficult but still lots of climbing. Stephen is still laughing. The creek is like an oasis amongst the rocks and red earth with magnificent paperbarks and green grasses. We pass a number of spots that look great for a swim but then right out in the middle of the water you see a croc waiting for his dinner to arrive – you!! We continue to climb and eventually reach another beautiful waterhole with a natural spring feeding it.

The synchronize swimmers have remembered to bring their pegs this time and proceed to perform their star routine. Very classy, however the pegs won’t stay on because of the amount of suncream on the delicate noses. (Enjoy the video)

We have used tonnes of suncream and insect repellent on this trip and I am very grateful that it has been provided on the boat. Sitting in the tinnys has also been very harsh on the shorts – wet bum and salty pants that can, by now, stand up on their own. If I appear to be in the same pair of shorts all the time that is because I was only going to ruin one pair. I am thinking of having them framed when I get home, mud, salt, fish stuff and all.

The water is crystal clear

On the way back to the tinnys we come across a lizard having his lunch. The landscape has changed quite a lot from the northern Kimberley. There is a lot more vegetation around since we reached the Hunter River.

Stephen's best Kate Winslet impersonation

We return for lunch and spend the rest of the day cruising until about 7pm. Everyone quite tired tonight and we hit the sack not long after dinner.

King Cascade 31 Aug

Another beautiful sunrise - aahhh the serenity

After a magnificent sunrise an early morning fishing expedition resulted in one dropped barra – groan – and Stephen and I, at one stage, had duelling cods on the go. Ooops, sorry Tim, not allowed to use that word!! By now I have been given the title of the Cod Queen, of which I am exceptionally proud, but not in front of Tim. Lots of talking about poetry on the boat this morning. I wonder what eventuates from this conversation?





The now famous cod




We see a number of crocs along the way. I find them quite disturbing. One minute they are looking at you from the water with their beadie eyes, the next they are gone and leave you
wondering where they are going to turn up next.

Brekkie then a cruise up the Prince Regent River. A number of us were sitting on the front of the boat admiring the view when Trippy does a right hand turn into a little cove and King Cascade is in front of us, just like that. King Cascade is a spring fed waterfall and I might say very beautiful.













Unfortunately we are welcomed to the cove by a couple of our prehistoric friends. One parks himself just at the back of the boat where we get into the tinnys. His mate is over in the mangroves, which is where we are heading to climb the falls. At this point, I start freaking out. I gather my courage and make my way into the tinny furthest away from the croc. The tide is quite high and the branches of the mangroves low which makes me nervous about what is hiding amongst them.

We make it to the rocks but then the climb is quite steep which I am most unhappy about. I put the two facts together, steep climb means falling into the croc infested water. By this stage my heart is going at 100kph and I can feel the tears welling up. Thank goodness for sunglasses. As I am writing this blog I obviously did not fall into the jaws of a crocodile.

These are fantastic flowing falls which go on and on with lots of waterholes to swim in. We spend a good couple of hours swimming and standing under the gushing water. Definitely a shoes on place as the rocks are very hot, I’ll remember that next time!
















Disaster strikes when Laurence, aka Adrian, who is swimming in a very deep pool, yells out that he has lost his now famous arafat hat. This was a joke that backfires on him. He loses his hat from between his knees (where he was hiding it) and it drops to the bottom of the pool, never to be found. We are all devastated as we will no longer be able to put sh## on him anymore, well not for the hat anyway!!

The last sighting of the arafat hat




Back to the GE – this time I wasn’t so concerned about climbing down, don’t know why as those bloody critters were still hanging around – for a lunch of barra and salad in a glorious setting with the falls behind us.

Don't do it Ali, you'll be sorry!!



The afternoon is spent with a big shleep wherever you feel like as we cruise out of the cove and anchor down river for the night.

Most people sit in the sun here!





Steaks on the BBQ with dinner on the back deck. Performance night tonight with Stephen standing up in front of everyone with his little limerick about Team Tim.

There once was a large barramundi,
Who refused to be caught on a Sundee.
With Tim as our guide,
We tried and we tried,
Then gave up and came back on the Mondee.

Very impressed with Stephen as it is not his thing at all to get up in front of anyone and perform.

However Adrian stole the day with his Ode to the Cod Queen.

Wary, scared, hungry, still
Cruel, hunched up, ready to kill,
In shadow, in darkness, with quivering gill,
Luuuurked the barramundi.

Determined, patient, eager to try,
Her rod held up, tip to the sky,
Facing the snags with straining eye,
Stood Anne, the Cod Queen.

The fish burst out to chase it’s prey,
The lee-oo-ah came down: a plume of spray,
The last flick of a longer day,
And hooked the barramundi.

Jumping, pulling, twisting, fraught,
Flashes of white, it’s only thought
To break free again, to never be caught
Fought the barramundi.

Resolute strong, determined still,
The Cod Queen stood, with iron will,
And wound and wound the glistening reel,
Tiring the barramundi.

The garlands stream, much praise abounds,
To the Captain’s table an invite is found,
The fish is weighed, its forty pound,
The Cod Queen’s glory.

The Captain’s guest list long and wide,
There’s profiterole Dave and gulping Clive,
There’s Laurence and Steve to share the pride
With Anne, the Cod Queen.

The Suzanne twins, the Tassie Quads,
Barra Tim, Ali, Megs and others sods,
The green-eyed chef, Warren and Jen,
Eating the Barramundi.

Good one Adrian, obviously boarding school had some benefits. Let’s hope the prophecy comes true.

Goodbye to the Hunter 30 Aug

Up anchor at 5am and cruise back out of the Hunter River. We are beginning to get used to the sound of the anchor coming up and the feel of the boat moving soon puts us both back to sleep.


We cruise backwards a little to a swimming hole called Benny’s Pool – I guess Benny found it! It was quite a walk along the creek bed, dotted with little waterholes, waterfalls and lots of flora. The pool is crystal clear and brochure perfect. I once believed that the brochure photos had been touched up but this is proof that they are not.

More bombs which by now are becoming a bit blaah Tim and Gronk. After a couple of hours swimming and laying around, as you do when it is 30 odd degrees, we head back to the boat and continue past the Coronation Islands to Careening Bay where we go ashore and look at a 700 year old boab tree. The crew of the HMS Mermaid carved their name into the tree in 1820. There is quite a story attached to this site but if you are interested read the blurb in the photo.

We venture out for another fish in the afternoon and increase the cod count which is becoming quite staggering. We also hear from Adrian how he got dragged from the laaaarder, where he was hiding, kicking and screaming for his first day at boarding school (he was only 8). He followed this up with his first dinner in the dining ruuuum (just like in the Harry Potter movie ) and how he fed his bread to the Headmaster’s dog because it was inedible. There were repercussions but the story is a bit too long to go into. Needless to say we were rolling around the tinny laughing at his misfortunes.

I think this was the day I got into trouble from Tim because, while fishing, I was calling to the fish, “Come on little cod, jump on my rod”. “That’s it, no more mention of the 'c' word, is that understood?” Grumpy bastard. I can’t help it if only the cod like me and the barra are being so elusive.

Back to the GE for white night. Even the boys make an effort to join in although Dave had to resort to the first aid cupboard!! We cruise on towards St George Basin.