An eerie encounter on picturesque Jar Island.

In the southern part of Van Sittart Bay, nestles tiny Jar Island.   A fantastic place to visit, with some secluded white sand coves, and bizarre rocky cliffs.  We made landfall at one such cove on our cruise.  Some very interesting Bradshaw aboriginal paintings here.

I wandered off to beachcomb, and take in the scenery, as it was a fascinating place. Whilst strolling down  to the other end of the beach, I became separated briefly from the main party who were still examining the aboriginal drawings.

It was an idyllic scene, a typically warm tropical Kimberley day.  Suddenly I had a sense that I was not alone.  You know that feeling you get - hard to describe - when you feel that someone or something is watching you. Very odd.
I turned around, and looked at the nearest cliff.  To my great astonishment, a giant face peered at me.
Soon realised it was a natural formation, eroded over the centuries into the surface of the sandstone rock.  Can you too, see this rather sad looking rocky figure in my photograph ?  As I am a cartoonist by profession, I felt it merited a small sketch. This is also shown here.

Magnificent aboriginal art adorns a cool cave atop a distant Kimberley peak.

Art galleries are always interesting places, but take it from me, this one really rocks ! With other members of our cruise, I climbed up a short but steep hill from Raft Point in the Kimberleys.
On our way up, we puffed and panted along a rocky trail past boab trees and great views of Steep Island out in the bay.

The climb was worth the effort in the tropical heat, because a cool shady rock overhang awaited us.
We sat in respectful silence as our guest lecturer told us about these ancient inscriptions.
As you can see in the above photo, the cave ceiling and walls are adorned with some excellent examples of Wandjina aboriginal art.

 These particular ones are known as Bradshaw paintings. They are powerfully drawn in earthy colours, and make a very impressive display. Bradshaw was the name of an early pastoralist who discovered these fine works of art back in the early 1800's.

The cave also had some other visitors, including a rock python wedged in a back cavity, and a large hornets nest just above where I was sitting.  This all added to the excitement of our trek !