Just like a Biggles story - a trek across a desolate salt flat, and a crashed WWII plane.

The Kimberley coast is full of surprises.   Our latest landfall on the Oceanic Discoverer cruise at Van Sittart Bay, produced another startling discovery.  An old aircraft wreck to explore !

 Here's what happened.  Back in 1942, an American DC-3 went missing on a flight from Perth to Darwin. It overshot Broome in the dark, and crash-landed on the coast at isolated Van Sittart Bay. Miraculously all six men on board survived in a soft landing.
They were marooned for two days until a rescue aircraft ( believed to be a Qantas Corinthian flying boat) arrived. Only a few days later, the Japanese bombed Darwin.

Ingeniously, the survivors managed to use pipes off the aircraft to distil fresh water from seawater.

Well over seventy years later, we trekked across a sandy flat to approach the aircraft.  The barren scene was reminiscent of a lunar landscape.  Weird rocks on a desolate salt pan. Then a hike through recently fire burnt scrub to reach the DC-3.   I expected to see Biggles and his crew pop out from the fuselage.

You can see the wreckage of this aircraft on Google Earth. Just go to 14° 7.692'S, 126° 18.564'E.
There are many stories in the Kimberley Coast area.  This is just one of them. I particularly enjoy an adventure story, especially when as in this case it had a happy ending for the brave crew. An interesting diversion to our Kimberley cruise holiday.

Spooky caves on Winyalkan island.

Ships Log.  After leaving Bigge Island, we have now reached Winyalkan Island.
Latitude: -14.553299903 Longitude: 125.427902221.   Thank you Google maps.

I must admit, there are some remarkable rock formations on these remote islands off the Kimberley Coast.  Winyalkan - about 190 hectares in area - is no exception.   Landed on another steep beach, and explored some intriguing narrow caves in the cliff.  Extraordinary rocks and a large balancing boulder (above picture) near the entrance.

 Once inside the caves, it was single file only. In length, just a few metres, but distinctly spooky.
Torches at the ready, we wondered what lurked in these eerie stone corridors..... On close inspection, I noticed some assorted lichens on the walls. If you have a 'liking" for lichens, then this is the spot for you.  Also to be noted on this expedition,  a solitary bat hung down from the ceiling of one chamber. 

As for buried pirate treasure, we were out of luck.  Phew ! It was good to emerge into bright sunshine again outside.  And another highlight today - an osprey with a penthouse view atop a rock across the bay.

Behind the scenes on board a luxury Kimberley expedition ship

Not many cruise ships allow passengers on the actual bridge while the voyage is in progress.  Or if they do, such a 'behind the scenes" tour might be quite costly in addition to your cruise fare.

Ocean Discoverer ( or Coral Discoverer as it is now known) is different.  You are allowed to inspect the bridge at your leisure, because this company has an "open bridge" approach. 

I enjoyed the freedom of seeing how the ship was handled on my visit to the bridge. Talk about "Star Trek on the high seas !' Vast array of  high tech navigation instruments, dials, knobs and computer screens all ensuring our safety through these dangerous waters.  Friendly, courteous crew.

On another occasion, along with fellow passengers, I ventured down into the engine room deep in the bowels of the vessel. An adventure in itself.  We all put on large industrial-style ear muffs, looking like aliens from another planet. 
Descended down into a hot, noisy area, resplendent with well tuned, throbbing motors, and impressive looking dials.  The ear muffs proved excellent protection as my eardrums wouldn't have survived without them.

Exploring another deserted island in the Kimberleys.

Ship's log. At noon today on the Oceanic Discoverer, we had honey chicken and rice, followed by gourmet sandwiches and salad, fruit for dessert.  I mention this in case you think that by this stage of the voyage, we would all be eating bully beef and dry crackers, with rationing in progress.  Not the case. I stocked up.

After lunch, I boarded the landing craft again with our party. We set off on a choppy sea to another nearby island in Prince Frederick harbour.  The new mystery island, or rather "islet"  has no name like dozens of others in the vicinity. Made landfall on a very steep beach involving a scramble up to the top. 

Over to the left of the cove was a large overhanging rock. In exploratory mode,  I found a cleft in the rock face, just big enough to squeeze through sideways. Curious to see where it went, I debated whether to go ahead.  Phillip Parker King would have had no hesitation, but perhaps he would have been more adventurous, ( and thinner) than myself.

Finally accepted the challenge (  should have eaten less at lunch !) and managed to get through using a subtle sideways movement that would have done credit to Harry Houdini.  On the other side ( see above photo) was a beautiful sheltered grove of mangroves with pristine white sand and cool shade. A tranquil place indeed, and well worth the squeeze to get there.

On returning, I found other members of the party had found aboriginal drawings on the rocky outcrop. The artwork looked rather like a curious letter "C" with a pair of spectacles in the middle.
No doubt it has a symbolic meaning known to the original inhabitants of this island.

From curious crevices to ancient aboriginal art,  an excellent place to visit, and another memorable day visiting a deserted island offshore in the remote Kimberleys, Western Australia.

Ashore on an unnamed island in Prince Frederick Harbour.

Another day, more untouched places where no-one seems to go.  Take today for instance.   Early morning, a leisurely cruise in the landing craft,up remote Porosus Creek in the Prince Frederick Harbour region.

You may wonder, like I did about the origin of Prince Frederick.  Could he be related to the present Prince Frederik of Denmark ? Not in this case. This Kimberley Frederick ( with a "c" )  was a blue blooded Engish royal, born 1750. He was a grandchild of George II and youngest brother of George III.

This is an area of majestic escarpments, eerie mangroves and curious crocodiles prowling the estuaries. Towering cliffs that must have not changed in centuries.

 Later, returned to our cruise ship for morning tea of hot chocolate and cakes.  Then it was all aboard the Xplorer landing craft again to head for an unnamed, uninhabited, and untouched island nearby.
We landed on a large sloping beach comprised of crushed coral.  No sign of anyone having been here before.  Our naturalist guide ( Jamie) gave us an interesting talk on the island fauna and flora.

The island in my opinion deserved a name  as the cartographers obviously hadn't got around to choosing one.  But what to call it ?  I considered "Rocky outcrop 435" as a possibility.  Even perhaps name it after myself, as it would be an honour to have an island in the name of  blogger Alan.J.Benge.

I mentioned this fact to our guide, but he said that there could be problems with native title, and it was a somewhat complex process naming an island.  It helped if you were first on the scene about two hundred years ago.

Time went quickly on AJB island.  Scrambling over large rocks, discovering curlew nests ( with eggs intact), and paddling ( carefully, eye out for crocs ) in the clear shallow water.  Cute bits of red coral on the beach.  A memorable place just because of its isolation.  It was great to have the opportunity to land here.

Lazy days in the Buccaneer Archipelago on luxury Kimberley cruise

So far on my cruise through the remote Kimberleys, I have explored rocky Iron Island.  I've gazed in awe at incredible Montgomery Reef.   Clambered up Raft Point to view amazing aboriginal paintings.
Landed at Langgi Beach to find simply sensational stone statues standing in lonely sentinel.

But all adventurers must sometimes take it easy.  How peaceful to relax on a comfortable lounger as we plough peacefully through the Buccaneer Archipelago. Gentle tropical breezes wafting across the deck.  The only decision to be made is to wonder what might be on the five star menu for lunch ! 

There are more exciting places in store on this cruise and it will be great to experience them in the next few days. In the meantime, I'll just have a short siesta......will keep you posted.