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.

Ancient rocks and strange drawings on Bigge Island.

Arose at the crack of a tropical dawn this morning.  Getting up early not one of my strong points. However we have an exciting day ahead, with "Bigge" Island on the itinerary. Bigge Island is rectangular in shape, about 22km long by 11km wide. A spectacular place with rugged terrain, rising to a high point of 143 metres at Savage Hill.

With Oceanic Discoverer anchored offshore, we landed at tranquil Wary Bay, a white sand beach with interesting rocks and imposing sandstone cliffs. Turtle tracks in the sand. The early morning start was definitely worth the effort.

 Our party found an amazing aboriginal art gallery in the cleft of a cliff.  A series of sandy caves in the overhang of the cliff-face revealed old drawings from ancient artists. The inscriptions proved to be different in subject matter compared to other locations we've visited.  I could make out what appeared to be an impression of an old sailing ship.

The old vessel in the rock painting appears to be a two masted pearling lugger, or possibly a whaling ship. Perhaps shipwreck survivors or sailors landed here centuries ago looking for water ? 

I trekked with the other passengers to the top of a nearby bluff. Magnificent views, the only sound to be heard, the clicking of countless cameras recording the scene. Definitely one of the highlights of our cruise as we enjoyed our "big" day out on Bigge Island.  

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.