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.

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.

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.

Mysterious Montgomery reef - now you see it, now you don't.

One of the highlights of my West Australian cruise on Oceanic Discoverer. A vast reef, appearing as if by magic out of the ocean on a falling tide, is a marvellous and most unexpected sight.

I'm sitting in an inflatable landing craft, about 20 km off the Central Kimberley coast.  As far as the eye can see, there is water cascading off an endless wall of rocky coral.  Due to extreme tides in this area, the reef literally "grows" in front of my eyes as water pours off in a thousand rivulets down a multitude of crevices.

 

In a few hours when the tide comes in, there will be no trace of any reef, no coral, no rocks. Just a vast expanse of ocean. The show will be over until Nature puts on an encore with the next falling tide.

This astonishing mass of rock is the largest inshore reef in Australia, being an incredible 80km long.  It covers an area of over 270 square kilometres. By comparison, this is roughly the same area as Taipei City in Taiwan, home to over two million people... Montgomery Reef, home to zero people.

Montgomery Reef was named after Andrew Montgomery. He was ship's surgeon on HMS Mermaid, captained by explorer Phillip Parker King in 1821.
Definitely worth seeing if you can get out here. The "full Monty" is an incredible spectacle to behold.

Climbing to the top of remote Iron Island, West Kimberleys.

Ships log - Day Two.   Made good progress today up the Yampi Sound, and into the area of iron ore mining operations.   Passed Cockatoo Island, then dry and dusty Koolan Island.  These rocky outcrops seem to be mainly Precambrian quartzite sandstone, and their redeeming feature is that there are some marvellous rock formations to view.
Made landfall on isolated Iron Island, uninhabited, but with a pleasant sandy beach.  I climbed a low ridge after we landed, a relatively easy scramble up a rocky track. The views from the tussocky ridge were worthwhile climbing up for, and the rest of the landing party from the boat soon followed me up.
No snakes to be seen, nor much wildlife.
 Probably not the best place to be marooned for any length of time because I didn't see any fresh water, or for that matter, MacDonalds.