Today we would make our first landfall in the Kimberley. But, unlike the rest of the expedition, we would make a slice in to the interior, far away from the coast. The ship’s complement would split into two groups; the daring would fly above the buckled landscapes in small planes, while the rest of us would explore the huge Ord River system.
Those that did the latter had an early start. We passed through immigration, and then loaded onto the bus on the small but bustling Wyndham jetty. The driver took us through the tilted sandstone landscapes, and we soon found ourselves on a comfortable three engine boat. Our journey took us ‘up river,’ past the Melaleuca paperbarks, Pandanus, Kimberley Boabs, and Eucalyptus trees. On way we stopped to watch an Australasian Anhinga, a relative of the cormorants, ducking and weaving under the freshwater currents. He popped up several times, his sharp knife-like bill angled up, his eye watching us. After a few more dives, he bounced up with an eel-tail catfish skewered on his beak.
The boat raced up the river, swerving around rocks, cliffs, and partially submerged trees. Other wildlife highlights included freshwater crocodiles, ‘short-eared rock-wallabies,’ and Comb-crested Jacanas. We stopped for a picnic lunch on the banks of the river, and then continued right till the ‘end’ of the river, where the massive dam wall rose from the rapids. After a few viewpoint stops on the bus, our final highlight was a recreation of the Durak Homestead, pioneers of the Ord waterways. The trees held the honks of friarbirds and the squeaks of double-barred finches. But best of all was the display bower of a great bowerbird. Most of stayed and watched these promiscuous birds as they bounced around their avenue of sticks, and sorted out their proud collection of white shells and green glass shards. We could even see the tiny pink display feathers on the back of their necks. It was like being in a real life documentary.
