Kimberly Air Safari August 2019

Excitement plus! I was lucky to be invited by Carolyn, my pilot sister, and brother-in-law Michael to fill the back seat of their Cessna 172 VH-JZJ on an Air Safari to the Kimberley’s .   I am a passionate photographer and love being in the outback, so this was a marvelous opportunity for me.   Although the Cessna 172 was the slowest of the dozen light aircraft that comprised the safari fleet,  for the photographer, it was perfect - with wings above and struts well forward, we could fly low and slow with ample clear views all around. My role was to record our amazing journey across the open skies and provide inflight service (sandwiches & coffee) as needed.  Husband Jack found a seat with the ‘boys’ in VH-CDK, a Cherokee 6, as JZJ needed every liter of fuel it could squeeze on board.  Flying from Sydney, we were also accompanied by the doctors in VH-WRW for the long trip up to Katherine.

So what were the highlights? A difficult question as we had so many!

 The Sydney contigent met up with Peter and Sally’s Bonanza VH-OOD at Broken Hill.  At Barclay Homestead the group was joined by the Cessna Cardinal VH-RYY with Lionel and Jan, and two Lancair IV, Gary and Kaye in VH-LKG and Daryl and Marg in VH-ORA.  By Katherine  the designated meeting point, five more aircraft had arrived – a RV7 VH-OHS with Glenn and Meg, another Bonanza VH-BBA with Bill and Jennifer, Greg and his daughter Renee a Qantas Link pilot in VH-RTE an American Tiger, along with a pair of Cessna 182, VH-OPA with trio of Andrew, Mike and Kerrie and VH-SPK with Mark and Kerrie.  The journey from Sydney enjoyed overnights at friendly Forbes, busy William Creek and the green oasis of Barkly Homestead, also dropping in for fuel, coffee and cake at Mt Dare and Dunmarra. The ‘Jewels of the Kimberley Adventure’ began with a Nabilil Sunset Dreaming cruise along the famous Nitmiluk Gorge, which set the scene for a magical outback Safari. 

Heading out the next day, we watched and waited for three F18’s to finish playing at RAAF Base Tindal before flying to Home Valley Station (HVS) for friendly hospitality. Late afternoons and early mornings provide the sweet spot for photographers to capture the distinctive Australian light, and I hoped to record these moments using my tripod. At HVS, Jack and I discovered the impressive Bindoola Gorge and captured its essence from both above and within. We continued to explore the best of this working cattle station while others headed out to fish for Barra or soaked up the sunset atmosphere with ice cold drinks, surrounded by the expansive Cockburn Range showcased in the movie Australia, starring Aussies Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

The grins on the pilots and passengers who had headed directly to the limited accommodation at Belburn said it all. They experienced Purnululu (Bungle Bungles), a World Heritage National Park, before us; it is special from above or below, as we in turn discovered. We forgot the burning heat as we wandered past where the Australian Youth Choir recorded the QANTAS anthem, I Still Call Australia Home. Arriving at Cathedral Gorge, I found it truly ‘gobsmackingly’ big, and quite a challenge to capture - even with my best wide angle lens! It’s very dry but so awesome to experience 

as we enjoyed a packed lunch within its deep coolness, and I did manage to catch the rich colours through my lens.

 The next overnight stop was Derby, which provided an opportunity to take advantage of some of the facilities of a small town.  Jack and I also had a conversation with a proud indigenous couple about being ‘on country’ while waiting for an excellent Chinese dinner. We loved meeting the locals who shared their stories with us. It was almost a week down as we flew over the spectacular coast, and Carolyn managed a special treat. Arriving between the ‘commercial fly overs’ and ‘our mob’, we got priority to orbit low over the roaring Horizontal Falls phenomena, so I snapped some great shots while she manoeuvred the plane for better angles.  

My fingertips were worked overtime as we located humpback whales frolicking in the azure waters between the maze of islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago and also discovered whole islands disappearing from open cut iron ore mining. JZJ finally landed and sprayed red dust on the short Cygnet Bay runway, taxiing to double and triple-park beside a solitary hangar. The bay is a stunning environment where we slept in a cleverly-decorated, original pearler's shack and experienced three generations of Australian pearling history. Both girls and guys were impressed by glowing pearls in the showroom, and some of us could not resist souvenir shopping. We indulged ourselves with a dip in the crystal-clear blue waters of Catamaran Bay whilst others experienced the thrill of an amphibian transfer to a fast boat to get to a waterfall reef which appears to erupt out of the sea.

Could it get any better? Yes, of course it could. With sunset champagne drinks, accompanied by the sounds of a haunting saxophone, we watched the full moon rising, which created our ‘stairway to heaven’, as we tasted the delights of pearl meat and other treats, overlooking this beautiful bay. Next morning we were entertained and educated by Terry, a proud Bardi man, who vividly described wife-catching and other exciting stories about the Borrgoron Coast. We sampled freshly smoked oysters in situ, picked off the coastal rocks with Terry’s ‘traditional’ tools (now a hammer and chisel from the local hardware store). A really special time in our trip. Carefully, we squeezed out of our plane parking site before we flew out over the sparkling red Cape Leveque and down King Sound.

After a short hop to refuel at Derby, we landed at Drysdale River Station (DRS), which is the last Australian family owned Kimberley cattle station, where we received a very friendly reception from Shane, the manager. We all headed straight to the grassy beer garden to quench our thirst and prepare for our next amazing adventure.

The next day, fortified with lamb shanks served alfresco the night before, we flew north to Kalumburu, WA’s northernmost settlement, where tea and freshly baked scones awaited us at the Catholic mission. Local cultural guide Clarry took us through both Wanjina and Bradshaw rock art paintings, dated back to around 50,000 years. We expanded our bush tucker knowledge and attempted to throw spears with a woomera. Pilots really need to stick to flying planes, as their spears went flying every direction, plus the woomera! Clarry clearly demonstrated hand-stencilling by blowing charcoal and water over his hand against a rock, which was erased according to custom afterwards. We remembered those who lost their lives through war at a plane crash site and understood ochre-painting processes with a quick visit to the community’s art gallery where paintings depicting Wanjina spirits adorned the walls.

A very early start with local pilot and guide Sam (Kingfisher Tours) next day to the Mitchell Plateau ensured we coordinated with a relay of Helispirit Bell helicopters to the start of the Punami-Unpuu trail. This took us to an epic hiking day past Little and Big Merten Falls, more Aboriginal rock art, and the big Mitchell Falls. Just where did one point the camera - everywhere! Although no water had fallen anywhere, due to the dry ‘dry’ after a dry ‘wet’, this place was magical! I enjoyed luxuriating in its deep pools, as did almost everyone else, cooling off among the violet and canary-yellow water lilies, as fish wiggled and darted by. You absorb the majesty of this place into your very core and almost feel the presence of its spirits.

We were guided along stunning Mitchell Plateau vistas, and I had difficulty focusing my camera fast enough; there was definitely not enough time to do it justice. I managed another soak in the next waterhole before hanging out of helicopters (no doors), recording last glimpses of this astounding landscape while returning to the airfield. We departed and tracked over Mount Trafalgar, the Sphinx and Prince Regent River region, as the sun dropped rather quickly, seeing Mount Hann in the distance, and landed back at Drysdale before last light, whew, after a most memorable day.

Again, DRS staff and Sam helped us refuel with Mogas (unleaded fuel), which involves filling and transporting two twenty-litre bladders at a time, while most others pumped Avgas at twice the cost but half the work. El Questro Station, a ‘must-do’ on everyone’s bucket list, was only a short flight away. When we arrived, the Telecom corner next to the Swinging Bar was a hive of activity and a great spot with good coffee. I uploaded more pics for AOPA and friends who followed our journey miles away and were enjoying the colours, textures and subjects found in this harsh outback land

The rest of the day was spent exploring. Jack and I found a secluded spot to swim in the Pentecost River, past the young kids doing what kids used to do, swinging out from trees into its cool depths, before we indulged ourselves in a small feast of fresh green ants crawling everywhere to whet our appetites. Continuing on, we kept up our daily average of about10kms a day and passed by the newly-ploughed parking area (just to fit our planes off the runway) and observed those who had flown to Faraway Bay and King George Falls touching down. They, too, were smiling but had not yet parked their planes, which proved to be a challenge in the soft earth. Hiking up the long, zigzagging trail to Saddleback Ridge, we were rewarded with sunset rays filtering through a kapok tree and across the many ranges around us. We found time for a twilight yoga stretch before walking down slowly by torchlight to a cool creek crossing, hoping there were no croc eyes, and arrived just in time for dinner.

Our last big day did not disappoint.   With experienced guides, we traversed the rocky track and assisted each other into the glorious Emma Gorge, yet another Kimberley ‘jewel’ for all those who are mobile. Quickly, clothes were discarded as we braved its cooler waters in this magnificent spot, while others found the small hot spring and lingered there. This moment just had to be recorded, so the challenge was met after sweeping for any crocs! I swam across the lagoon with mobile phone high above the water, then hung precipitously onto the rocks below and captured our swimmers and the gorge inside out, 

which was stunning! Wandering back, we were further repaid by a slow-swimming, ‘fresh croc, drifting in the lower rock pool. Camera out, click, click, click!

Back in the luxurious lounge of the delightful Emma Gorge Resort, we enjoyed a leisurely coffee and cake before a short amble to Zebedee Springs to soak up the warm mineral springs under swaying, lush, green, palm trees; no one wanted to leave. Back for delicious Barra and beef lunch before Shaun, our friendly ranger, primed the flat boat that cruises up Chamberlain Gorge. We passed glowing stone cliffs, with nimble rock wallabies spotted high above and a sleepy crocodile wallowing below on the muddy shoreline. An array of refreshing fruit was served on board as champagne bottles uncorked, and we had fun feeding the spitting Kimberley archer fish (they’re so good at aiming their spitting, I needed to keep the camera away), Greenaway grunters and Barramundi, all trained to entertain us! Our last full day was completed with an alfresco, candlelit dinner by the banks of the Pentecost River, the food superb and desserts divine. Full to the brim, we swapped stories, special moments were remembered and the few mishaps we experienced laughed over and learnt from!

Next day we flew up the mighty Ord River and over Lake Argyle, where we sampled the delights of Kununurra - pink diamonds, sandalwood, hearty rum, and climbed Kelly’s Knob before gathering for a final dinner together. After an early start to begin the long flight home, I was lucky to catch The Gap of the MacDonnell Ranges at Alice Springs before a cuppa with an old friend, who delivered freshly baked muffins for our last inflight service! As we returned again over Marree man, Menindee Lakes and Broken Hill, I realised how harsh this great southern land can be, especially with the current drought affecting every state and territory we have flown over.

As the clouds gathered with the next cold front coming, I was strongly reminded of what a fantastic job Carolyn and the other pilots have done. We refueled at Parkes and finally Michael got a chance to be pilot instead of passenger and flew a high workload flight into Bankstown. Carolyn had totalled 62 hours flying time and 27 landings (no bounces), as did all our pilots on many varied  airstrips. At each of these airstrips were whisked by either the tall, dry, spinifex grasses, low, grey salt bushes, deep green tropical palms, isolated islands, majestic ranges, rivers and rocky mesas. We overflew airfields and removed a pet horse, dancing brolgas or the rare kangaroo, all done safely with no incidents except a flat tyre, which was fixed quickly with much advice and support provided.

Pondering over the many photos I have taken, I realize how privileged I was to experience this extraordinary journey and share it. I hope the images encapsulate some of the amazing sights we have had the pleasure of visiting. It is much harder to share with you the incredible camaraderie, the supportive pilots, the surprising secrets behind every corner, the warmest of hospitality, the spectacular sights and scenery, as well as the ‘on country’ experiences.

Would I go again? You betcha I would! Special thanks to Carolyn and Michael for sharing their plane, the fellow fliers we had friendly fun with, and to those who watched with green eyes from the ground! This was a very special trip - you should do it!