Berkeley River (The Kimberley)

[Kyle]Our passage across the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf to our first destination in the Kimberly region of Western Australia (WA) was forecast to be slow and steady. In fact, in the pre-dawn darkness the day after we departed Darwin, we could still see the lights of the city astern. We arrived at the Berkeley River entrance on the fourth day, which is at least a day longer than most people plan for the passage, but we were glad we didn’t get to see the worst of “blown-apart gulf” as it is well known.

Sail to the NT and our first views of the Berkeley River (and its crocodiles); we were so in awe of the beauty, a lot of Wow's being exclaimed as we traversed the river for our first time.

We entered the Berkeley at first light on a rising tide and motored almost to the limit of navigation for cruising boats, anchoring off Amphitheatre (although the waterfall is not running this long after the wet season). The Berkeley River is really a majestic jewel for the scenery as we motored through rocky canyons of beautiful red rock, with the cliffs becoming higher and the waterway narrowed before opening up a little at the Amphitheatre. Our plan was to rest for that first day, but after a short nap we were both keen to explore and spent the afternoon taking the dinghy to the end of the navigable section (where saltwater and freshwater meet at a series of low waterfalls and fresh water pools). From the dinghy we poked around all the inlets and were thrilled with the scenery.

Exploring around the Amphitheatre Section

Back at Begonia, as the last of the light was fading, our neighbours (Ollie and Claude from L’attitude) returned from their daily fishing trip upstream; they had been here for three weeks and gave us some great tips on dinghy side-trips not to miss. Following their advice, the next day we took the dinghy to a beautiful, long, side gorge known as Amphitheatre Falls, branching of the main river from its steepest, most dramatic, section. The falls were dry but the canyon was a great place to sit in the dingy and listen to the echoing birdsong as we admired the crazy rock structures reaching high above us.

The Berkeley cliffs are so old, fractured and cracked, that they seem composed entirely of giant stacks of redish standstone blocks that are balance so precariously that it seems a strong gust of wind or a heavy rain will bring the all tumbling down. Maryanne spotted one particular column that seemed to only be held up by friction with loose scree at its base. It is a little frightening, but still awe inspiring at the same time.

We had another long chat with Ollie and Claude before returning to Begonia and exchanged information for any possible future meet-ups. We then took Begonia back downstream through the high cliff walls to anchor at the confluence with Casuarina Creek.

Casuarina Creek

Casuarina Creek is reported to be deep enough at high tide for our boat, to get in and anchor right next to the falls at the head of navigation. Since it wasn’t currently high tide, we went for a quick look with the dingy to determine if we might want to do that the following day.

Well wouldn’t you know it, as these things go, we got distracted by the scenery and ended up spending the rest of the day in Casuarina Creek with our dinghy. On our return we swung by to say “Hi” to the other boaters anchored with us (Zula and Promise) and were greeted with a “Hi Kyle and Maryanne” before getting to introduce ourselves. It was from the owner of Zula, the same guy who had helped us tie up Begonia when we arrived in Bayview, so our brief conversation before dark fell was as much a catch up. Our return to Begonia had to be done with caution as we spotted a crocodile lurking between our boats.

While anchoring Begonia near the falls at Casuarina Creek would have been an amazingly scenic location, we decided the available swinging room for anchoring would be a bit small to give us a restful night (and the falls were dry anyway). Rather we chose to spend the extra day relocating to First Creek, and taking the dinghy off to explore its waters. The first part of the creek is lined both sides with thick mangroves in which we poked into every inlet big enough for the dingy. Just before the mangroves ended and the terrain started changing back to red sandstone we spotted a crocodile at least twice as big as the one we’d worried over the night before. This one was definitely a fully grown adult, and we nervously gave it a very wide berth (as much as the river would allow for) as we passed. At the end the waterfall was a sliver of a trickle, but we could see plenty of water holes within easy reach.

First Creek

We had really hoped that we were going to see more of the marked waterfalls in action, but apparently the wet season wasn’t wet enough to keep water flowing through to this time in the dry season. There was the one (year around) waterfall we saw, but while useful for the vising boaters (who use it as shower and laundry facility) it was quaint rather than dramatic.

We could have easily spent more time in the beautiful Berkeley River system, but a weather system was coming that would likely make the entrance impassable (for our standards) for 10 days or so; we decided to use the beginning of those winds to propel ourselves to our next Kimberley destination further along the coast. Before we departed though, we had one last night so we moved our boat just outside the river in the protection of Reverley Island. The moment we pulled up anchor for the short trip to Reverley Island we were approached by a small launch (we initially thought it was some fishos, but it turned out to be the fishery officialdom). They requested to board Begonia and check our compliance with the state fishing regulations. They were all friendly, but we hadn’t even thought to try fishing yet, and we had an empty fridge (fish wise) and all the appropriate licenses, so the visit was short.

Around Reverley Island (exlporing at low tide)

[Maryanne]Thinking of visiting the Kimberley with your own boat? – Check out our Kimberley Tips