Sampson Inlet (The Kimberley)

[Kyle]From Sheep Island, it was less than a nautical mile until we were back in the security of waters that had been surveyed. The trip westward between the mainland and Augustus Island is a pretty one with the red cliffs of each rising from both sides.

Lots of activity at the perling hub at Kuri Bay

At Kuri Bay, near the western end, civilization suddenly came into view. This whole area is home to a large pearl farming industry and Kuri Bay is where the accommodation complex and supplies are housed. While we were sailing by, a company flying boat circled overhead, then landed to discharge a single passenger.

Sailing along the coast to Sampson Inlet

We carried on to Sampson Inlet, which is separated from all of the hubbub by an east/west ridge. As we arrived, we came upon a small tour boat anchored at the entrance. It was dead low tide then, so we thought it might be possible the entrance was shallower than indicated on the charts and they were waiting for the water to go up a little. We sidled up next to them to ask if that was the case.

“No” was the answer, “We’ve just stopped for some oystering. There’s heaps of water. Go on in”.

Indeed. We never saw less than seventeen meters depth before we were well in towards the anchorage at the back. We gingerly pushed upstream past that until our depth sounder got as low as three meters. Then we retreated to a big wide spot between four unoccupied moorings in eight meters.

We lowered the dinghy. Just as we were setting off upstream, a big ketch arrived and anchored near Begonia. We exchanged waves and headed off.

Exoloring the upper reaches of the inlet by dinghy (and foot)

It wasn’t long before we were stopped in our upstream exploration by a boulder-strewn section too shallow for the dinghy. There were a few places it looked like we may be able to scramble ashore, but once we were out of the water, the foliage would be too thick to penetrate. Perhaps we had left a bit too early in the tide cycle.

As the water rose further, we were able to punt our way farther and farther upriver until we were finally able to see both a spot to leave the dinghy and a path upstream. The path deteriorated until we decided the best way to proceed was half along the rocky bank and half wading through the shallows. After a few minutes, we had made it to an obvious terminus by a knee-high waterfall where it was possible to rest on a flat rock ledge in the shade and listen to birdsong and the trickle of the waterfall.

It was only a few minutes more before I spotted a man picking his way towards us on the opposite bank. He was Brad. The woman just coming into view behind him was his wife, Rae (short for Raelene). They were from Ulysses Blue, the ketch we had seen earlier. They had sailed up from Fremantle. They were both friendly and down-to-earth. We instantly took a liking to them.

It soon transpired that we were heading in opposite directions, so there was a lot of talk about the upcoming sections of the Kimberley for each of us; what to expect, what to watch out for, what not to miss. The tide was starting to fall and daylight would not be far behind, so we agreed to continue the conversation back at Begonia later. It would give us a good excuse to break out the champagne we were given by Le Laperouse in the King George River. We got on so well we planned to go to Ulysses Blue the following night.

Ulysses Blue joins us at South Arm also

Before it was time for that, we repositioned both boats to a smaller inlet closer to the entrance. We then all went ashore looking for the remains of a camp where other sailors spent the Wet Season twenty-four years earlier. We’re pretty sure we found the right area, but could not locate any artifacts to prove it.

The only thing we did find was a small croc, who followed us at a distance as we poked around. This little guy was just over a meter in length, about the size of the much smaller freshwater crocodiles, but it was all tail. Maybe they grow into them when they get older. Its snout was only about as long as a hand. He was about the same size as an iguana that I once had, so I had to keep suppressing the urge to scoop it out of the water and give its head a little scratch, like that time I was playing with an adorable little bear cub before its mother came and ruined my fun. Having the small croc around made us all feel a little better because crocs are pretty territorial and it’s not likely a big, dangerous one would tolerate having a rival, no matter how small, in its area.

Time spent searching for the 'camp' at South Arm wasn't entirely wasted

It was still bugging Maryanne that we hadn’t found the camp. The next morning, after Ulysses Blue left, she mounted another expedition to find the site (the picutres above are a mix from both hunts); after spending hours and being stranded by the low tide, she still returned home empty-handed, so to speak.

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