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9 Night SALE RIVER / walcott intlet adventure

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DAY ONE

Complimentary transfers are arranged for guests to depart from either Broome or Derby to board the Mahalo II at approximately 1pm (tide permitting).  The Captain and crew give a warm welcome to guests boarding Mahalo II and show guests to their cabins.  Following introductions and a safety briefing, the Mahalo II will depart from Derby at 2pm.  We will get underway cruising north, up King Sound to Stokes Bay and into Cascade Bay.  Watch the sunset while enjoying evening nibbles and refreshments on the upper deck.  After maneuvering into the shelter of Lachlan Island the anchor is dropped for the night.  Relax and enjoy the amibance while the crew prepare and serve dinner.  Enjoy your first night aboard Mahalo II.

DAY TWO

Wake to the beauty of the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelego and enjoy a healthy breakfast whilst cruising through Cascade Bay and Hell’s Gate (our first look at the rush of water created by the tide movement is sure to amaze you.) Heading on past Cone Bay & Strickland Bay, we enter Whirlpool Passage with its spinning, swirling maze of whirlpools. After navigating our way through this waterway, we arrive at Hidden Island to do some reef fishing for our dinner. Next we take a refreshing swim at Silica Beach, with its brilliant white squeaky silica sand, picturesque rocks and crystal clear water. From here we will cruise into Yampi Sound and anchor at Coppermine Creek for the night. Coppermine Creek apart from having an old abandoned coppermine is also the last location where the traditional Aboriginals lived on this part of the coast. It was called “Watchulum” and the community was here up to the mid 50s before they were moved into Derby and formed a new community called “Mowanjum” currently located 4kms up the Gibb River Road were they have a fantastic new art gallery.

DAY THREE

Enjoy a hearty breakfast before trying your hand at oyster chipping and shucking to collect a delicious feed of succulent Black Lipped Oysters. Once we have collected sufficient oysters for  our evenings entrée, we drop the lines at one of our secret spots in Yampi Sound for Finger-mark Perch, Saddle-tail Sea Perch and Blue Lined Emperor, all excellent fish for the table. Next we visit the freshwater spring and waterfall at Crocodile Creek. Here we have a refreshing swim in the freshwater pools (yes a swim at Crocodile Creek!) above the habitat of the saltwater crocodile. Leaving Yampi Sound, we cruise around Nears Point and along the Koolan Island “Channel” where you can see the iron ore mine and ship loader facilities. After rounding “Round Island”, we cruise past the “Iron” Islands also known as the “Ballast” Islands for their source of ballast rocks used in past times. We start making our way into Collier Bay while keeping an eye out for Humpback Whales and their calves (July to October) and then we head East along the coast towards the wild Yule Entrance. As we navigate our way into the passage, the large whirlpools swirl into a wild torrent of water which push and pull on the hull of the Mahalo II. Once we are clear of the Yule Entrance, we cruise east down the Walcott Inlet and anchor for the night in a sheltered location. Enjoy our special Oysters Kilpatrick for entrée and fresh fish of the day served with chips and a garden salad.

DAY FOUR

After you awake and have some breakfast, we head out in the tenders while the tide is low to chase the elusive Barramundi up one of the many mangrove creeks. Keep a close look out for the ever present inquisitive saltwater crocodile as they glide through the water effortlessly without making a ripple. Other fish we may encounter while lure fishing are Threadfin Salmon and Finger Mark Perch.  There is also an abundance of bird life that dart in and of the mangroves after insects. Once the tide has  begun flooding in, we will make our way further down the Walcott Inlet to the mouth of the Isdell River,  where we will anchor the Mahalo II and take the tenders up river several miles. Heading up river you  will see many Boab trees, Livistonia Palms and other thickets of lush vegetation. The river narrows and forms a spectacular sheer rock gorge and we arrive at a tributary creek running into the main river where we go ashore at a large rock overhang. There are many rock paintings to explore, both the Wandjina and Bradshaw styles. After walking up the creek, you can take a refreshing dip in the rock pools. We board the tenders and head further up river (tide permitting) to where the saltwater gives way to the freshwater. A walk up over the rock bar will reveal a magical freshwater pool. You can try your luck and flick a lure around before we need to make our way out as the tide drops rapidly once it turns and runs out. Making our way back to the Mahalo II, we will head out of the river to a safe anchorage in the inlet for the night.

DAY FIVE

In the early morning the Walcott Inlet is a magical place. As dawn breaks, the colors light up the sky and create a great photo opportunity. After breakfast we head out in the tenders to try for another Barramundi or two. After some fishing we cruise across the inlet to a little creek that leads us to where we can take a bush walk to a spectacular waterfall high up in the hills. (The walk takes 2.5hrs duration return) Making our way through the bush, we get a great view of the waterfall dropping into the chasm below. From this vantage point, you can see the Mahalo II anchored out in the Walcott Inlet. Once we have arrived up above the falls, we can take a refreshing dip in the cool spring fed stream. Making our way back to the Mahalo II, we cruise out of the Walcott Inlet and through the swirling Yule Entrance that leads us out into Collier Bay. Heading north across Collier Bay we arrive at Raft Point and enter Doubtful Bay passing by Steep Island where we stay anchored overnight.

DAY SIX

DAY SEVEN

DAY EIGHT

Departing the Sale River, we make our way out of Doubtful Bay and across Collier Bay, (Collier bay has the largest tide movement in the Kimberley at times 13.6 meters at high tide) through the gap at the Kingfisher Islands and into Talbot Bay, the home of the well known and famous Horizontal Waterfalls. Arriving at the southern end of Talbot Bay, the ever present sleepy sharks will arrive in numbers around the boat shortly after we drop anchor and are more than happy to eat any fish carcasses we have saved for them. Sleepy sharks as we call them (Tawny Nurse Sharks) don’t have any real teeth only raspy plates and can be hand feed with caution as they can still remove some skin if you have your hand in the wrong place at the wrong time! It’s now time to don our life jackets, pluck up some courage and allow our experienced crew to give you some thrills riding the rapids of the Horizontal Waterfalls. There are two gaps in the hills, this forms the Horizontal Waterfalls and is created by the tide rising or falling faster than the water can make its way through the gaps in the hill range, creating a turbulent whirlpool area of water that flows in both directions with the tides. The larger the tides, the greater the falls created. (On King Spring Tides it is said to be 4.5 meter height difference) We only traverse the falls when the Captain decides it is safe to do so. Once we have conquered the Horizontal Falls, we take a short cruise through the maze of waterways locally known as Cyclone Creek. This reveals some great rock formations before cruising north out of Talbot Bay. Once again the opportunity arises to catch some reef fish before having a relaxing swim at the Sisters Island beach. We then make our way back to Yampi Sound and anchor in Myridi Bay for the night.

DAY NINE

After waking up in the very picturesque Myridi Bay and enjoying some healthy breakfast, we have some time to do a spot of fishing. After we have caught a feed of fish for our dinner, we cruise to Silver Gull Creek to visit Phil & Marion at Squatters Arms. Here you have the opportunity to purchase souvenirs or some hand crafted jewellery, and to explore Marion’s delightful garden of thriving tropical plants. You can also take a swim in the pool with a view, a converted water tank that was the fresh water supply for the nearby mining settlements on Cockatoo and Koolan Islands. Departing from Silvergull Creek, we cruise on making our way south again, and pass through Whirlpool Passage and head for Cone Bay. Our journey takes us past the Barramundi farm and down into the sheltered part of the bay, where we will anchor down for our last night onboard Mahalo II. If the tides are favorable we can have our last chance at catching one of those elusive Barramundi in the Cone Bay creeks. Over the last few years the creeks have been getting well stocked with escapees from the farm mixed with the occasional larger wild fish the action is at times full on. Fresh fish will be on the menu again tonight.