HIGHLIGHTS OF "SECOND INNINGS" 2003 KIMBERLEY CRUISE
" SECOND INNINGS" departed Darwin on 24 June 2003and sailed across the "Blown'apart" Gulf to anchor in the King George River for about a week. The anchorage at the head of the river (left) was superb, with 100 m high cliffs and smooth waters. Fishing was good, with a slippery 4 kg cod and a number of mangrove jacks being landed during the week.The Drysdale River offers superb anchorages with pleasant surroundings of low blocky sandstone cliffs 
topped by eucalypts. Fishing in the Drysdale is also good, with convenient (if not comfortable) fishing spots 
available at several locations (left). Some nice mangrove jacks and fingermark, as well as the odd large barra were picked up along the shoreline. More spectacular than the anchorages or the fishing in the Drysdale, are the spectacular sunsets (right). There are cruising risks in the Drysdale, including a number of big crocs, many sandbars and two dangerous rockbars.
The next destination was the Osborne Islands where the Pearl Farm wraps around the high cliffy islands and just getting to an anchorage involves a lot of dodging longlines and mooring buoys. Once anchored, there are a couple of freshwater streams running into the southern part of the bay and some 
stunning aboriginal art in an amazing cave complex (left). Also in the Osborne Islands is the coral encrusted wreck of the "SS Sunbeam" (right). She was a 30m long steam powered lugger thought to have been beached after being holed in the 1890’s. Legend has it that the crew kidnapped some aboriginal women and the aboriginal men sunk the ship in retaliation.
The next place on the coast is the magnificent Mitchell River, where some of the larger barra are up to 98 cm. However, the crocs are also pretty large. A 14 footer lurked on the bank for an unsuspecting human to step ashore. The Mitchell has several interesting side creeks to fish and explore, as well as a tidal rockbar and freshwater falls 20 miles upstream from the mouth.
Moving further south to Camden Harbour near Kuri Bay we explored the site of the first settlement in the northwest established in 1864. Annette examined some of the remnants left behind at the government camp area when the settlement was abandoned in 1865.
Now what is this? Well may you ask! We had never seen one in our lives until Dennis caught one in the bait net in the Mitchell River. This is a Banded Mantis Shrimp about 18 cm long that was scooped up in Silver Gull Creek. It is More commonly known as a "prawn killer".
The upper Sale River is magic place to spend a few days. Water is important here. Low tide lasts for at least 4 hours at the head of the river, so it is possible to walk 4 miles downstream from the anchorage at low tide without getting your feet wet. Just the usual caution – Beware of Crocodiles -
A new feature of the 2003 cruise was Annette’s escape to Derby aboard the Seaplane "KLP" for a frantic 6 hours of retail therapy. This was done from Cyclone Creek in Talbot Bay (right), where tourists are flown in to experience the power of the Horizontal Waterfalls.
Last, but not least, were the incredible shaped rocks on Edeline Island in Strickland Bay in the north eastern waters of King Sound. Two graves with inscribed headstones are accessible on the southern side of Edeline Island. To the north of Edeline Island is The Graveyard where many pearl divers were killed in the 1890’s.
This page was last updated 25 January, 2006