BERKELEY  RIVER TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP       

       CRUISING THE BEAUTIFUL BERKELEY  RIVER

       INTRODUCTION                                                                       BERKELEY RIVER AIR PHOTO

The Berkeley River on the SW coast of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf provides an interesting and challenging navigation exercise to find a path through the maze of sandbars protecting the river mouth (left).  The Berkeley can be accessed from secure anchorages 45 miles to the north-west (King George River) or a similar distance to the south-east (Cape Dussejour/Helby River or Cape Dommet) so that arrival can be timed for approximately 2 hours before high tide at Reveley Island.  There are also local anchorages on the south-east and western sides of Reveley Is offering protection from the NW sea-breeze and the persistent easterlies respectively.

      WHAT TO EXPECT

The easiest entrance to the Berkeley River mouth is to approach across the drying sandbars on a bearing of 225^o T from a position about 2 miles offshore from the river mouth.  The shallowest sandbar, about half way to the mouth, dries about 0.6m on zero tide.  Shortly after crossing this shallow bar, depths of around 5 to 8m will be found into the river mouth.  A deeper, but more indirect entrance, can be taken on the northern side of Reveley Island by following a course of 260^o to the rocks on the southern side of the mouth then doing a right turn then a left turn into the mouth of the river.  A third entrance follows a channel along the western side of Reveley Island before joining route 2 into the river.  Check these 3 routes on the air photo links above.

Immediately inside the river mouth there is a pleasant anchorage behind the sandspit (right and 1a on the map). Favour the south-eastern side of the channel, as there is a large drying sandbar along the north-western side of the river.  Cattle, and sometimes a large crocodile, roam this sandbar.  Approximately 1 mile further upstream (1b on map), there is an anchorage area in the lee of the mangrove fringe.  This area is flat calm when the wind pipes in hard from the ESE.

      TIDE LEVELS

The tide times given on the Seafarer Tides CD for Reveley Island (2006) are about half an hour later than high tide at the mouth of the Berkeley River.  It therefore pays to be early rather than late on arrival or departure.  If you are using the tide book, tides are about the same time as for Cape Domett and the heights are about 0.65 times the listed heights for Cape Dommet.

      PLACES OF INTEREST

Between the two anchorages near the mouth of the Berkeley River there is a creek snaking off to the northwest.  At the head of this creek is a waterfall (2a on map) which may only run in the wet season and the early dry season.  There is a string of freshwater pools and waterfalls further upstream.  These pools (left) are spring fed and hold sufficient water for swimming all year round and are very inviting on a hot day.  They appear to be safe for swimming as they are 3 to 4m above high tide level, and clear enough to see if there are any saltwater crocodiles around.

About 3 miles further upstream, Casuarina Creek enters the river on the northern side with a great view up the creek to Mt Casuarina (left).  Anchorage (1c and right) can be taken up in the main river just south of the creek mouth. 

The navigable (at high tide) section of Casuarina Creek is less than a mile long and terminates in a circular pool (below left) with a central rocky mangrove island and a waterfall (below right).

Anchorage can be taken up in a 12m deep hole between the island and the waterfall, using a high tide approach up the creek.  There is a ledge at the bottom of the waterfall for a shower but don't slip!!  About 500m upstream from this waterfall there are gorges with Bradshaw paintings on both the left and right hand sides of the creek.

Travelling further up the Berkeley, the river narrows into a high-sided gorge at about the nine mile mark (4 on map and left) before widening slightly into the final 3 mile long reach running almost south-west.  One mile along this reach on the western side is a magnificent amphitheatre (5 on map) with a high waterfall cascading vertically onto a flat rocky ledge.  A rough trek over boulders leads to the top of the amphitheatre falls where panoramic views can be had of the river below (right). The creek upstream of the falls affords good hiking on flat country and all season swimming holes. 

Back safely on the ledge below the falls, there is ample space (left) to relax and read a book, collect water, do the washing, have a bar-b-q or merely observe the hawks, kites and small marsupials scurrying amongst the rocks.  However, this area is prone to rock falls and is like an oven late in the season as the rocks heat up during the day.

Another 1.5 miles further upstream (right) the tidal rockbar (6 on map) marks the interface between the fresh and salt water.  On the SE side of the river, 200m or so downstream of the rockbar, there is a side creek with a permanent 4 to 6m high waterfall flowing directly into the river (2b and photo left).  This is an ideal spot to tether the dingy and have a shower, collect fresh water, light up the bar-b-q or hike further upstream above the falls where there are clear shallow pools for safe swimming.

Above the main rockbar, the Berkeley River is straight, rocky and relatively flat.  After circling around the first tidal rocky pool, and hiking a few hundred metres, the river bed becomes more sandy.  There is a 4WD track (left) crossing the river about 1 km upstream from the rockbar.  About 1 km further upstream, there is a red conical hill and a terraced mountain on the western side.

The river here consists of permanent freshwater billabongs safe for swimming and worth a cast for a barra (right).

The Berkeley River is a  pleasant stopover for cruisers heading up and down the coast to and from Wyndham or waiting for a weather window to cross the Bonaparte Gulf to Darwin.   However, beware the strong wind warning!  Due to breakers on the outer sandbars, it is nearly impossible to get in or out of the Berkeley River with the ESE wind above 20 knots, particularly around the neap tide periods.