After three days exploring the lower parts of the river, we were ready to see what other wonders the Berkeley held. Early one morning we slowly made our way upstream, in what was to be one of the highlights of our entire trip. There was no wind at all and the water was completely calm and still. The reflections of the cliffs and trees lining the riverbank were mirrored perfectly in the water below, creating the illusion of a second world.
As the river narrowed we found ourselves in a long, fairly narrow gorge that twisted and turned, with towering and imposing cliffs enclosing the sides. It was incredibly beautiful. Motoring along at just three knots, we had no music on and mostly sat in silence, just absorbing and appreciating the incredible spectacle that is the Berkeley River. We took turns steering so that the other could sit up on the bow and fully absorb the experience. It was not long after sun up, and that special, magical light that you get in the first hour or so after sunrise gave the cliffs a glowing quality. I’m not sure I have the words to adequately describe what we felt in this place, but it is definitely an experience neither of us will forget.
Anchoring just outside the amphitheatre, we sat on the boat for a bit relishing the incredible feelings of being alone in this ancient, majestic and awe-inspiring place.
The amphitheatre is a large bowl shape jutting off the side of the river and enclosed by cliffs about 100 metres tall. In the wet season there would be a waterfall roaring over the edge, but it was just a trickle now. We put on our hiking boots and climbed up the steep gully nearby, clambering over rocks and pushing through scrub. Once at the top we wound our way around until we were staring directly down at the amphitheatre below. We could see Cool Change below, looking like a toy boat, dwarfed by the towering cliffs.
As we carefully peered down over the side, we noticed a dark shape on the water’s edge. As we watched, it began to move, swimming slowly and gracefully out into the centre of the water and revealing itself to be a crocodile. An absolutely huge one. We could see him clearly from 100 plus metres above. With Matt’s long lens on the camera, he got some great photos. From above, we could see just how big and wide he was. When looking at crocs in the water you can often only see their head and tail, making it hard to gauge exact size. This left no doubt as to the true size and heft of him.
We decided to spend a night camping up on the clifftops so that Matt could try to photograph the Milky Way over the clifftops. Climbing back up the gully with our hiking packs on was a little more challenging, but we managed!! I set up camp and prepared dinner while Matt took photos in the magical sunset light and put the drone up to get another perspective.
Clear skies and not much moon meant that we had the most extraordinary starry starry sky. It really was something to see the outline of the cliffs and the river below topped by the twinkling blanket of stars.
We watched dawn slowly creep over the river, and when I went to make our coffee, I returned to find Matt throwing rocks over the cliff, listening for the long silence before finally hearing the crash reverberating around the amphitheatre below. Seems boys will always be boys!
With such calm, still days and such incredible scenery surrounding us, it was the perfect place to play with the drone. We launched it off the bow of the yacht, on top of the amphitheatre and on several of our other hikes. Here are some of the best drone pics.
At the top of the river, as far up as is navigable in a tinny, is the Berkeley River rock bar. About 700 metres before you reach this, there is a little waterfall flowing in a small cove. We tied up here and clambered up the rocks to reach the creek above. It was a fairly easy and very pretty walk along the creek to some clear rock pools. The pools were surrounded by the most amazingly coloured slabs of rocks and stones. On our way back to Cool Change, we came across another yacht and went aboard to meet Steven and Marjery on Serenity. They were just visiting the river for a few hours but it was lovely to chat, and Steven gave us some tips and info for other spots in the Kimberley.
On our way back downstream we anchored right in the middle of the narrow gorge section, and spent an evening watching the stars. It was super still and incredibly quiet. There was an amazing echo if we banged or dropped something, so of course we tested it out by yelling a bit too. When a pod of dolphins came swimming past, we could clearly hear the whoosh of their breath echo throughout the gorge. A very special experience.
Motoring further downstream the next day, we had the video camera strapped to the mast, hoping to capture a similar experience to when we’d headed upriver. Unfortunately, a little wind meant no mirror reflections in the water this time. Approaching Casuarina Creek, we saw Sealeaf and Sens de la Vie pop up on our chartplotter. They’d finally arrived!! We all anchored there and went aboard Sealeaf for coffee. It was so great to see them all again and hear what they’d been up to. We were bursting to show and tell them all that we’d seen of the Berkeley, but decided not to show them any photos and to say very little, so that they could experience the wonder for themselves. I envied them having that first time seeing the gorges still ahead of them.
Although the others were tired after their overnighter across the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, we stayed late on Sealeaf enjoying the company. These guys had all become very good friends of ours. We were to leave early the next morning on the high tide to make it out and over those pesky sandbars. If we stayed any longer we’d be in the river for another week or so until there was again enough water, and as much as we’d absolutely loved the Berkeley, there was lots more of the Kimberley that we were itching to see.
Farewelling the river, we reflected that it was probably one of the highlights of our entire circumnavigation. We knew that we had been in a special place and had a very special experience. And for the most part, we had been the only boat in there, having the whole river to ourselves. We’d also seen so many crocs that we stopped counting. We could definitely tick seeing a crocodile in the wild off our bucket list! And so, knowing that we’d been mighty impressed by the jewel in the Kimberley’s crown, we set off to discover how many other gems we could find.
Awe is the best drug in the world.
Jason Silva
Cool Change 