As the dawn broke, another stunning morning was experienced in The Kimberley. After breaking of the fast, we headed to Raft Point Bluff, a place characterized by impressive geological formations of pink and orange sandstone cliffs plunging into the sea of Doubtful Bay. During our ascent to view the art, we were greeted by the icon of The Kimberley, the Boab tree (Adansonia gregorii), a relative of the Madagascan and African species known as Baobabs. Though not exceptionally high (up to 15 m), they can reach a massive girth of up to 20 meters. Standing tall and bloated along the path, some of the specimens are considered to be over a millennia in age. On the way we heard and saw a range of birds, including spangled drongo, bar-breasted honeyeaters, red-headed honeyeater, brown honeyeater, and wood-swallows. At the top of the track, we had the opportunity to admire the mysterious and intriguing Wandjina rock art. Wandjinas are spiritual figures displaying large haloed heads with no mouths. They are painted on sandstone surfaces, usually in various colours of reds, browns, yellows, whites and black pigments. We were fortunate enough to meet some of the original custodians of the land that explained and shared their beliefs and stories about this special place and unique rock art.
After a tasty lunch savored on board, we boarded our Zodiacs for another adventure. It was time to explore the spectacular Montgomery Reef. We navigated the main channel in the full fleet of Zodiacs. It represents the largest inshore reef system in Australia. The vast area (350km2) of shallow, sheltered, sunlit, lagoon and pools of the reef platform supports a great diversity. The area is home to a vast array of marine life including an extremely large population of green turtles (Chelonia mydas), that popped their slipper & shiny heads up, as quick as a blink, and too fast for most of our cameras! There were also beach thick knees, osprey, white-bellied sea-eagles, grey-tailed tattlers, and of course eastern reef egrets. During our return journey to National Geographic Orion we were surprised by drinks and pizza strategically served on an exposed sandbar, adding that extra refreshing flavor to our adventures.
