We are just home after 4 days/3 nights out at the amazing Buchaneer Archipeligo. I was a bit concerned at the cost of it, but have come away thinking it was well worth the money.
Mudflats and Tidal Creeks
On Wednesday morning, we were collected early by taxi and taken to the tiny airport of Derby where our seaplane was waiting. I love the fact we had no tickets, no boarding passes, and the pilot had no shoes! He gave us a great low (between 500 and 1000 feet) flight out to our yacht over the extensive mudflats, creeks and the Kimbolten Ranges. It was a perfect morning for flying, the scenery was stunning and our 9am landing on Talbot Bay spectacular (had enough superlatives yet?). It was one of the rare times he was able to bank and take us right over the lakes and then between the chasms that form the horizontal waterfalls before putting down in the bay at a pontoon beside the yacht. It certainly made my heart pound as it was more exciting than any amusement park ride I’ve been on, but I loved it.
The yacht is a million dollar job with a crew of three-on our trip, a new host (Brenton) had just started as help for the existing (and very hard working) one Leone. The owner of the boat was away and we had a fill in skipper Justin. He was lots of fun. As the falls were flat and no other tours were coming out, we also had the jet boat operator Ian along for his first trip around the archipelago. All very nice, hard working, fun people who live on the yacht for one month on, one week off in the most remote circumstances you can imagine. There were 10 passengers.
It’s a nice yacht, but not well set up for charter work. Sleeping arrangements were not great and only one toilet and shower for 14 people a bit of a trial. Still, we came for an experience, not a toilet or great bed and the experience was amazing. We were to share the tiniest 4 berth cabin with another couple, but opted to take our bedding up and sleep on deck under the stars for the three nights-the best decision we made for the trip. I think our sleeping arrangements were the envy of all in the end.
Sunset on Starsand
The scenery was amazing-the archipelago is said to contain more than 1000 islands. The varying colours of the rocks and water at different times of the day was fantastic and the sunsets can only be seen to be believed. Our first day was spent cruising about 5 hours, stopping for lunch in a pretty bay. We moored around 3.30ish and set about getting to know each other.
The Waterfall at Crocodile Creek
The following morning we cruised a little further, then moored in Crocodile Creek and went by tender to a fresh water waterfall and swimming hole a couple of miles up stream. We spent a few hours there swimming, barbecuing some sausages and a very good sized fish one of the men caught. It was a great way to wile away a few hours. It was onto the boat and on to another mooring at Silver Gull Creek for the night.
"Hermits" Phil and Marion and Chris
After breakfast, we headed up the creek to visit Phil and Marion who have squatted up there for 13 years since dropping out of the rat race. They are one of the very few people who live out in the area apart from an aboriginal community, a former station now used by the army and a few mines on various islands. They get their supplies dropped at one of the nearby mining islands and then collect them. In the dry season, they have many boats calling in and are usually called up to see if they need anything. They trade home grown veg for stuff the boaties bring in to them. It was a bit scary to be met by Phil wearing his undies-apparently he lives in them and was even married in a new pair when they married 3 years ago! Marion makes jewellery from local pearls and corals, stones etc and I think she makes a good living from that. The block has a warm spring which they run into an old tank and we were able to have a great splash and relax in that.
Swimming in Phil and Marion's Springfed Tank
While they call themselves hermits, it’s hard to see it when they have all the people calling in over the dry and I think they are pretty savvy business people making a pretty tidy living in a location that suits them. Phil hasn’t been into town (Derby) for 9 months! We had to make two trips out to them in the tender and I was in the last group to return. Phil and Marion walked up to a cliff to wave us off, and then mooned us!!!
After our visit with them, we returned to the yacht and made our way back to Talbot Bay where we’d originally landed. We arrived there around 6ish and it was wonderful to sail at sunset! Not so much fun trying to find our buoy in the dark though. We enjoyed a nice dinner of kebabs, prawn sticks fresh caught fish and salads. The new crew member kept us entertained for a long while trying to take underwater photos of a large sleeper shark that circled the boat for a couple of hours. He strapped his underwater camera to an oar and set the timer. Russ threw fish to the shark and he tried to get shots. He got the jet boat prop, the yacht's hull and finally, one fin of the shark. Still it was all very fun to wonder what photo he’d get next or whether the shark would eat his expensive camera!
Horizontal Waterfall (at Lowest Tides)
This morning we were up at 6am (as usual), had our breakfast and packed up. Then finally it was our turn to have a ride through the horizontal falls with Ian. The falls were pretty flat, but it was still fun to go out in the jet boat and particularly pretty in the early morning. Our plane arrived at 7.30am and we headed back into Derby exhausted but very happy we’ve done the tour! The pilot gave us a great trip home starting with a figure 8 over the falls and Talbot Bay, then a flight at 4500 feet back with a good commentary on all we were seeing. The higher flight gave us a good perspective of the area we had crossed so low over the other day.
Horizontal Falls from the Air
Three of the four other couples on the boat were really good fun. We especially enjoyed two of the couples company. I would have like to throw one woman to the sharks or crocs, but there was enough others to avoid her most of the time. We have laughed, joked and got to know each other very well in the confined conditions on the yacht and all got off wishing it had been a couple of days longer
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