Ponant Kimberley Cruise - Day 9 - Hunter River / Porosus Creek
TUESDAY 30 APRIL – Day 9
Prince Frederick Harbour and the Hunter River are arguably one of the most scenic parts of the Kimberley Coast. Lined with Rainforest pockets, pristine mangroves and mosaic sandstone cliffs. They are considered to be amongst the most pristine mangrove forests in the world, containing up to 18 species supporting a rich and diverse fauna. The sandstone escarpment at the mouth of the river known as “Kampamantiya” rises over 200m high before giving way to extensive mud banks and mangrove forests which are home to numerous bird species and the iconic salt water crocodile.
Today was a big day in the sun and on the water. We started with a 1.5hr zodiac cruise up the Porosus Creek – named after the species of crocodile that inhabits these waters. We had Zach today as our guide and he did not let us down. We saw heaps of mudskippers, a few egrets, fiddler crabs, a few jellyfish, a kingfisher, kites and some other small bird species…. And a BIG Saltie. Zach saw a pair of eyes just above the surface of the water and we killed the engine and drifted as the shadow started to move. We moved no closer but drifted along with the shadow and then saw it come up to have a look around – from tip of its nose to the end of its tail, he was a big boy and we think around 3m long at least. The landscape is just stunning. No words. And to see the early morning sunlight bouncing off the cliff faces was beautiful.
It was getting very hot by the time we got back to the ship, just before 11am. So we had a few glasses of water (the bar has dispensers with a different fruit floating in them each day for some flavour – I like the cucumber/pineapple combo best I think) and a freshen up then headed to hear Francesca talk about the Mangrove habitat – Stuck in the Mud! She and Kyle are our favourite presenters. They all have the knowledge, but public speaking is a skill – these two looked like they were having so much FUN in talking to us, there was no “um” or “ah” anywhere and they knew their content inside out and back to front, which showed. Who knew there were so many mangrove species, and the variety of life supported is amazing. There are so many different types of mangrove (about 50) with 18 being found in the Kimberley, and their situation on the mudflats/riverbank is defined clearly by the intertidal depths. Some thrive when they spend most of their lives basically submerged, some thrive when they dry out fully (roots and all) in between tides. Some have aerial root systems, some have pneumatophores which are roots that look like sticks poking out of the mud but are actually very soft and fragile, as they are so porous because they soak up the oxygen that the mangrove needs to survive.
Living in the salty water, one of the things that the mangrove can do is excrete salt through its leaves so the high salt level does not kill the plant. They are very clever.
The Fiddler Crabs are named so because the males have one VERY large front claw that they grab their food with, and then their normal size claw rushes back and forth picking it apart to eat and it looks like he is playing the fiddle. All the boys know the girls love a big……. Claw. Funny thing is when the men fight (each other or a predator) if they lose their big claw, it grows back each time. However, each time a little less strong, so although it can regenerate, its not ideal for the boys.
Mudskippers are REALLY weird fish, although very cute in an ugly kind of way. They swim and fill their big puffy cheeks full of water to allow them to use the oxygen it contains (through their gills) and they can also respirate through their skin, allowing them to stay ashore up to 2 months (which in this heat is no mean feat). When they fight each other, they look like they are singing opera – their mouths open up big and wide and the noise they make using low frequency sound waves is only audible to them, not to us. The males have beautiful blue spots on their body. Some that we saw were tiny, the largest maybe 15cm or so, but they grow up to 30cm in some places.
The tidal flow of the creek is at least 2m which makes it great to see the mangroves and such diverse wildlife. On the way in we saw the mudflats and it's inhabitants, but on the way back to the ship at the end they were all covered up with water and we could only see the leafy green mangroves.
Lunch was nice today – we sat outdoors on the level of the main restaurant and ordered off the menu – special of the day poached salmon with pilau rice (YUM) and Steve had a schnitzel and tomato penne with fresh salad. The salad / dessert bar was pretty much the same here as downstairs BUT is indoors and hence nice and cool and we are not sweating as much. The menu to order off is the same upstairs and downstairs but the table service is nice, and as we have another zodiac ride this afternoon I passed on the Baily&Baily white wine option ????
Daytime dining in the Nautilus is not as formal as we feared. We both wore shorts and shoes (not thongs although I did get away with Birkenstocks) and a t-shirt is fine during the day. Collars and long pants at night though, ties were definitely not required, although some of the boys did.
After lunch it was time to wash smalls, write diaries, and book spa treatments for our final day at sea – its an afternoon at sea to end the journey, so an afternoon massage for Steve and pedi for me will be the order of the day.
We have really lucked in on this trip with our group zodiac timing allocations. This afternoon was a 2 hour zodiac up the Hunter River. The group that went at noon and got back at 2pm were wrecked - hot, sun burned and complaining that it was not fun because it was long. We left at 2.30 and got back just after 5pm so we were out as the sun was dipping, there was plenty of shade on the river due to the tall cliffs either side, and the temperature was really comfortable. The sailing was so smooth – no one got wet at all - as we cruised along the base of the cliffs, criss crossed back and forth across the river in search of salties, looking for birds and examining curious rock formations up closer. The trip up saw us watching a couple of different types of birds, and spotting big white jellyfish in the water. The tide was high so the mangroves had most of their roots hidden at the start, but it had started to recede a we were coming home. One of the boats (skippered by Zach, not our boat) actually had a saltie chase it for a little while – he changed course on purpose to lose it as it was getting a little close for comfort. We saw a little saltie from a distance on the way home – its head was just sitting above the surface of the water, maybe about 30cm long so we think it would have been somewhere around 1.5m in size. Plenty of birdlife, and on the way home we were about 3 minutes too late to see a male dingo exploring the ledges of one of the cliff faces. We did see photos of him taken by a lady on that zodiac – very cool. Dingoes are apparently quite elusive, so he did not stay around for long once he realised he had an audience.
Today's crocodile shot was taken by our Naturalist Alex, but it was the one we saw. My camera lens was nowhere strong enough to get the image as clear as this.
We were back on board to watch the last (colourful part) of the sunset, another magnificent one.
Also, I loitered around a little bit to watch the marina be packed up. All the handrails are dismantled and packed away, the deck on level two lifts up like a lid on a toybox, the marina platform lifts up, slides down over the top of the stairs, and it all drops into the “box” and the deck lies down on top – very cool. Once the handrails and life-buoys are all off the platform it takes less than 3 minutes to pack away.
Dinner tonight we skipped the cheese buffet in the dining room (apparently the cheese wheels were incredible!) and we ate on the outdoor pool deck on Deck 3. The breeze was nice and cool, and we ate with Greg and Tabatha so it was a fun night. Prime Rib was the special of the day, so of course it had to be. I am still so full of food from the last week that I skipped the starter, had a small salad on the side but then….
HOT TIP FOR THE DAY
Ponant, being French, has a reputation for food. The highlight for me as been some of the breads (the baker is up at 2am daily creating the most luscious fresh breads and baguettes for us) which were amazing, fresh etc… BUT the desserts have raised the bar. So often a dessert buffet looks impressive but when you eat the food, its all fluff and no substance or flavour and a real let down. The desserts on board have been stunning. Apple tarts, chocolate mousse, fruit brioche, rice puddings, rhubarb crumbles, and all of the small chocolate assortments have been AMAZE-BALLS. The little desserts left at turndown have all been quality, but to my personal taste a bit hit-and-miss, as I am a true chocolate fanatic and its been a combination of things, something new each night.