Vansittart Bay and Jar Island

  We anchored in Vansittart bay at around 6 am, only to see our Ponant mates anchored on the other side of the bay. Two zodiac tours are planned for today, one to see a plane wreck on one side of the bay, and the other to see some aboriginal cave paintings on the other side, where Ponant is currently anchored. Apparently the plan is for the ships to change anchorages at around 12.30 pm. We are doing the plane wreck in the morning and they will do it in the afternoon.

It is a beach landing in the zodiacs at both sites and this morning they have got out the big zodiacs. They hold 12-14 people and have 90HP outboards, and really get along. 

Morning wind and sea conditions are good so the zodiac to the beach is uneventful.

When the first groups arrived on the beach they saw a 3 m crocodile cruising backwards and forwards just off the beach. We were all told to keep 3 m from the waterline if we wander along the beach.

A briefing was held on the beach to explain what we were going to see and then we could head over the sand dune and onto a salt pan on the other side, to cross to our destination.

Our guide providing the briefing 

The site we are visiting is the site of a USAAF C-53 Skytrooper aircraft that was on a rescue mission flying from Perth to Broome. The conditions were poor and their navigation equipment pretty crude. Somehow they overflew Broome and eventually got low on fuel and had to execute an emergency landing, on the tidal salt pan we are about to go to. The surface turned out to be quite muddy and the landing gear was ripped off and the plane slide along the pan until one wing hit a boab tree, which eventually brought the plane to a halt. The crash took place in February 1942. Everyone survived the crash.

 

Fortunately it is low tide and we can walk across the salt pan

The final landing spot of the plan is now in the vegetation on the other side of the pan, where trees and other growth have covered the area in the 80+ years since the crash. Despite this, the condition of the wreck is amazing.

When the crew was rescued, the plane was stripped of anything valuable including one of the engines.

On the way back to the beach we passed the boab tree that had been impacted by the plane causing it to spin and come to a halt about 50 metres away.

We then headed back across the salt pan and got a great photo of Silver Cloud sitting in the bay awaiting our return 

At 12 noon, Silver Cloud raised the anchor and we headed over to the other side of the bay to visit Jar Island. The French were obviously focused on lunch and had yet to make a move when we set anchor nearby.

This afternoon’s excursion is to Jar Island to see 2 aboriginal cave art sites where the paintings are purported to be around 17,000 years old. The art is a form I have never seen before and is called “Gwion Gwion ” style, named after the bird whose blood was used to create them.

The wind is up a bit this afternoon so the ride to the beach is a bit bumpy but we remain dry.

Ashore at Jar Island putting our shoes on

It is a bit of a clamber over some rocky terrain to get to the first art site.

Our aboriginal art expert, Malcom, explains the figurines to us, apparently they are of aboriginal figures in ceremonial dress. It seems that modern aboriginals know little of the stories behind all of this, so there is very little knowledge to pass down the generations.

The second cave site is another hike over rough terrain , not suited to all of the age group on this cruise. There is a minor fall and a bit of first aid administered, but otherwise it was relatively drama free. At the second cave you had to squeeze through narrow and low spaces, being careful not to touch the sides of the wall that the paintings were on.

Entrance to the second cave site

Echidna

This figure is holding boomerangs

Serpent ?

This art was apparently more modern, around 7,000 years old.

Once everyone had taken their photos we headed back to the beach for the trip back to the ship. The wind had increased and there was visible chop on the water, but somehow we managed to stay relatively dry due larger sized zodiac and the skill of the driver.