Views from the Top

Mon 4/3/94

Oysters and wine for breakfast.

Dawn: Tamea and John go fishing.  Bill and I have a leisurely brekkie of sausages and eggs which Bill cooks.
0730 hours:  John and Tamea return.  No fish but a load of oysters in a bucket, so we have oysters with white wine.  They're nice and big. We're pulling two or three at a time out of the bucket.
Morning: Square boat away and go ashore.  Climb to the top of the gorge and walk around to the top of the falls.  There are actually two separate falls. The view is stunning and magnificent.  Looking up at the top does not look nearly so far as it does looking down.  Skinny dip in rock pools at the head of each falls. 

The way to the top.

Bill and Russ at the top of the cliffs.

One of the falls.

Rugged country. Look closely and you will see Bill
looking over the edge. Russ is standing on a rock
ledge to the left and above him.

Yachts anchored in the river.

Skinny dipping in the rock pools.

Waterfall taken from top of cliffs

Afternoon: Return to boat.  Leisurely afternoon.  John and I go fishing.  Catch a trevally and an archer fish which we use for crab bait.  Set some pots.  Have a shower under the natural waterfall. 

Tues 5/3/94
Dawn: Bill and John go fishing.  Have breakfast on their return.
Morning: Up anchor and move back down river. Collect crab pots on the way but no crabs.  Anchor in a bend near the mouth of the shallow eastern arm of the river.  Reset crab pots then all troop off in the dinghy to the head of the eastern arm to visit the waterfall there.

Waterfall at the end of first inlet of the river.

John climbing to the top of the falls.

This waterfall is not nearly so majestic or high but pretty in it’s own right.  Someone has kindly left a thick corded rope hanging down the rocks to help climb up to the top. The going is much harder here.  The cliffs and rocks appear to be much more eroded than upriver, and there are a lot of loose rocks to catch the unwary. At the top the going is very slow while working around to the head of the falls.  Big boulders laying everywhere.  We find no rock pools to sit in unless we work our way quite some distance inland, so decide against it.  The creek feeding the falls descends from the plateau in a series of levels with mini waterfalls along the way.  Very pretty. At the head of the falls is a chasm about 50m deep with long, flat and wide rock plates.  There is a very deep rock pool.  As usual the trip back to the dinghy seems faster than coming in.
Afternoon: Get back to the boat.  Do some fishing. John gets a trevally, his first fish on a lure.
Evening: A calm night.  Some lightning about. Get some light rain overnight so we have to sleep indoors instead of on deck.