Cruise Day 7 History and Art (which is history anyway…)

 Today some of the people went fishing in the morning, this is what they caught


Kit caught two sharks this time, but not these.

We went to Careening Bay, where Phillip Parker King careened (pulled boat up dry to clean). His Majesty’s Cutter, Mermaid, was on this beach for 15 days to clean and repair. There was a boab tree - mermaid, so called because it had two trunks. King’s carpenter inscribed “HMC Mermaid 1820”. Early graffiti!



And further along he path is an abandoned bower bird bower.

Then off to Boongaree Island to a rock art site.







So there are two main art forms in the Kimberley. One is the Gwion Gwion or Bradshaw form, around 17000 years old. The other is the Wandjana, which is more contemporary and sometimes painted over the Gwion Gwion. The first pic is the GG or Bradshaw, the rest are Wandjana, tall stick figures that no one knows quite how they were made.
The last pic in that group is of some grinding or sharpening grooves close by.

Found a very peculiar lizard, or skink. It seemed to be able to somehow draw its head into its body to form a sort of stump. Can’t find what it is.



Then we did a booze cruise up the Porosus Creek, but no crocodiles ! Just some more stunning rocky cliffs.

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