This morning we anchored in Vansittart Bay and boarded the Zodiacs after our delicious breakfast on the deck. The golden beach where our Zodiacs landed was framed by large sandstone outcrops topped with sandstone blocks. It was only a short walk through the impressive rock garden, to the gallery of very striking Bradshaw art.
Bradshaw Art was named after the exploring pastoralist Joseph Bradshaw who first recorded these enigmatic human figures near the Roe River in 1891. The local Aboriginal people of the Kimberley have since named this art style Gwion Gwion.
It is generally thought that this art may extend back to over 30,000 years ago and represent the first wave of seagoing colonisers of the Australian continent. These are the oldest detailed depiction of human figures in the world and their detailed array of ornaments, weapons and accruements provides a fascinating insight into a rich early culture whose legacy has extended to the current Aboriginal culture across Australia.
Many mysteries surround these beautiful, ornamental styles of art, and there is little evidence to indicate who painted them. Darrin, Harry and Cristiana put forward a few of their theories and gave us all something to think about.
Unfortunately our time on this sacred site was limited as we needed to head back to the ship for another scrumptious lunch as our afternoon activities were fast approaching.
In the afternoon we landed on a beautiful pristine beach and hiked inland five hundred meters to the final resting place of a wrecked C-53. The expedition team regaled us the incredible story of the crew and their survival in this remote area, with little food or water.
We had plenty of time to inspect the wreckage first hand and we all were astounded at its remarkable condition. As we walked back to the beach over a vast mud area, we were intrigued to find evidence of feral cattle, camels & donkeys in the mud at our feet and were delighted to see the iridescent fiddler and cute hermit crabs walking casually in front of our shoes.
This definitely was another fantastic day in the Kimberley!
