Well, after a pretty hectic storm last night and three weeks on the river, any aforementioned debates are over, the team has finished the major part of their expedition and are, at time of writing, en route to Broome.

The only thing to really report is that the guys were, on the whole, ready to make it back to civilisation, so decided to do the final part of the journey in one go. They then collected the vehicles, spent a small fortune on longed-for goodies at a Fitzroy Crossing shop, and left for Broome.

Hopefully they’ll be able to start sharing with you more details of their experiences, along with the highly anticipated photos! Oh, and several icy cold beverages will no doubt be on the cards too…

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It’s now almost a month since the kayakers left Melbourne, and it’s been another eventful, challenging day.

The first part of the day involved the last treed section, which opened out into flat water with open pools. The lack of rapids, combined with a headwind, meant the going was pretty tough all day, and the flat water will continue until they reach the end of the trip.

But…some pretty cool wildlife in the form of the first snake of the trip and several crocodiles were a distraction, as was finding the most substantial amount of bush tucker so far. The group snacked on food that looked like cherry tomatoes but tasted like cucumbers.

Max also spotted some interesting looking caves, which they took time out to explore. They turned out to be pretty phenomenal, and Tim, Anthony and Lu climbed all the way to the top, from where there were stunning views of the gorge spread out before them.

They’re now camped in Geikie Gorge, which is known as one of the most beautiful parts of the Kimberley. The low river level means they’re able to camp on a lovely sandy beach on a bend in the river, and can see the high water marks several metres higher up the rock.

They’ll now debate whether to put in one final, long day tomorrow, or to finish the paddling over a couple of easier days. Either way, not long now until normal phone communication, proper beds and a beer!

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It was another good day for the intrepid explorers today, paddling from about 9am to 4.30pm.

After a cold night where everyone woke up shivering and covered in condensation about midnight, they then woke at dawn to another scorching hot day. In the morning, they helped an Aboriginal family who had come from a local community for some hunting and fishing, and ended up getting their truck stuck in the sand. They were also overwhelmed by a flock of hundreds of cockatoos (an Australian parrot), as well as ‘horrendously bad’ flies after making camp, and Jesse spotted a seven foot crocodile. Lachie managed to go all Crocodile Dundee and caught a goanna, which was skinned and eaten for dinner – tastes something like chicken, apparently. The information is also that the goanna was as big as Adriene.

They’re now camped at a spot they think is about 8km from the Geike Gorge, and hope to be in the gorge proper by lunchtime tomorrow. They say they’ll make a plan from there as to whether to continue or make camp in the gorge.

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It was a late start today, as the team took their time getting on the river, enjoying the natural beauty of Diamond Gorge.

They paddled about 15km throughout the day, stopping often when photo and video opportunities arose. There were many neat sections of smaller but enjoyable rapids, and a picturesque landscape that was filled with rocky outcrops.

The team was pretty excited to see their first sign of human civilization in almost three weeks (apart from one another!). A small plane flew within about 20 feet of the rafts and kayaks, which probably belonged to a mustering camp.

They’re now all set up at camp as usual, in a stretch of about 15km of river that’s between Diamond Gorge and Geike Gorge. Not long now until Broome and a cold beverage or several!

Click on the link below to hear Tyler chat about the last few days on the river.

Day 26 Commentary

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It’s been a long day for the kayakers, who’ve covered about 30km and reached the Diamond Gorge. They hit the water at about 8 o’clock this morning, and had to contend with a section of hardwood early on. It fortunately only lasted a few hundred metres, but did slow them down and mean they had to get out of their boats.

They went through several open channels, stopping often to take photos. All day they had a land mass to their right, known as Fitzroy Bluff, which provided a good landmark by which to gauge their progress.

The water continues to be at a low level, and the temperature has again made the going tougher. But another yummy ‘Strive’ meal has helped re-energise the team.

So it was a solid day of changing scenery, and they’re all excited to be at the beginning of the next gorge. The canyon walls look steep, and seem like they’ll get steeper as they progress further into the gorge. They say it may take all day to get to the end of the Diamond Gorge tomorrow, but they’ll just float down it and again take lots of photographs.

They expect to be on the Fitzroy for another five days, before heading to Broome for some proper beds and no doubt much-anticipated air-conditioning! Most of them will then spend the last part of the expedition exploring smaller channels, in less remote parts of the Kimberley region.

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We attempted to make another recording for you tonight, but unfortunately some ‘technical difficulties’ (don’t you love that phrase?) meant it will have to wait another day or two.

However…all is not lost, and there is lots to report. The team paddled downstream this morning, and set up a new camp at the bottom of the Sir John Gorge. They paddled about 10 different rapids, and Lachie’s paddle came off second best at some point, and snapped – the first such casualty. They stopped often to take photos, explore side creeks and do some more fishing, with a few more specimens added to the tally.

The highlight today was all the cliff jumping, which saw Lachie attempt his first gaynor (not sure of spelling, sorry) off a 30 foot cliff, Shaun wipe out with a gaynor off a 25 footer, Tim execute a perfect gaynor off a 50 footer and Max over-rotate to 3 ½ somersaults, also on a 50 foot cliff, landing spectacularly and knocking the wind out of him. Both those who had less than glorious landings are completely fine…just to reassure any potentially worried parents or friends! And for those who might not know, a gaynor is when you run off a ledge and rotate once backwards, so you land feet first in the water…sort of like a backwards somersault but without being all tucked up (hoping this is the correct explanation!).

Tomorrow the team is hoping to travel another 30km and reach the Diamond Gorge, so it will no doubt be early to bed and early to rise, as they’re once more on the move…

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Tyler, Tim, Jesse and Lu headed off on a mission downstream today. It involved plenty of fishing, then plenty of eating of caught fish, by the four of them for lunch. They also discovered a new swimming hole (because the other one obviously wasn’t up to scratch!) which apparently has crystal clear water and goes from about two foot in the shallow end to eight foot deep. Another antidote for super hot days.

There was about 10 to 20 minutes of rain earlier today, which lifted hopes briefly, but didn’t last. After cooling everything down momentarily, the heat was back with full force. The river dropped again today, and is now at its lowest level since the trip began.

They’ll probably chat over dinner tonight about when to move on…while nursing what sounds like quite a few infected cuts and bites. Might be time for some more lancing!

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