The magnificent Prince Regent River
After a fabulous sail up through Augustus Water and George IV Sound we were soon at the top of the entrance into the Prince Regent River. It is 20nm from Cape Wellington, which fronts the ocean down to the entrance to the river itself and this is definitely an area where you need to run with the tide, so we pulled into a small bay, named Whirlpool Point.
Phillip Parker King explored this area and the names he has given to some of the features give you an indication of what you are in for…. ‘Whirlpool Point’ and ‘Strong Tide Point’. As you pass through these – noting we were riding a tide of over five knots! – you enter into St George Basin and in this small area all of the features are named after Saints – there is some speculation that Parker King was looking for devine intervention after being lashed by the tides in this area!
The scenery here is magnificent and looking to the north mighty Mount Trafalgar and Mount Waterloo dominate the landscape.
We entered the Prince Regent River and once again the tide was starting to turn so we elected to pull into Purulba Creek, a long tributary that runs away to the north of the main river. We motored down about 500 metres to an area adjacent to a rocky cliff face and dropped anchor in about 8 metres of water. It was looking very crocodile friendly and it was starting to get very hot too with temperatures starting to push into the high thirties.
In the cool of the afternoon, we went for a dinghy explore looking for some art but without an exact location the country is so tough to walk through that it is very difficult to find it. After some scrub bashing, we enjoyed the view of the creek from the high point and then back in the dinghies for some fishing and a bit of croc action.
Returning to the boats we found another yacht anchored up alongside and were soon on board having a sundowner. We haven’t seen many other yachts and these guys, on Galatea, had travelled from Tasmania and were heading south. It was great to swap some stories and experiences, and we even managed to trade some fish for a lettuce and a few bits and pieces, which these guys had scored from a charter boat the day before. Our fresh produce was all but gone so a honeydew melon and a lettuce were gold!! Interestingly enough they told us they had seen a couple of really big crocs in this anchorage on their way up – we hadn’t seen any but knew they were around – always need to be on guard!
The next morning, we motored the short distance to Camp Creek, from where we planned to base ourselves and use the dinghy to run the additional ten or so miles to the Kings Cascades, the major waterfall on the river. The anchorage at Camp Creek was pretty tight and not super deep so we were hoping that the Cruising guide was accurate as we were in spring tides and so there were big movements of the tides.
We were soon packed up with all of the things we would need for a day of exploring (safety bag / hiking shoes / camel bak / spare water / towels) and headed east upriver to the falls. Conditions were good with a light easterly, so the chop was minimal and in about 40 mins we had arrived at the falls. The charter vessel Great Escape was anchored up outside the cove where the falls are located and we cruised past and into the cove to be greeted with the amazing sights and sounds of Kings Cascades. Water was spilling down the grass lined terraces, and it was a beautiful sight to see.
The guys on Galatea had given us a heads up on where to anchor and access to climb up and beyond the falls and after the usual play with anchors, bungees and pulleys we had both boats secure and we were away.
Before long we were taking in the views from the top of the falls and cooling off under the freshwater waterfalls. Our silence was temporarily shattered as the helicopter from Great Escape popped up over the escarpment returning back to the boat, landing on the rooftop. Why climb when you can get choppered in? A short time later the Great Escape pulled anchor and departed, leaving the falls all to us!
The next few hours were truly sensational in what is best described as a waterpark, a series of interconnected pools winding down through rock gorges with waterfalls and winding streams, pandanus palms and eucalyptus trees providing a sensual treat to both the eyes and the body in cool freshwater.
It was soon time to head back downstream to the boats, all of us a little wearier but super stoked after an amazing day of exploring and swimming. We arrived back to the boats and hit the couch!!
Just before sunset we ventured out on a super low tide to the mouth of the creek just to check out what obstacles lay below the waterline. We slowly worked back to the boats to discover that we were just sitting on the bottom – at least we were flat – On the Double had a little lean going on!!
The next morning we headed down to the bottom of Camp Creek – again in search of waterfalls and swimming holes. We had done some research on google earth and it looked promising so after traversing the creek for about 3 nms we arrived at a rockbar which signalled the end of the creek. There were some freshwater pools present so we were confident that a walk upstream should yield results.
And we weren’t let down! After passing a lot of smaller pool we found our way to a massive swimming hole with a large waterfall on the eastern end. The pool was surrounded by high rock walls on three sides before it emptied out via a large area of pandanus palms. After picking our way in we were soon in the water and then the climbing and jumping began!
Climbing led us up to the top of the first fall – which was actually coming through the rocks not over the top; and from there we worked our way up to the next platform to find another waterfall and another big swimming hole. More exploration revealed that it just flattened out into a series of pandanus palms groves and tree lined banks, so we returned to the main falls for more jumping and swimming!
After a long day we returned back to the dinghies, spied a stalking croc in the distance and then back to the big boats for a well-earned drink and rest. The tides were heading back towards neaps, so we just touched the bottom this time!
The next day we safely exited the creek and rode the tide all the way back to Whirlpool Point, passing some crazy sections of river in terms of tidal current but also depths of 110 metres!
Prince Regent really was a highlight!