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Hi Guys,
Only thing I am aware of is that the walk to the top of the King George Falls is no longer allowed to charter boat tour operators. See page 68 of https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/downloads/know/DBCA%20Commercial%20Operator%20Handbook%202020.pdf
The sea does not come under Native Title. Just about the whole of Kimberley Coast water (not land) is currently, or soon will be, Marine Parks, including the KGR and Berkeley. I have never heard anything about them restricting water access to these locations.
Cheers,
Ross
Hi Guys, You should be able to get bulk diesel and drums of ULP off Shore Barge when they come into West Bay and Kalumburu about every 2 weeks. You need to arrange it in advance.
However, WA govt just made the NT a Covid Extreme Risk today (12/1/22). Until that is lifted, I suggest any Darwin barge coming into WA waters will be under strict quarantine rules and allowed very limited contact with others, which may rule out fuel transfer at sea. Hopefully Covid rules will change by the dry season.
Ross
Hi Andrew. Go to this link and zoom in. It will give you the chart numbers.
https://services.hydro.gov.au/AHOChartIndexPUBLICApplication/
Cheers, Ross
Not all the KC coastline comes under the ALT control, therefore you don’t need an ALT permit in those areas. However, you may need a paid permit in non ALT areas. I suggest you wait until you are about to sail into the KC before getting permits, as last year there were several late changes to the permit systems, some due to Covid restrictions, some due to National Parks restrictions, others due to bureaucracy.
Cheers, Ross
Hi Robert, I have a similar problem. We live in Perth and our boat is at Cullen Bay. If the pollies do as they say, the state borders should all be open by February. I don’t foresee a problem with getting permits to go ashore in the KC. It’s easy enough to apply on line for both of the paid permit systems. The ALT free permit has an awkward on line app, but not impossible to navigate. You must get the ALT permit after the 2 paid permit systems, otherwise ALT wont issue their permit for the paid permit areas. Travellers probably wont be allowed into the remote communities, such as Kalumburu, which is not a problem, as its unlikely you will need to go there.
We did Darwin to Perth with G2G passes mid 2020 while the WA/NT border was closed. Police accepted time at sea as our 14 days quarantine when we got to Broome. The 2021 dry season had the WA/NT border open and a G2G pass was easy to get, and no quarantine. Hopefully 2022 dry will be the same.
Getting ULP might need a bit of pre-arranging by you, but not impossible. If you are looking for a 200 litre drum of ULP, start talking to Honeymoon Bay Camping Ground. They get drums of fuel delivered to them by road after the Gibb and Kalumburu roads open. (Usually around April/May). Also talk to Shore Barge in Darwin. They have a supply barge from Darwin to Truscott Air Base and Kalumburu every 2 weeks. They are probably your best bet. There should not be any problem getting ULP at Dog Leg Creek.
Paspaley Pearls in Vansittart Bay and Osborne Islands are an another option to get a 200 litre drum shipped out. Phone their Darwin office. Until further notice, their Kuri Bay operation is in a Covid Bubble and they will not have any contact with outsiders. That situation may have changed by the time you get there next year.
Cheers, Ross
Hi Alex and Catherine,
If you are at sea in a cyclone area in the non cyclonic months (May – October), you shouldn’t need a cyclone plan for your insurance. My policy states that the vessel must be in a cyclone rated marina during a named cyclone. If you are leaving your boat in Darwin over the wet, there are 3 cyclone rated marinas. The norm in Darwin in the wet season, is not to sail any more than a few days away from the marina, so you can get back there quickly if a cyclone develops.
Check your policy carefully, as there are very few insurance companies that will insure private boats in northern waters, except when they are transiting through and not left unattended. Even then, its likely you will need to get the insurer’s written permission to go above the 26th parallel, and there may be strict conditions such as the vessel cannot be left unattended while moored, which usually includes moored in a marina.
Cheers, Ross.
Hi Keith, I’m not surprised you are confused. There are many others not happy with the AAPA permit system as well. It is a very confusing system. It’s not well publicised, but National Parks have banned going ashore at the King George River in 2021. Apparantly due to Cultural Reasons. Therefore the AAPA are not issuing land permits this year for the King George area. Nothing stopping you sailing in there.
It will be very difficult for them to police it. I suspect many people will ignor the ban.
Cheers, Ross
Hi Keith, I’m not surprised you are confused. There are many others not happy with the AAPA permit system as well. It is a very confusing system. It’s not well publicised, but National Parks have banned going ashore at the King George River in 2021. Apparantly due to Cultural Reasons. Therefore the AAPA are not issuing land permits this year for the King George area. Nothing stopping you sailing in there.
It will be very difficult for them to police it. I suspect many people will ignor the ban.
Cheers, Ross
I normally anchor at Dorcherty Island, in the Bay south of Jones point, then across the gulf to reach the Berkeley on a rising tide to go straight over the bar in daylight.
Hi Keith, The reason to go over shallow river bars on a rising tide (such as the King George,, Berkeley, Drysdale Rivers for examples), is because, if something goes wrong, and you touch the bottom, a rising tide will float you off the bottom, allowing you to get away. If something goes wrong on an ebbing tide, there is every chance you will be stuck on the bottom and unable to move. This has the likely result of a monohull leaning over and perhaps swamping the cockpit and the inside of the vessel via the companionway. This is particularly relevant to monohulled vessels with a deep fin keel.
Unless you have experience crossing a particular river bar and feel very confident, I would not advise using your GPS track saved on a previous crossing to get over the bar on an ebbing tide. In some rivers, Berkeley for example, you may have unwittingly followed a narrow channel to get over the bar the first time, but when you return, you only need to be a few metres off your saved GPS track to hit a sand ridge and get stuck on the bottom while the tide drops. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in anywhere, let alone in the KC, where help is unlikely to be close by.
Your idea about working the tide to give you a push while in a river is relevant in some rivers where there is always sufficient depth in the river. But quite a few rivers in the KC are shallow and actually dry out at low tide, making navigating in the river during an ebbing tide no different from crossing a shallow river bar at the river entrance. A few examples are the Drysdale, Mitchell above the Middle Rock anchorage, Prince Regent and the Sale Rivers. Unless you have considerable experience in a particular river, navigating up or down these rivers is best done on a rising tide.
Hope this helps,
Ross
You will get right under the falls if you want to.
See the King George River notes in the Anchorage pages for the best places to anchor. https://kccyc.org.au/anchorages/
Its not a good idea going over the KGR bar on a ebbing tide in a 2M draft vessel. Should be done on a rising tide.
Cheers,
Ross
Hi Neil, RIB will be OK. Just use your common sense. Besides the croc issue, there are many places where you may want to go ashore up against rocks, where at full tide you may not see barnacles, oysters etc. on the rocks, but as the tide recedes, its likely they will be there.
Think about taking an “anchoring off” system. Have a look at https://kccyc.org.au/topic/dinghy-anchoring/
Also be careful not to get beached on an ebbing tide. You will struggle to drag a 4.2M RIB down a beach to the water.
Cheers, Ross
Partly explains why the Gremlin Box and most of the rock cairns marking the walking tracks in the KGR and Berkeley have disappeared over the last few years.
I think the Gremlin is really pissed off because someone stole his home from the Twin Falls track. Maybe its all his fault.
Hi Lizard. Too early yet for feedback. Darwin based boats will be starting to go over in April, usually Easter. Hopefully someone will update me then.
Cheers, Ross
Hi Mark, The 2 paid permit systems are purchased on line and you should get an immediate receipt and the permits emailed to you straight away. But the free permit from the Aboriginal Lands Trust is issued by the WA Government and can take about 1-2 weeks to be emailed to you. It wont be issued until you have obtained the paid permits from the 2 Aboriginal Corporations.
Cheers, Ross
