Day 39 13/07/2013 Camden Sound to Raft Point.

Early this morning, just after 6am, we all boarded the tenders for an excursion to Sheep Island. This excursion was to visit a historical site. Between 1864 and 1865 this area was the site of the first ill-fated attempt at European settlement in the Kimberley. This attempt to farm sheep proved to be a tragic failure, with ten people dying in a short space of time, including 30 year old Mary Pascoe, whose grave we saw. We crossed in the tenders from the island to a peninsula of the mainland where we saw evidence of the settlement.
Once back on board the boat we had breakfast and then cruised out into Deception Bay and Doubtful Bay, looking for whales. This activity was timed for 9am to 12pm. Right on cue at 8.56 am we spotted our first whale! The weather and sea conditions were perfect and we were all rewarded with several sightings of humpback whales. Most were some distance away, but luckily one put on a wonderful display for us very close to the boat. Cameras were clicking like crazy! It was very exciting.
We had lunch at 12 followed by a relaxing few hours cruising to Raft Point. The scenery was stunning. Mesa-like red sandstone cliffs rising majestically out of the water.
Once at Raft Point we took an excursion by tender to visit another Wandjina Rock Art site at Nyumburi Cave. We had a wet landing on the beach and a reasonably strenuous climb to the cave. It was very hot and we stopped for frequent breaks along the way.
The art was very special and we all enjoyed sitting for a while in the shade of the cave while Ben told us some stories.
Once back on the boat it was time to freshen up and have a pre-dinner drink! We had some some delicious Asian dumplings for appetisers this evening followed by a beef curry for dinner and birthday cake for Matt. Since we were at anchor we enjoyed dinner outside.
We have another dawn start tomorrow, so it was early to bed once again!