Atlantis Rises

Atlantis Rises

Yesterday was a two part experience. Early in the morning, the ship anchored off iconic Raft Point, from which we were transported ashore for a wet landing onto a very rocky beach. There some of the local aborigines waited to welcome us with an arrival ceremony, after which there was a very strenuous 45 minute hike to the Wandijna Rock Art Gallery. This was a scared place where very special art had been painted onto the ceiling of an overhanging rock outcropping. Now if you are thinking that this does not sound like something that Jim or especially Lisa would be doing, you are absolutely correct. Both Michele and Cathy bravely made it to the top to regale us both with their pictures and stories. I at least rode the Zodiac into shore, which allowed me to get come good pictures of Raft Point, and Lisa wisely stayed on the ship.

In the afternoon the ship had moved to anchor off Montgomery Reef, which has been described by Sir David Attenborough as the 8^th natural wonder of the world. From my perspective on board the ship, I could see absolutely nothing of any interest, just water as far as the eye could see. At 2 pm we boarded the zodiacs and set out across the water, where in the far distance it looked to me as if there were some small islands just above the waterline. The closer we got, the higher the islands seemed to rise, until I noticed that what appeared to be a dark landmass was slowly appearing all around me. Gradually as the land rose from the ocean, water trapped on top began to flow down from it, slowly at first, then as the land rose entire rivers were gushing down all around us. At one point our expedition driver pointed our little zodiac into the now gushing river and tried to move forward, but even at full power we were no match for the strong currents and eventually had to turn away. At some point I turned around to see our ship behind us, but the land had risen so high, that our ship was hidden from view. As the land rose, virtual rivers appeared, and we drove against the current upriver as far as we could go before running into shallow water. Along the way we saw an amazing variety of birds that had come to feed, and beneath our little zodiac we could see giant turtles now clearly visible in the shallow water. Not only were they visible under water, but all around us turtle heads were briefly popping up for air, and then quickly disappearing.

Turning around now with the current behind us, we flew across the water until turning a corner we once again saw our ship, but our way forward was blocked by a sandbar that had not been there before. As if that was not amazing enough, sitting atop the sandbar was a giant awning, and underneath that was the ship’s Hotel Director along with members of his staff. They had setup a table for drinks and snacks, and brought along ice chest full of cool beverages. Our zodiacs were run up onto the sand, and everyone got out to enjoy the surprise. A few people, such as Lisa and I elected to stay in our zodiac, and so the staff brought beverages to us. All in all a really fun and surprising afternoon.

Now, I must really explain that Atlantis did not indeed rise up out of the ocean. There was a more logical explanation – the tide was receding and as it did so we dropped below the level of the shallow reef surrounding us. While the reef appeared to us to be rising from the shallows, in fact we were lowering in the surrounding waters – still pretty cool, even if you do know the trick.

Our evening ended with the four of us having a unique dinner on the outer deck, where under the stars we cooked steaks on hot lava rocks. Simply put, we are indeed blessed.

What a wonderful World.

Jim