For anyone who has driven the
Gibb River Road (or plans to do so) here’s a great book that is largely set in the Kimberleys: “Swimming With Crocodiles”.
In 1989 the author, Will Chaffey was nineteen and depressed after being rejected by college after college. He decided to get as far away from his
home in Boston,
New England, as possible, and bought himself a backpack and a ticket to Australia.
When he arrived in
Cairns he realised he knew next to nothing about the country. "Somehow you have this impression of Australia of being all red desert. I was amazed to find that it had rainforest".
A couple of months into his trip he met Geoff, a man he describes as "a drifter, a modern-day swaggie". Geoff inflamed Will's sense of adventure and discovery, describing the brilliant wilderness of the Kimberleys as "the last frontier in Australia".
The pair ended up there on an adventure, traversing the length of the Prince Regent River from its source to its mouth - a seemingly impossible feat. They were supposed to be searching for the rare rough-scaled python - an expedition that was funded by Australian Geographic. "We spent all the money on freeze-dried food!"
They didn't really have a very clear idea of how they were going to complete the trip, and on a number of occasions they nearly didn't. They came close to death through experiences with not only wildlife but also extreme tiredness and hunger.
When weeks later the pair reached the end, they were exhausted and verging on emaciated. But Chaffey said it was an exhilarating and fulfilling life-changing adventure. He didn't miss any of the modern trappings of his old life at
home (with the exception of a hot shower) "there was plenty to see, there was plenty to do, always wildlife. I think your mind expands to fill the silence. I'm not a religious person in any organised sense, but it was very spiritual experience, to feel like you were almost anywhere in time."
Chaffey now tells stories of his incredible Australian adventure to his
young children. When they get older they'll be able to read the book he has written from the diary he kept. His book is called Swimming with Crocodiles - do yourself a favour and read it, you won't regret it.