Day 18 Montgomery Reef / Raft Point

Montgomery Reef, which is some 300 square kilometres in size, can show an amazing tidal change of up to 4 metres. When the tide drops, the reef seems to rise out of the water. At low tide a river is exposed that allows access to an amazing semi-submerged world.

Unfortunately the weather was not good enough for us to go to the reef so instead we got zodiacs to Steep Island (also known by its traditional name, Winyalkan) is a striking, rugged island located off the remote Kimberley coast. It is situated in Doubtful Bay, positioned right across from the imposing sandstone bluff of Raft Point. True to its name, the Island features dramatic, sheer red sandstone cliffs that plunge straight into the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. The island’s vibrant ochre and orange rock faces contrast brilliantly with the surrounding sea.

Raft Point in Doubtful Bay (Ngumbri) a prominent headland at the southern entrance of the Bay. Doubtful Bay was originally named by early naval explorer Phillip Parker King. He hesitated to navigate deep into the inlets, suspecting it might be the entrance to the mythical inland sea, thus inspiring the name Doubtful Bay. The bay was further charted by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes aboard the HMS Beagle. He named it because of the uncertainty regarding whether the bay provided an access route to the newly discovered Glenelg River.
The name Raft Point was also given by John Lort Stokes when he observed local Aboriginal people launching from this headland on rafts, riding the tide out to Montgomery Reef to gather food. Today, Doubtful Bay remains one of the most pristine and untouched coastal environments on earth. It features dramatic tidal surges and serves as a major waypoint for exploring the spectacular mangrove and gorge systems.










Hope Point is located a bit further north along the coast, marking the entrance to Deception Bay (which sits just past the northern reaches of the broader Doubtful Bay / Collier Bay marine system, near areas like Hall Point and Buckland Point).