January 12, 2019 - Kuri Bay, WA - The Kimberley - Day 7

January 12, 2019 - Kuri Bay, WA -The Kimberley - Day 7

Today is Saturday and marks the end of our first week onboard. We are anchored in Kuri Bay. This is far north on the western coast of Australia. It is part of the region of Western Australia known as The Kimberley. This is an area the size of California with a population of only 50,000. It is rugged and wild with sharks, salt water crocodiles, snakes, brutally stinging box jellyfish and bugs. Kuri Bay can only be reached by sea or plane. There are no roads into this place. 

So why are we here? I mentioned the pearling industry in Broome. The largest producer of fine South Sea pearls in the world is Paspaley. They have a large operation farther up Kuri Bay. Here in this portion of the bay just inside the Indian Ocean are the remnants of a once active operation. Alice and I will visit that site. Others will board a flying boat and take off from the bay to survey it and the surrounding bush from the air. 

When our tender arrived at the dock we were surprised at the number of old buildings available for touring. These accommodations were spartan but adequate. Our guide had worked here and related that there were many good times in addition to a lot of hard work. 

The setting was rustic, primitive but comfortable, and extraordinarily beautiful. The paths from building to building were loose gravel that would be treacherous if wet and often steep. It was hot and humid but our guide’s enthusiasm overcame that. 

We visited the workshop, dorms, living areas and the dining area. Then we took a perilously steep trail with very poor footing up to a high overlook. From here we had a magnificent view of the bay, Maasdam and the camp below. SPECTACULAR!

After descending we were treated to a demonstration of the pearling process and we viewed some of the most beautiful pearls we have ever seen. A gorgeous necklace of uniform pearls with fantastic luster was awesome. The lady demonstrating it explained that for the life of the pearls it could be returned to them every year for cleaning and restringing. It was highly unlikely that restringing would be required very often because of the high quality string and double knotting used. The clasp is a proprietary design and extremely secure. 

All of this beauty and security was available for a mere $88,000 Australian. Alice and I agreed that for some lucky soul this would be worth every penny. We returned to Maasdam with just a copy of the catalog of the current collection. 

We were very happy. After cooling showers, Mass and an excellent dinner we skipped the entertainment and retired early. What a memorable day.