Swift Bay, Kimberley Coast, Western Australia

Today we are in Swift Bay, to visit a series of Wandjina art galleries. This is a longer zodiac ride from L’Austral with the outgoing tide and prevailing wind making the conditions choppy. There is also some birdlife here. 

The walk to the galleries at Swift Bay is very simple, no more than 250 metres from the landing site. This series of galleries is also a burial site, with one remaining skull in residence, and the size and scale of the artwork reflect the significance of the site. The paintings are mostly painted on low overhangs, which requires some crawling to get into, and the need to lie down and look up once you’re in. These are the largest series of Wandjina images that we have seen so far, but also the least refreshed – that is, the local tribes have not felt the need to restore the ochre in quite some time. 

The landscape here is a lot flatter than other areas that we have visited, which may be why it was used as a burial site historically. 

It is a short half-day at Swift Bay, and we are soon underway again to our next destination – King George River. In the meantime, another nice sunset tonight.