The Sound of Silence

The Kimberley after dark is anything but silent. Yep, there are moments of perfect stillness and a distinct lack of manmade noise but generally ‘the bush’ is a cacophony of Mother Nature at her best.

Here on the Fitzroy River dusk is accompanied by an orchestra of birdsong not heard most of the day. And when the sun sets and the full moon rises over the Fitzroy’s still waters a whole new soundscape comes to life. The call of cicadas is everywhere, pulsing and chirping in perfect symphony. Wallabies occasionally thump on the riverbanks. Micro bats flutter overhead. Fish – or crocs – occasionally splash in the river. And a pair of Barking Owls call back and forth ever so gently. On the Munja Track a lone Dingo howls, frogs croak and Blue Wing Kookaburras cackle and laugh. At Kooljaman waves crash on the eastern beach, a gecko chirps, and a gentle breeze rustles the dry grass. The darkness of a perfect Kimberley night is anything but empty and anything but silent – it is pulsing with life at every turn.