Desert Air - 29. DA Ch 29 - Eclipse Island

I was surprised to see how rocky and barren the island looked when I was checking the photos, there is some vegetation, low shrubs and grasses, and I guessed that with the island being sow far out to sea, that there are constant strong winds battering the island from the Southern Ocean.

I decided to make a weekend trip to Albany to check out Eclipse Island for myself, before the expedition takes place, and I sent Dad and email to let him know of my plans, and asked if he can arrange for permission for me to charter a helicopter to fly me over there.

Selecting the 2^nd weekend in June, just under 2 weeks before the expedition, I organised accommodation in Albany, plus I booked a private flight to Eclipse Island with the only helicopter flight company in the region, plus return flights on the commercial flight from Perth to Albany, for Friday Morning, returning on Sunday evening.

Two days before that weekend, I received a call from Dad, who informed me that the project work was completed, and that two LPG gas bottles had been installed to fuel the gas stove in the two fully fitted out kitchens in the house, plus there are two fridges and a gas barbeque on the verandah for use also.

Pleased that the project has been completed before the expedition is to take place, I was looking forward to the few hours that I would have to explore the island on my own, and Dad had arranged for Satellite phone for me to collect in Perth, which has been added to the Station’s account, to be used for emergencies while on the island.

By the time the plane landed in Albany, I was full of excitement to be down here, having been in this country city just once before many years ago. Once I had checked into my motel room, having hired a car at the airport, I drove towards Torndirrup National Park to get a distant look at the island.

Stopping at the car park near the Torndirrup Lighthouse, I walked the 400 metres to the lighthouse, and looked around it before walking another 250 metres to near the edge of Cave Point, which is the closest land point to the island. With strong binoculars in hand, I looked out to the large island in the distance, which has various heights with the highest point being where the lighthouse is located, and I could clearly see the lighthouse, and just see the landing sheds, but I couldn’t see the house or the tanks.

Driving back to the city, I had lunch at a small café on the main street of York Street, and wandered up and down the main street, looking at the various stores, before heading to the Department of Conservation and Land Management – CALM offices about 2 kilometres away, and on showing my identification, I was handed my two day permit to spend up to four hours a day on the island.

With the permit in hand, I headed back to my motel room to relax for the rest of the afternoon, as I did some more research on Albany, about the whaling station that was the last one to operate in Australia, and it being the first town to be established in Western Australia, two years ahead of the establishment of the Swan Colony, which is where Fremantle is now located, and the city of Perth further upstream.

I had booked the helicopter flight for 9.30 am, which would be departing from the Anzac Park on the Esplanade, which was just a short walk away from the motel on Frederick Street, and so in the late afternoon, I headed down to the supermarket, where I bought a thermos, a lunch esky, some snack bars, fruit and a couple bottles of water.

The next morning, I headed to the café were I had lunch yesterday, having noticed that it opened for business at 8 am on Saturday’s, and as well as ordering breakfast, I also asked for two rounds of sandwiches, and some Pea and Ham soup, which I asked to be placed in my thermos.

Leaving the café satisfied with a nice breakfast, and a supply of food to keep me going for the rest of the day, I walked back to the motel, retrieved the water bottles from the fridge and placed them in the esky along with the fruit and the sandwiches, and with the thermos in hand, I set off to the park, where I would be collected for the fifteen minute helicopter ride to Eclipse Island.

I had notified the helicopter charter company that I had a permit to be on Eclipse Island, and I just showed the pilot the permit, when he landed to collect me.

The ride across the water was fairly short, and when we reached the island, the pilot flew around it once before landing at the helipad near the lighthouse, and before leaving with my supplies, I confirmed with the pilot, to collect me at 2 pm at the latest.

I watched as the helicopter took off and headed north back to the mainland, leaving me on my own for the next five hours. After walking around the lighthouse which is locked, I began the 80 metre trek to the main house, which from the air looked quite big, and with the new roof and solar panels added recently, it looked much better than the Google maps view of the building.

Although the Department of CALM were unaware of it, I myself have a copy of the keys to the house and sheds, for the island, which has been sent to me by the building company at my Dad’s request, and so I unlocked the main door on the north-east end of the building, entering a small mud room, with space to hang coats and store away boots.

Passing through the next door, I entered the kitchen area, which looked great, now that it has flooring, has been painted and a full operational kitchen, and I checked the cupboards and found cooking pots and pans, plus cutlery, plates, bowls, cups and glasses for six people, as well as cooking utensils, and there was even an electric kettle and a toaster.

A large dining table has six sturdy chairs around it, and in the lounge area, there are two couches and two seats, plus a coffee table in the centre. Going down the hallway, I found a large bathroom, a laundry with an extra shower, plus a second toilet, two bedrooms and a master bedroom, all which have no furniture in them at all.

Leaving my thermos and esky in the kitchen, I stepped back outside, and I walked over to the other door, and discovered that this part of the house was identical to the first side that I had seen, so there are a total of six bedrooms in the whole building.

From the house I walked over to the old power shed, where there was no longer a diesel generator there, which looked like it had been cleaned up, as there was very little smell of diesel, like it has been cleaned with degreaser. Inside there are work benches on two sides of the shed, with lights and power points on both sides.

Exiting the shed, I headed back towards the light house and made my way towards the landing shed, which is 350 metres east of the light house, and I walked down the side of the rail track to the smaller shed.

From there a new section of track had been laid, going down to where the zip line tower is located, and I climbed part of the way up the tower, so I could see over the edge of the rock, down to the water 9 metres below.

After a good look around from the tower, I decided to hike around the island, to get an idea of the distance around it., starting from where I was now and heading in a south-east direction, making sure that I stayed a safe distance away from the edge, because of the risk of king waves, which are notorious to strike without warning in the region.

Quite some time later, when I was now on the north side of the island, heading back towards the lighthouse, I could see the main house now due south of me, and I took a closer look at the edge, as there was a section of the rock, which comes in by about 20 metres for a distance of seventy metres, that would make a much better landing site than the one currently in place.

When I arrived back at the landing shed, I estimated that I had hiked close to 5 kilometres, as I had been hiking for about an hour and twenty minutes in total. I returned to the house, and drank some soup and ate one of the sandwiches, while seated at the table, and the only sounds that I could hear, where the waves crashing against the rocks and the birds on the island.

After my light meal, I went outside and sat on the rocks and listed to the sounds of nature, and enjoyed the sunshine, which unknown to me, would change suddenly.

Loosing track of time, I opened my eyes and frowned, when the air suddenly went cold and there was now storm clouds in the sky, so I quickly made my way back to the house, just before it started to rain heavily. Retrieving the sat phone I called the helicopter charter company.

“This is Jex Kendrik, what is going on with the weather, will you still be able to come and collect me?” I asked when the call was answered, and I was told to hold. When a second person came onto the phone, it was the pilot who and brought me to the island, and he informed me that the storm front that wasn’t expected until tonight, has arrived early, and that it would be some time before it clears enough to be safe to fly over to collect me.

I assured him that I had enough food and water with me to last me for the rest of the day if need be, and to call me on this sat phone number when the weather clears. Now stuck indoors with this foul weather, all I could do was just sit and wait, and I was glad that I had brought my heavy jacket with me, so I wouldn’t have any problems with getting too cold.

Stepping back out to the mud room, I took a look behind the small door located behind the entry door, and I was surprised to find a heap of cut firewood, kindling, newspaper and matches, and I went back to the living area of the house to check on the open fireplace, and wondered if it had been cleaned, or if it is blocked up.

I stuck my head in and looked up the chimney and saw daylight to the sides of the top of the chimney, meaning there is a cover over it, and I hoped that it was enough, as I headed back to the mudroom to get some firewood to make a fire to keep warm, as the wind outside was now howling, and the rain was quite heavy.

I soon managed to get a fire going, and I smiled as I sat on the lounge to enjoy the warmth of it, glad to see that there was no smoke coming into the room. I just wished that I had brought my backpack with me, which contained my laptop computer, but instead I just have to sit and watch the fire and relax until my transport arrives.