Kali Biru – Blue River

From our anchorage at Kalibiru, we took the dinghy up the big river valley to the east, in search of the Kali Biru – “the Blue River”. From our anchorage, we dinghied through the whirlpools of the tidal race, running through deep gorges that cut through the huge limestone mountains along the shoreline.

The jungles here are peppered with heavy rain showers almost every afternoon, and this fresh water river that runs down into the estuary near the tidal race runs so strongly that the water is fresh well out into the estuary, melting away the soluble limestone mountains as it runs.

We ascended up this fast flowing stream until it was too shallow to continue, and then waded along the river bank a short distance to where a path leads through the jungle from the main river to a tributary that runs blue with minerals. This is a popular tourist spot, and we went very early in the day to avoid the crowds of tourists that come later from Waisai in speedboats.

The water is clear, and the river bed is white gravel from the surrounding limestone, and this creates a stunning contrast. In this area, which is clearly saltwater crocodile territory, these fresh water streams provide a cool respite from the heat of the equator. We were so lucky to have the swimming hole to ourselves as we cooled off here for an hour or so.