Wild Horses Don't Swim

Australian farmer Mike Keenan's first book, The Horses Too Are Gone, a true story of battling drought to save his cattle and his farm, touched a chord with readers. Now Mike takes us into the magnificent wilderness of the west Kimberley, an area of pristine rivers and dramatic gorges, in a personal quest to highlight the problems of this beautiful but troubled region. Mike's involvement with the area began when, while on holiday there, he learned of plans to dam the lifeblood of the region, the Fitzroy River—the last great river still flowing freely to the sea—to provide water for cotton-growing on the plains below. It was horrific news: a dam would not only flood a vast area of the wilderness, but also, through the chemicals used in cotton-growing, contaminate the unspoilt King Sound, fed by the Fitzroy River. Typically, Mike decided to take a look for himself and organized to trek in on horseback with the help of local Aborigines, traditional owners of the area. Following in the footsteps of 19th century European explorers, Mike and his long-suffering wife, Sally, their friends, and horses begin an extraordinary journey into a world where danger lurks behind every rock. What follows is a series of hair-raising adventures: encounters with feral donkeys, brumbies, and wild bulls; the antics of the horses Stallion Tom and Blackjack; swimming rapids and climbing sheer cliffs; together with campfire camaraderie and yarn-spinning along the way.