The first European sighting of these islands is credited to Frederick de Houtman, captain General of the Dutch East India Company ship Dordrecht in 1619. The name Abrolhos is curious, being of Portuguese origin, and the reason for its attachment to this archipelago is obscure. The most likely explanation seems to be that it was a Portuguese lookouts’ cry, akin to the English ‘Land Ho’, which had become by Houtman’s time a Dutch loan word. We will never know.

The islands are in three groups, all very low lying and a serious danger to shipping. Vulcan Spirit visited the Wallabi Group (for some reason this is the correct spelling, even though the name clearly refers to the wallabies found here and nowhere else in the archipelago) in the north between 01.07.15 & 07.07.15.

Here is the ship, lying in Turtle Bay, East Wallabi:

The land is very low lying. East Wallabi manages 15m, while West Wallabi reaches only about 7m. There are almost no trees, just shrubs and flowers - here is East Wallabi, looking over the island from one coast to Vulcan Spirit lying in Shag Bay on the other side:

Shag Bay panorama on a still evening, VS in the distance:

     

Walking the beach at dusk: