Day 28
Tuesday
31 July
Derby – Horizontal Falls
The new neighbours are in a camper trailer with 2 kids and their friends, also in a camper trailer, turned up last night with their kids and set up behind us. It all seemed great yesterday, but at 4am when one is screaming and then 6am, when the kids are awake and racing around and yelling, it’s not so much fun.
In the bed, we couldn’t stay in bed any longer and we were out at 6.50am. We were being collected at 8.15am for our tour anyway, so we could get ready leisurely and I could spend some time on the computer.
At 8.10, we joined the horde waiting for transfers at the front of the park and eventually were herded onto small busses to be shuttled to the airport 15min away. With a name check complete, safety briefing given and name tags taken, we were moved on to the seaplane, lucky me I got to be co-pilot, not so sure about the passengers’ level of confidence in me though.
Emma was our pilot and she made flying the plane look super easy. I was dazzled by all the dials and buttons and levers that would move on their own. I got to taking in the scenery. The roof of the Mowanjum Arts Centre we had visited yesterday was in full view as we left Derby, the Wadjina clearly displayed on the roof.
We passed over the murky tidal flats before reaching “Kimberley Country”, rugged hills for as far as you could see. 30min later we were descending over Talbot Bay, towards the glassy turquoise waters. What a spectacular entrance. We landed seamlessly on the water and then cruised to the pontoon, where we disembarked and made our way aboard the day vessel. While the area is spectacularly beautiful, you are quickly reminded just how dangerous the place is, with giant sharks to greet you.
We made ourselves comfortable, had a drink and then waited for the captain to give us the run-down of proceedings. From here we were taken down to the water where we watched tawny nurse sharks being fed. I couldn’t get over how many of them there were. You were able to swim in a caged off section and view them through the glass, but it was a bit early in the morning for getting wet and instead we just watched the feeding frenzy.
Other fish darted about within the waters; bat fish, pike, trevally and every now and then a very large bull shark could be seen cruising below. The amount of sea life was incredible.
Following the show and tell of the “pets”, we enjoyed morning tea and were then ushered onto the jet boat for our first run through the horizontal falls. The boat sure could get up and boogie. We followed the ridge line before making a left into a cove that the first of the falls, wide gap was located. We did a number of runs through the break in the cliff line. Skirting over the top of the rushing water and then stopping in various locations to take photos. You could see the bubbling surface and at times whirlpools formed.
The falls are a dangerous phenomenon and many boats and lives have been lost when people have been reckless. Whirlpools can open up as large as the boat we were on and be 1.5m deep, you don’t stand a chance if you get caught up in them. As such, we were able to traverse the wide and narrow falls at this time, as the difference in depth between the two sections was only a meter, but later in the day, when the tide was high the depth change is over 3m and it is far too dangerous to travel through.
We spent our time at the wide gap and then moved on to the narrow gap, a 7m opening where great volumes of water rush through. We again passed through the gap, a number of times, ooh and ahhs of excitement emanating from the passengers from the exhilaration. We stopped in various spots of the water way, a sea of sorts, as it is land locked. We checked out the amazing cliffs, the trees clinging to their sides, the rushing, bubbling, gurgling water, our sensors on overload and then made our way back to the home base.
We didn’t hang around for too long, a quick drink and stretch, before getting back on the boat and doing a more leisurely tour up Cyclone Creek. We were taken into a large enclosed water way, where their luxurious house boat was moored. The water way is called Cylcone Creek, as it is used as a safe haven during cyclones.
We made our way up the creek, again admiring the rugged landscape, all the while on the lookout for signs of life. We ventured into a mangrove swamp, only 1.5m depth, all of us on the lookout for crocs on the banks, but they couldn’t be spotted. We did see four rainbow bee eaters perched in a tree.
We made our way out of the creek system and back to the home base. We disembarked the boat and made our way upstairs for our lunch time break, freshly caught and barbequed barramundi with salad. Delish!
We marvelled at the operation that is “Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures”. From what we saw; 4 seaplanes, 3 helicopters, the house boats, supply boats, speed boats, seadoos and who knows what else. There was some serious money poured into the venture.
We could have done a 10min helicopter ride through the falls, but at $100 we chose to stay put. Instead we enjoyed the serenity of the place, watched the sharks and fish swim by and checked out the other boats and the cruise liner anchored in the bay.
After lunch, we were ushered back onto the boat for another run through the falls. This time the tide was in and the rush of water was far more powerful. The white wash spraying all over the place. We watched other boats come and go within the gap and then had our turn, noting the significant depth change.
While we couldn’t cross over the narrow gap waters, the captain backed the boat into the falls, kept the 4 motors revving and allowed us to sit in the gap and be buffeted by the gushing tidal flow. You really got a sense of just how powerful it was.
After taking all the obligatory photos and doing a few extra spins through the wide gap, we returned to the home pontoon and joined Emma once more at our seaplane. I was once again ushered into the co-pilot chair, donned my headphones, seatbelt and sat back waiting for take-off. The plane glided across the waters before nosing into the air and up over the cruise line. We then circled the falls, for an aerial view, before making our way over the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago that stretched out to the horizon, rising majestically from the sparkling, emerald waters. We flew over numerous bays of King Sound including; Dugong Bay, Cone Bay and the barramundi fish farm and back towards Derby.
We made our way over the town site, spotting the jetty and our caravan park before the airstrip came into view and we made a sharp left and descended. Touch down was smooth and we idled into the parking spot. We clambered out of the tight cabin and back on firm ground. The taxi arrived shortly after and we returned to the park for 3pm. What a day!
I was straight into the photos on return, Paul organised his fishing gear and chatted with the neighbours and at 430pm, we drove down to the jetty. Paul was off, while I stayed in the car continuing to work on the hundreds of photos.
Once the sun reached a certain level, I packed up the computer and found Paul, Ronnie and Scott on the jetty. Paul was eager to show me his catch, well a photo of it. He was getting plenty of bites and pulled in a catfish, while I was there, but not the elusive “big one”.
I took photos as the sun set and then returned to the car and the computer. The sky set a vivid orange about 10min later and shortly after Paul joined me with tales of a big fish that got off. We drove back to the park, had showers and soup, as we were still full and then joined Ronnie, Scott, their wives and kids for the evening, swapping tales and enjoying the company.
No comments:
Post a Comment