HORIZONTAL FALLS

We had the best day yesterday with our trip to the Horizontal Falls.  I was afraid it was just going to be one of those things hyped up for tourists but the scenery really was spectacular.  The falls themselves are nothing much - just where the sea is forced between narrow gaps on the incoming tides, but the tour operator made it a lot of fun by tearing through the narrows and swerving the boats about.



One section of the horizontal falls

After a thirty-five minute flight in a seaplane over the Derby mud flats and the beautiful Kimberley country, we landed in gorgeous Talbot Bay and taxied to pontoons moored there by the tour company.



Mud flats





Pontoons in Talbot Bay

Aerial view of both falls

The sea was turquoise coloured, the temperature was about 30 with a light breeze and the scenery was spectacular.  The view from the top deck of the pontoon reminded me of the Greek islands.  Lovely.



View from the pontoon



After a session feeding the sharks:

we cruised through Cyclone Bay and Cyclone Creek - an area where boats and cruise ships take shelter when rough weather is forecast -

before tackling the wider of the two horizontal falls:

When the skipper checked out the narrower gap, it was obvious that there was a significant difference between the water levels each side of the gap and he deemed it too dangerous to attempt a crossing at that time.  So back to the pontoons we went for our lunch of barramundi and salad.

After lunch we returned to the second "fall".  By this time the water levels had evened out to the point where we could get through.  (These falls are totally dependent upon the tides and we had ascertained that Thursday was the best day this week.)

Once through the gap, we cruised about the "Inland Sea" for a while so that, by the time we were ready to return, the sea levels either side of the gap were about equal.

Back in the air, the return flight followed the coast to Derby

but we ran out of camera battery before we got back.

A fabulous day in the beautiful, beautiful Kimberley.