28 July 2013 – Horizontal Waterfall and Buccaneer Archipeligo

We were up extremely early , around 5.15am this morning as we had booked to do the Horizontal Falls, leaving from Derby.  This meant that Josh had to do a 200km drive back to Derby along a road which has cattle roaming freely on the roads and driving into the rising sun.  He did an awesome job and we made the trip to Derby in just over 2 hours and we had therefore arrived at Derby airport by about 8am – ready for our seaplane to take off at 8.30am.  As we passed the time, Zoe and Sami were weighing themselves on the baggage machine and then got the rest of us on there too.  I had my turn (which wasn’t pleasing), and Dad had his go, but when it came to Josh taking his turn he obviously wanted it to be accurate so stripped off right down to his speedos before stepping onto the scales.  It was hilarious, his white thighs showing and he was doing his best to prove that he was Mr Fit in motion – you just have to love his style!  Fortunately he had put his clothes back on before the other tourists walked in and joined us.  There were 3 seaplanes carrying about 12 passengers each leaving from Derby to go to “the Falls” today  - which if I calculate this out that would be a total of around $20K handed over to the tour company, great day for them but not so great for us handing over that kind of money.  We were hoping it was going to be worth every cent.  I grabbed my seat next to the pilot for the trip into the Falls with Josh, the girls and Dad right behind me.  The view as we flew out of Derby and over the Kimbolton and McLarty Ranges was absolutely stunning.  It started with all the mud flats along the coast with a river running through the flats and patterns in the mud that resembled branches on trees.  It then changed to forest and rock mountain formations.  We got closer and in the distance you could see the Falls.  For those of you that don’t know, the Horizontal Falls is one of the most amazing natural features of the Kimberley region.  It is a tidal waterfall located within Talbot Bay in the Buccaneer Archipeligo, but the water passes horizontally due to intense tidal currents hurtling through two narrow coastal gorges.  These tides have a 10 metre variation which occurs every six hours when the tides reverse.  Upon landing in Talbot Bay we climbed off the seaplane and onto the floating pontoon which are tied to two massive house boats.  I couldn’t believe the size of the whole set up – no wonder it’s an expensive day out.  We went upstairs where we could grab a coffee or cold drink and a biscuit before boarding the boats for our first adventure.  Low tide was not long ago so we went out to view the falls from the boat.  We were on what was like a navy boat that seated about 12 people and you had to straddle your seat and hold on tight to the seat in front.  There was another boat out at the same time as us (called “Full Throttle”) but this was a bigger boat which took about 20-25 people in standard seats and had 3 massive outboards.  We got thru the first falls which is about 20metres wide, no problem, but as we approached the next one, which is the more narrow at only 10metres wide, the boats paused and sussed out the situation.  They decided that the force of the water was just too strong at the moment, so floated about  for about 15 minutes waiting for it to become slightly safer.  The time passed and the bigger boat went through, we followed not too far behind them.  It was fantastic and a huge adrenalin rush – even the kids were amazed at how much more fun this was than Dreamworld… there was really no comparison due to the setting that this adventure was set in.  We passed through a couple of times taking particular notice where the water line was marked on the cliff edges.  When we got back to the pontoon, it was time to take a closer look at the Tawny Nurse Sharks which visit them often for feeding.  There is also a massive resident grouper that looks like he’d suck you right into his mouth in one gulp.  To get a closer look, Josh and the girls got down into the shark cage – I remained as the photographer and you could see them almost as well.  A quick dry off and we were back on our boats but this time for a small tour of the area.  We were taken to Cyclone Bay which is apparently where the boats and pontoons are stored in the wet season.  In this bay is like a floating tin shed, which is actually home to a couple of the guys that drive the boats.  It has a couple of tents with a mattress inside to protect them from the midgies, a hammock out on the deck and a mirror ball for when they are entertaining – not sure who they would be entertaining all the way out there?  Next we were back on deck of the pontoon and our lunch was cooked, some fresh salads, bread rolls and bbq’d barramundi – they even cooked sausages up especially for the kids seeing as though they won’t eat fish.  After lunch it was time for another boat ride to the Horizontal Falls, this time close to high tide.  The difference in the height of the water was amazing, probably around 9 metres higher and this time with the change of tide, the water was flowing away from us so it was a drop into the other side rather than a climb.  It is simply amazing – to say the least!  Around 2pm, our pilot was there to pick us up and return us to Derby via a fly-over the Buccaneer Archipeligo.  Sami and I had the back seat, and I was able to fan her most of the way home to ensure she wasn’t sick on the plane, the things we do for love!  Back at Derby we made a safe landing at the airport and then took Dad on a very quick trip around Derby, including the pier and the Prison Boab Tree, before making the long trek back to Broome.  Josh and I decided to dump Dad and the kids at the caravan park and head into Coles to do the groceries as tomorrow we were to head north to Middle Lagoon.  As we finished the grocery shop we declined the offer from the aboriginals who offered to return our trolley (obviously after our $2 to put towards their drinking habits).