From the wharf, the tiny seaplane floating in midst of the rapidly filling Sound looked for the world like a mosquito in muddied surrounds. Once us four passengers were squeezed aboard in our first ever seaplane ride, the take off was slow and noisy, each wave shaking the fuselage hard. Slowly climbing to 2 500ft we had the most fascinating view of the extensive mudflats, the mangroves, channels and sand-bars below, which in time becoming broken and rugged ranges. This intricate tapestry of landforms is something that one can only see and appreciate from the air. Forty five minutes later we spiralled our way down into the tranquil waters of Talbot Bay, somewhat disconcerted to see that the two gorges, supposedly the Horizontal Falls, showed no sign of any outpouring of water!
Approaching Talbot Bay and the horizontal falls
A small boat from Discovery One sped out to collect us. This handsome ship, formerly used by Australian model Elle’s sister for whale watching, seemed a floating palace to us. The four of us thought we had the place to ourselves… until the next plane landed bringing 8 folk from Broome. Once the hubbub of settling in was over our Captain explained that a 10.5 metre tide was running and we would only go to the Falls once the tide turned. Now it became clear why we hadn’t seen any trace of the Horizontal Falls on flying in.
Called Horizontal Falls purely for marketing purposes, two enclosed basins are each separated by a narrow gap, or gorge, just behind Talbot Bay. With the incoming tide seawater passes through the first gorge (22m wide) and then through the next (8.5m wide).
Approaching the first of the horizontal falls, with the second one in the background
As the tide recedes, the huge volume of water stored in the basins is sucked out at a rate which is said to approach 200 000 litres per second. This potential for harnessing incredible tidal power goes to waste by the very nature of its isolation. When the tidal cycle is at its lowest the vertical drop is in the order of 4m (14 feet). At another stage the Falls become a giant rapid, until finally, with the high tide they disappear all together.
At the turning of the tide a sleek, deep-V inflatable (cost – a mere $180 000) with two 225 HP Yamaha outboard engines on the back arrived to take us out. Twelve excited seniors donned life jackets, straddled the specially designed biker-type seats and prepared to face whatever rigours the Horizontal Falls had in store!
To enable us to safely photograph and view the first of the falls our pilot executed some tight turns in the outskirts of the current. Then with cameras stored away the pilot built up the momentum required to shoot through the gap. Amidst the velocity generated by the current, whirlpools and eddies surrounding us, the boat slewed, seemingly out of control, in a hair-raising manner - through to the other side. Just as we began recovering from this “rush” we felt the boat slip scarily backwards into the out-flowing current! Thankfully all was under the control of the powerful engines and the pilot used this moment to calmly provide us with statistics on the amount of water pressure within that constriction!
Due to the safety issues (on average there are four accidents a year) the second, far narrower gorge is not regularly ascended. The turbulence in its vicinity is scary enough just to observe! Our pilot took us through both sets of falls twice and on several occasions did some 360 degree donuts in the midst of the current to the gasps and cheers of the group. At times George thought he was mad and Lea, a fun fair roller coaster addict, loved every second!
Such shared exhilaration instantly bonded the twelve and was the prelude to a wonderful night aboard Discovery One. Sun-downers on the top deck – we may well have been at Kariba. The sun setting over the water and the steeply sided mountains, marked by landslides, was reminiscent of the Matusadona! Another unforgettable sight was the sharks. Two metre long Tawny Nurse Sharks were encircling the dinghies and jetty behind the boat, enjoying what George can only think was the steady stream of warm water emerging from the engine room? By nightfall there were seven sharks roaming around and the sight of them was one of the real joys of having dinner on the back deck. With all of us travelling around in caravans exploring Australia we found we had lots in common and exchanged stories and information well into the night.
We awoke feeling as if we had been there a week, not a night! Over breakfast the first flight of day trippers came in. They were immediately dispatched to the falls. Shortly after, the Broome seaplane landed and our eight friends departed leaving the four of us to enjoy a couple more hours on top deck watching the seaplanes coming and going rather like a bus station. In agreement with Syd and Alida we realised that paying a bit more for a night had actually made for an incredibly relaxed all round experience compared to the groups now coming in for a quick four hour turn-around outing. The new group from our boat were about to leave on their adventure trip when Alida had the presence of mind to dash down and ask if we could take up the four empty seats. Hey! Hey! We could ….
A bonus action replay followed. This was quite a different experience due to the state of the tide. The first gorge was relatively calm and the pilot very circumspect! The second gorge was a different matter. With the tide now being exceptionally low the height and turbulence was such that there was no chance of taking the gap on this one. Nor were any of us keen to even venture too close. Much as we enjoyed the buzz second time round we knew that we had it all the night before.
Turbulence in the outflow of the narrower of the two horizontal falls
Flying back to Derby our pilot took us the coastal route over the Buccaneer Archipelago.
Extremely windy as we came in to land in the harbour that appeared to be more mud than water we all found ourselves clutching the little plane as if to keep it together!
The Buccaneer Archipelago
When the pilot attempted to grab the mooring rope while coping with gusty conditions and taxiing at the same time - we held our breath! Even when the little dinghy arrived the plane’s wings threatened to crack down on the boat’s canopy. When all was finally under control we climbed down only to be advised that the boat wouldn’t get us far. At the base of the wharf we sloshed through the mud to climb the never-ending stairway to the top. On departing for this trip we had stepped down just four!
As Syd and Alida were in the same caravan park, we gave them a lift back in Skiv. Such was our joint elation that a couple overhearing us immediately went out and booked an overnight trip to the Horizontal Falls. When you shell out on a trip such as this it is most gratifying when it surpasses all expectations.
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