The Journey to the Horizontal Falls

How does he do it? Co-Pilot Vice Captain Charlie Checkit again!!

Spectacular view over Talbot Bay from the seaplane

Great designs in the mud flats around Derby

Aeriel view on our way

Curtin Air Base - I'll probably get shot for taking it - oh well live dangerously!!

One of the Falls from the air

Talbot Bay and another view of one of the Falls

The two Falls

Talbot Bay

Talbot Bay

The pontoon in Talbot Bay

Getting ready for our ride through the Falls!!!

OMG in the words of a teenager - I can't begin to describe what the Horizontal Falls were like.   It was breathtaking, amazing, exhilirating, exciting, adrenaline rush, beautiful and lots of other things.  It really blew me away and was worth every dollar of a very expensive ticket.  I've got lots of photos so will post some more on another blog - just wish I could do videos as well as I have taken some amazing videos of us riding the Falls - will have to try and work that one out with my Dilly.

Anyway we boarded our seaplane and how does he do it?  Charlie got chosen again to be the co-pilot.  We had a slightly older pilot this time (although not by much) so it was Captain Youngster and Co-Pilot, Vice-Captain Charlie Checkit at the controls.  He's now going to do a condensed TAFE course and become a pilot with all this experience he now has with flying light aircraft!!!

The views over the mudflats leaving Derby were great with all the different patterns and then we flew over Talbot Bay.  The colour of the water was amazing, a beautiful tourquoise blue and so calm and clear.  Everyone in the plane was clicking away with cameras as I don't think any of us could believe how beautiful it was with the blue sea and the towering rugged cliffs - I've never seen anything like it.

We landed on the pontoon to be greeted by a great young crew who explained all the safety things asking us to be careful as there were tawny nurse sharks swimming around the pontoon and they didn't want anyone to be dinner for them!!  Some of them were huge but I will put pictures up of them in a separate blog because I haven't got enough room here.  We had tea, coffee, bikkies and a short talk and then we were off to do one of the Falls.

Derby has the highest tides in Australia and yesterday's tide was a massive 13 metres with a 5 metre drop off.  The water from the bay has to run through 2 narrow gaps in the rock face  of the McClarty Rangeswhich causes it to crash and swirl like rapids through the gap and then drop 5 metres into the next bay where it goes through another narrower gap and does the same.  The only way to get back up to the pontoon is the same way so we had a ball!!  We just did the one Fall to start with and it was sooooo exciting - loved it.  Our guide was a great young bloke called Adrian who was only 23 and in charge of this boat with 2, 300 hp motors on the back - these people with our lives in their hands seem to be getting younger or am I getting older?  Anyway he's been working there for 7 years and is very passionate about what he does.

It was then back to the pontoon for our swim in the shark free cage which was a big adrenaline rush.  We had snorkels and masks and could see these big sharks swimming on the outside of the cage with their noses pressed against ours!!  The boys then fed them with fishheads so that caused a bit of a feeding frenzy!!  Charlie was up on the railing watching and was trying to touch them - HE's SUCH A BOY!!!

After a great lunch of barramundi and salad, bread rolls and fruit we were back on the boat to do the second Falls which was through a narrower gap so more rushing water and bigger drop.  As we were going through this Fall, Adrian played the song 'I Went Through the Danger Zone" over and over again which really made it!! 

I want to do it all over again!!

David Attenborough described the Horizontal Waterfalls as "One of the greatest natural wonders of the world" and I have to agree with him.  He accidentally named them because on a visit he said it was like water falling horizontally and hence the name as they were called "The Gaps" before but can you believe they are under threat from copper mining.  We signed a petition to try and make the area a National Park so hopefully the mining can be stopped.  Apparently 2 of the biggest islands in Talbot Bay have already disappeared and it would be criminal if this area was destroyed and not available for our children and grandchildren and future generations to see.  I think I'll email David Attenborough and make him aware.

Our pilot then arrived to take us back to reality with our memories of a fantastic day.

Anyway I can't begin to describe what it was like - its something everyone should do but hopefully the pictures will give you some idea.  I will post more in a separate blog.

Adieu from The Wandering 2s.