Chopper ride!

We were up early as we were booked in for a 6am helicopter ride over the falls and Talbot Bay. My first ever helicopter ride was in a 5 seater Bell and I have to say it was excellent. The bloke flying it was quite young but he flew us around all the sights and back to the pontoon, definitely one of the highlights of the trip, see the photos below.

After the chopper we had another fast boat ride through the falls before getting back on the sea plane to get back to Derby. This time the inner falls were too high at about a 2m difference so he couldn’t take the boat through but we did a few trips through the lower falls.

In all our visit to the falls was excellent. They are in a very remote part of the country and yet the whole logistical process of getting us there, showing us the falls, and putting us up for the night was all very professional and well done.

Once back in Derby we were on the Gibb River Road heading to Mount Hart Wilderness Retreat which is kind of of the home base for the touring company we are using.

Along the way we stopped at the Prison Boab Tree just outside Derby, Queen Victoria’s Head (a rock outcrop that looks like Queen Victoria’s Head!), Lennard River crossing, and a lookout in the King Leopold Ranges.

This area is fascinating from a geological perspective. About 100 million years ago it was all underwater and it has been slowly pushed up. Queen Victoria’s Head is actually in the Napier ranges which was once an offshore reef, past that was a shallow sea before the King Leopold Ranges which was the old shore line. The whole area has remained remarkably intact since that time with few major geological changes just the effects of erosion.

Mount Hart was originally a cattle station but there is a big problem raising cattle in the Kimberley and that is the problem of distance. The cattle do survive and fatten on the land but moving them to Derby involved walking them over very hard terrain for days at a time meaning their condition quickly deteriorated and many died on the way. The land is very rugged and even walking over it is difficult as it is rocky and uneven.

The Mount Hart homestead is now a tourist retreat with campsites, on site tents, and services for people to stay. Pop and I are sharing a tent with an ensuite bathroom attached, all very comfortable!Read more