Horizontal Falls

On again - off again.
As we headed onto the Gibb River Road, we heard that a severe boating accident on the Horizontal Falls caused all tourist operations on the falls to be suspended. A volatile bureaucratic situating, and non existent access to WWW leaves us not knowing if our tour would go ahead or not. A day out from Derby we win the lottery and it’s all systems go. Our slot starting 19th June is going ahead, but tours on 17th, 18th plus 21st and 22nd are cancelled, not because of safety issues, but because there are not enough pilots to keep the route open.
Aeronautical under-supply is another bonus for us. The accommodation pontoon holds 16 guests, but only one sea plane of 8 could fly in. Half the customers with a full quota of staff: 2 hostesses, 1 x Chef and 1 x crew lead (boat skipper) sweet!
The sea plane lands near the pontoon complex, where we are greeted and have a swim with the sharks. Then onto “Full Throttle” - 4 Tonne, 900hp boat for the short hop into Cyclone Creek to our accommodation houseboat. It’s brand new, 2 floors, 8 berth, dining room, lounge area, and multiple verandas. Gorgeous. Morning tea, followed quickly by an amazing lunch.
It’s also a technically clever operation, with water desalination, septic processing and power generation all done on-site.
Back onto Full Throttle for a high powered look at the Horizontal Falls and some of the landforms in the area.
When we return to the houseboat a fishing Charter is waiting for us. Again our small numbers - only 6 fishers - on a full service boat with 3 crew. The most beautiful location to drop a line, and very productive.
Another outing on Full Throttle for a geology tour and sunset viewing.
We had a high adrenaline cavort on the out-tide flow from the wide falls where we got to feel all 900hp at full throat.
Sadly it’s time to depart for the 35minute flight back to Derby. Back to our “normal life”.Læs mere