Day 70. Big day out - Horizontal Falls Full day Tour. 20/07/2015

The alarm went off at 4.45 am this morning and it was very cold when we got up. A quick shower to wake up, a quick snack then we were ready for our 4 wheel drive bus to collect us at the front gate of the caravan park. The bus called "Big Foot" was very comfortable and the drive to Beagle Bay our first stop took about an hour and a half. Beagle Bay is an Aboriginal community of about 300 people and many dogs.  We had a morning cuppa in a park then visited the Sacred Heart Church nearby. The Church was built in 1918 but the first church in the area was built by the Trappist Monks when they came to Beagle Bay in 1890. The present church was built in unity with The Pallottine missionaries who came from Germany. The church took 2 years to build and one year to decorate. 60,000 clay bricks were formed by hand and fired in local kilns for the main body of the church. Cement being unavailable, lime was made by burning shell and was used as the mortar and the plaster.  A dedicated team of local women made the shell decorations of the church. Mother of pearl, cowries, volutes and olive shells were gathered on the area beaches and used for the mosaics. The altar is quite beautiful and very unusual. We reboarded the bus and on this stretch of the journey we watched a fantastic video of The Kimberley Wild Waters.
Our next stop was at Kooljaman at Cape Leveque where we were served a wonderful cooked breakfast in the beautiful surroundings of the Cape. Cape Leveque is famous for the red cliffs meeting the pristine white sandy beach and the crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean. After breakfast we were driven through the camping grounds to the west beach then back to the south beach to leave the bus and walk on the beach so we could admire the red cliffs. We really needed to have a run along the beach after such a huge breakfast!
A short distance away we visited One Arm Point on the southern tip of the Buccaneer Archipelago another Aboriginal Community to tour the Aquaculture hatchery where we had an informative talk of the hatchery, home to turtles, tropical reef fish and trochus shell. On site we saw a worker cleaning and polishing the trochus shell and the finished product was stunning.
Another short drive to the airstrip to board our 14 seat seaplane. After a comprehensive safety talk we donned our life jacket belts then we were off flying low across the amazing 1000 island Buccaneer Archipelago towards the Horizontal Waterfalls.  We had magnificent views of the falls before landing on the calm waters of Talbot Bay. Before long we were on the very large pontoon /vessel that featured dining areas, bars etc. and the shark cage.We were directed to board the "Jet Stream" after putting on PFD'S again. The boat was a 900 hp fast boat and it was exhilarating when the skipper put it to the throttle.  We roared through the first of the falls and I screamed all the way!  We went backwards and forwards through the first gap of the McLarty Ranges which is 20 metres wide.  We were unable to go through the second gap (the most spectacular, is only about 10 meters wide) because the tide was flowing so quickly it would have been too dangerous.  We returned to the pontoon with the promise that after our lunch we would be taken again to try the second of the falls.
Lunch consisted of freshly barbecued  Barramundi with salads, rolls etc.  It was a very enjoyable lunch is such beautiful surroundings. Several people braved the shark cage to feed the resident sharks that enjoy the tasty morsels that are on offer. There were about 7 bronze sharks and several people took the opportunity to actually feel the skin of a shark when the attendant grabbed one (carefully avoiding its teeth). Apparently the skin feels like fine sandpaper.
We boarded the boat again to attempt our passing through the second of the falls and this time we roared through successfully. The rest of our time on the water we were taken up to Cyclone Creek a safe haven for boats when there is a cyclone, further on we entered some mangroves, so the skipper turned off the engine so we could stealthily move through in search of a saltwater crocodile.
It was time to return to the pontoon then again board the seaplane for our 1 hour journey back to Broome.  Smooth flying home, even saw some clouds, and before long we were landing.  A shuttle bus waiting to return us to our caravan park saw our wonderful adventure come to an end.
What a day!  The most fantastic tour, everything was perfect, precision timing, excellent staff, food and we would say that this tour goes to the top of our list of amazing experiences on our journey through this magnificent country of ours.

The six travellers ready to take on the Horizontal Waterfalls.

The Route from Broome - follow the blue lines.

Some information.

The first church at Beagle Bay. 

The alter is decorated with pearl shells.

Our arrival at Cape Leveque.

A full breakfast is served. 

The camping ground at the Cape- no caravans allowed because of the road conditions. 

The red cliffs at the cape.

Beautiful white sands and inviting surf fishing holes.

In the sun in a spectacular place.

Cleaning Trochus shells at One Arm Point.

A barracod in the tanks at One Arm Point.

On the seaplane to the falls.

A thousand islands are located between One Arm Point and Horizontal waterfalls.

The colour of the water and tide movement looked amazing.

The two waterfalls on display with the tides thundering through.

The floating pontoons and boat harbour.

Closing in on the first waterfall.

The movement of the water through the first waterfall.

A 2 metre drop into the next pool.

This is what we would have looked like - taken from helicopter.

Into cyclone bay.

The rock formations in this area were different to all those we had seen

Sharks in the tank waiting for a feed.