Around The World Without Flying: The Magical Kimberley Coast Part 7 - The Horizontal Falls, Sharks and a Huge Iron Mine

We have been enduring another heat wave here. It is unlike Melbourne to be very humid; usually ours is a dry heat, but this time it has been very humid as well, which weather conditions are exhausting, I have to say, especially as there was no relief from the heat at night.

On the same day we explored Cyclone Creek, we then went back to our ‘mother ship, and were delighted to see tawny nurse sharks swimming around the back of the ship. We took it in turns to stand on the metal platform that is used to raise the XPlorer to see them up close and take their photographs. Apparently they are regular visitors in this region because the ship’s crew give them a feed.

Just after lunch we travelled around to the Horizontal Falls, which were in Poulton Creek, just little further along Talbot Bay from Cyclone Creek. The rocks in this region are primarily made from a sandstone called Pentecost sandstone,which is simply beautiful. Because this rock is relatively soft, it is thought that the two creeks flowing down from the uplands of the McLarty Range cut through the sandstone through a joint or fault line, creating gaps. When the gap widened sufficiently, tidal waters rushed into them, creating flooded valleys.

As a great volume of water gets trapped behind the gaps, it rushes out horizontally through the narrow gaps into Talbot Bay at a huge rate (hence the name ‘Horizontal Falls’). It looks like a huge sheet of water!

Those who wished to took turns entered the first gap on the Zodiacs and then went for the ride of their life along this sheet of water. It was an incredible spectacle to watch. They said it was exhilarating - what an adrenaline rush! This experience is so popular that tourists also travel there directly from Broome to ‘ride’ the water.

The next morning we went to Nares Point, where we were excited to see some whales in the distance and a sea eagle’s nest on the top of one of the cliffs. Unfortunately we could not see the eagles. We then sailed past Koolan Island, where there is a vast working iron mine and jetty where ships come in to take the ore. In fact, as we sailed past, a Chinese ship was there loading up the ore. The nearby Cockatoo Island apparently contained one of the world’s richest iron ore bodies - it was 97.34 % iron ore. That is incredible! This iron ore was first noticed by pearlers in the 1870s, but the ore was not mined until the 1950s.

Later that day we cruised to an incredible freshwater waterhole. Many of the passengers enjoyed a swim. It was an incredible spot. I will tell you more about that in the next post.

Some of the tawny nurse sharks.

The first set of Horizontal Falls. There are more further inland. It is hard to realise how rapidly the water is flowing.

All I could capture of the whales.

It was hard to capture a photo of the mine as the ship was some distance away and travelling at quite a speed. You can see how tiny the trees looked. The trucks making their way slowly along the declines appeared very tiny too.