A curious name indeed for a pair of waterfalls. But then these aren’t quite your everyday, ordinary falls. Comprised entirely from saltwater, not only do they drop from sea level to sea level but they also flow in both directions – every six hours. You see, these waterfalls are tidal and the result of the second highest tides in the world.

Located in Talbot Bay in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Horizontal Falls is a spectacular natural wonder created by the tidal sea being squeezed through narrow ravines between vertical rocky outcrops. And at high tide the result is a raging wall of water as much as 5-metres high… and we’re going to ride it!

Adventure calls

Our day started predictably early with a 5.30am pickup to get us to the nearby Broome Airport. Checked-in, weighed and safety briefed, we were boarding our Cessna 208 Caravan Seaplane and airborne just after 6am as the sun was starting to make an appearance and casting long shadows across the bush.

We were lucky to be the last to board our plane and rewarded with the greatest legroom of the rear bench seat with clear views from each of the large windows. Climbing slowly to 9,500ft our one hour and thirty-minute flight took us northeast across the Dampier Peninsula with few signs of life among a seemingly endless and flat wooded landscape. Only a few long and dead-straight dirt roads gave any indication of habitation. This was a place where the inexperienced adventurer would very quickly disappear.

Ben, our pilot, pointed out features of the landscape, the location of our last stop of Derby in King Sound and a little of the history of the region. And before long we were over the milky blue waters of the Timor sea and among the islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago islands turning east for an overpass of the Horizontal Falls in Talbot bay. From above the whirlpools and churning water created by the falls don’t appear that dramatic but we were soon to find, on the surface, things are very, very different.

A smooth water landing took us to the Horizontal Falls Pontoon where our next adventure would depart. And following a brief refreshment we were strapping-on our life jackets and taking our seat at the front of the Full Throttle boat skippered by Christo.

Four enormous outboard motors developing a combined 1,200-horsepower gave an indication of what we were to expect, but what an underestimation that was about to be. Just after we stepped from our plane onto the pontoon, one of the other seaplanes was having a race along Talbot Bay with a second boat and the boat was winning.

After a gentle push from the pontoon the engines were let loose giving a huge kick in the back and were still nowhere near full throttle. I had the DJI OSMO Pocket in my hand as we approached the first of the two falls surrounded by angry, frothing, swirling water pushing the boat left and right. That was until the engines were set free and we launched headlong into the rush of water squeezing through the 20-metre wide channel and straight into the 1.5-metre wall of water trying to hold us back.

No words can adequately describe the experience, the power of the water or the relief when we got to the other side. It is an enormous adrenaline rush and we had only just started.

Expecting to head straight to the second and narrower fall was soon countered as the engines raced, turned us through 180-degrees and launched us straight back through the falls, this time literally flying over the drop and landing hard into the churning water.

A short wait for a second boat to pass through and we were heading for the wall of water again. This time we continued straight to the next fall and with some careful manoeuvring we propelled through the narrower 7.5-metre channel with an even more dramatic push through the raging water. What a rush! And then we turned around spraying water everywhere and raced through again in the opposite direction, and then once more for good measure.

We turned and headed back one final time and over to the first fall expecting one last ride before returning to the pontoon for breakfast. But after a couple of photo opportunities we were off again through the wider falls a couple of times before, finally heading back. What an absolutely amazing experience!

Feeding Time

A welcome breakfast of egg and bacon rolls, baked beans and mushrooms onboard the pontoon and it was still only 8am. It was then time for another feeding but this time it was sharks that were being fed and Catherine was going to be in the water right next to them.

We had seen a couple of large sharks circling the pontoon earlier but as soon as our guide jumped into his feeding six sharks appeared as if on queue along with lightning fast Travelly. These are wild Tawny Nurse sharks with over 200-teeth, very poor eyesight but equipped with an amazing sense of touch and smell.

Rather than tear its prey apart, these sharks have huge muscles around the head that allows them to suck prey into their disproportionately small mouths. They are also unique among sharks in that they can pump water through their gills while stationary allowing them sleep settled on the seabed. They aren’t the only sharks in Talbot Bay though, Bull sharks and Tiger sharks are also present and one of the reasons people in the water are protected by an open cage while the sharks are being fed. Cyclone Bay Time for boarding Full Throttle again but at a slower pace as we headed to nearby Cyclone Bay, a small bay surrounded by high hills, which provides shelter for boats, the floating Horizontal Falls hotel and the pontoon during the wet season. Just around the corner are some dramatic rock formations of King Leopald Sandstone, clays and conglomerates deeply contorted by the enormous geological pressure created as the Kimberley region pushed into the Western Australia land mass some 600-million years ago.

Following the path of the Poulton Creek we spotted a 3-metre Saltwater Crocodile swimming along, which didn’t seem too bothered with us circling it briefly. If that wasn’t enough we had more adventure ahead of us as we turned back towards the pontoon and another blast through both of the falls… several times! And as a demonstration of just how powerful these boats were we entered the fall backwards this time against the current while Christo held our position as the water raged beneath us at 20-knots before the huge motors launched us again through the wall of water.

Could this day get any better? Well, yes and it did.

That’s me – in the front seat!

All Aboard

Returning to the pontoon we handed in our life-jackets and were waiting to board our plane when Ben, our pilot, called out, “Richard, jump into the front with me”. I had been invited to sit in the co-pilot’s seat with the best view on the aircraft and what a view it was as we took to the air on a 30-minute flight towards the north of the Dampier Peninsula. Despite being a little ‘bumpy’ at times as we crossed land, the view was amazing. You don’t get much of a forward view at the front with the cockpit instruments but you do get the best view to the side of any seat on the aircraft and you get to see just how much work is involved in flying the Cessna Caravan. And, of course, you get to have a chat with the pilot. Just hoping he doesn’t have a blackout and I have to land this thing!

Our flight turned steeply around and landed on a dirt runway that didn’t look anywhere near level… or long enough.  And there we were, surrounded by nothing but trees, red soil and silence.

It was eerily quiet as we waited for our 4WD bus pickup to take us to our next location a short distance away.
What an experience this has been! It’s not a cheap trip by any means but you will always regret giving this one a miss if you happen to find yourself nearby. Half and full day adventures from Broome or Derby.
More details from Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures.