We were nearing the end of our time in the Kimberley, and although we had truly loved exploring such a special place for such a long time, the lack of fresh food, particularly fruit and vegetables was beginning to weigh on us. Both of us were feeling a little bit rundown. We found ourselves looking forward to the ‘civilisation’ up ahead and indulging in such treats as eating out. We talked of what we’d order for our first meal, it mostly featured salad and vegies. And maybe some hot chips! I was also pretty keen to find a laundromat; I’d had enough of hand washing. Sandra booked us a hire car to share in Broome and we began discussing things like accessing diesel and sight seeing.
But before reaching Broome, there were still a few more sites to visit in the Kimberley, including the infamous Horizontal Falls. On the way there we stopped at Melomys Island with Sens de la Vie, and Leonie spotted some Jabirus on the shore. The huge eight metre tide meant we were someway off the beach, so we contented ourselves with watching them through binoculars and Matt took photos with his long lens.
Entering Talbot Bay, we flew south at 9.5 knots with the current pushing us to find ourselves in a large basin that was strangely barren on one side and yet verdant on the other. Turquoise water surrounded us as we anchored in this eerily quiet place. Quiet, until the fast boats and seaplanes of the ‘Horizontal Waterfalls Hotel’ began coming and going. Brian and Sandra had arrived the day before and had arranged for us all to have a ride on one of the fast boats through the Horizontal Falls. It hadn’t been easy to make a booking, as they were very busy, but the Manager, Donna, was very friendly and slotted us in.
The Horizontal Hotel is not really an actual hotel, but a floating pontoon that operates during the dry season, with a few rooms for accommodation and some seating areas for meals. Visitors fly in and out on seaplanes, and either come for just a few hours or for one night. They are taken on a ride through the falls, as well as up and down some of the creeks and gorges. Along with swimming with the friendly lemon sharks in their small swimming enclosure, this is about all there is to do there. Customer turnover seems to be rapid, and there were a huge number of hotel staff floating about. Covid seems not to have disturbed this tourist operation in any negative way. We were thinking that we might be able to purchase drinks at the bar, or even a meal, but all their food and beverages are prepared off site and flown in to order, so there was nothing extra available to sell to us.
While Donna and her husband were very friendly, the rest of the staff were incredibly unwelcoming towards us. The young male staff in particular, were staggeringly rude and arrogant, and we found ourselves being treated like second class citizens. It was a very strange experience and we all kept looking at each other in confusion. Did he really just say that?
Anyway, we paid our money and went on the fast boat ride through the famous Horizontal Waterfalls. After speeding through on the hotel boat with 4 three hundred horsepower supercharged Yamaha outboards, we were decidedly happy that we hadn’t attempted to take our own little tinnies through.
The Horizontal Waterfalls is a natural phenomenon that has been described as ‘one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.’ The unique waterfalls are caused by the fast moving tidal current squeezing through two narrow gorges, and pushing the water into rapid formations which rush through the twin gaps at an astonishing rate, producing waterfalls turned on their side.
It was a good experience and I am glad that we did it, but it certainly wasn’t the highlight of the Kimberley for us.
Leaving the hotel, it was time to head back to the yachts and get tizzied up for our party. We were having a farewell party on Sealeaf as it was the last time the six of us would all be together. And by tizzied up, I mean having a shower and putting on a dress or a shirt that wasn’t three days old! That’s pretty fancy for us cruisers! The food was delicious and the drinks flowed as we celebrated our friendships and reminisced over our adventures together. We were very lucky to have found such lovely and like minded people to share part of our journey with.
There had been challenging times for all of us, and having the support, help and friendship of these guys had made it a whole lot easier and more fun. Just knowing that there is someone nearby that you can reach out to if needed is a great comfort. Over the past months we had all supported and helped each other in a myriad of ways; borrowing spare parts, helping out with physical labour, cooking for each other, sharing all sorts of items, and of course just being great company and someone different to talk to!
To top a wonderful night off, as we were getting into our tinny, a very friendly lemon shark swam right up to the stern of Sealeaf and we were able to reach down and pat him. He obviously enjoyed the interaction as he kept swimming back. What an extraordinary experience. To pat a shark. It gave me shivers.
The next day saw us all heading north, out of Talbot Bay, past Koolan Island and up to Silver Gull Creek. We waited for the tide, and so the current was not against us but we weren’t travelling as fast as I thought we might. We expected the current to turn against as we approached Koolan Island and so had some anchorages picked out, but there was no sign of that, so we pushed on into ‘The Channel’ and then through the very narrow dog leg of ‘The Gutter.’ Here we found a strong current, with eddies whirlpooling all around us, so I handed the helm over to Matt to steer us through the 150 metre wide pass. Once again in the Kimberley, what the charts and tide info indicated was not what we experienced!
Koolan Island is a working iron ore mine and it was fascinating to see the stark landscape and sheer cliffs that have been cut out of the land.
We spent three nights anchored in the very pretty and calm waters of Silver Gull Creek. We went exploring with Terry and Leonie, up into the creek to where the old Yachtie’s camp used to be. Although the camp is now abandoned, there is evidence of some new structures being built, although these are also unfinished.
The freshwater tank, however, that was the major drawcard for me, was still there, and still full of lovely fresh water. Matt, Leonie and I jumped in for a ‘swim’ and luxuriated in the feeling of being in clean, fresh water. We lolled about in the water for a while, enjoying the coolness of the tank. It was heaven!!
Dog Leg Creek, just around the corner from Silver Gull Creek is the location of the fuel barge and so an important stop for us. We were desperately low on unleaded but we decided to only fill a few jerries of diesel and do a bigger fill in Broome where it would hopefully be cheaper. So because we only needed to fill some jerries we jumped onto Sens Da la Vie and we all went in to see Mick, the fuel guy.
Mick was a very friendly and chatty guy, and gave us the lowdown on all the local knowledge. He also ran a ‘booking service’ for the nearby Cockatoo Island Resort and so booked us all in for dinner the next night. A meal out? At a resort? We couldn’t wait! And by booking service, I mean picking up his phone and ringing his mate Lorraine, who is the manager there. Really, really friendly and helpful people.
Leonie took some photos of us filling up on the fuel barge:
Dog Leg Creek had originally been the turning point for Terry and Leonie before they headed back through the Kimberley to Darwin, but when we heard about the resort at Cockatoo Island they couldn’t resist going just a little bit further. And Mick booking it for us made it just that much easier.
We anchored in the very deep water off Cockatoo Island and made our way over the fringing reef in our tinnies. At the Iron Ore Bar, Lorraine welcomed us warmly as we ordered our first drinks at a Pub in eight weeks. Since they currently had no guests staying, Lorraine also offered us the use of their infinity pool. How generous. We jumped at the chance and spent the afternoon relaxing near the beautiful pool and taking in the incredible views from the top of the island.
Dinner was roast pork with all the trimmings, served in a bain marie for the workers on the island. Silence descended on our table as we devoured the delicious roast dinner and savoured the novelty of eating out. What a treat! All too soon it was time to head back to the yachts, as the tide was quickly receding and leaving more of that pesky reef to negotiate. Again, these friendly people demonstrated their hospitality and offered us the use of a trolley to move our tenders down to the waters edge instead of having to drag and carry them down the beach.
What a wonderful place!! It had been a very special way to spend our last day with Terry and Leonie before we parted company the next day and headed in opposite directions along the west Australian coast. We had a last nightcap on Sens de la Vie before saying our final farewells and making our way back to Cool Change. We’d met Terry and Leonie at Fitzroy Island last November and since then we’d travelled with them on and off all the way from Cairns up to the tip of Australia, across the Gulf of Carpentaria, over to Darwin and through the Kimberley. What a journey we’d had together and how lucky we were to find such like minded souls to share it with. We were going to miss them.
The next morning we woke to the sound of an air horn honking right next to our boat. Popping our heads up through the companionway we saw Sens de la Vie passing us with Terry and Leonie waving madly. They were off. Feeling a bit sad, it wasn’t long before we were up and on our way too. Our destination was Cygnet Bay in the north-west corner of King Sound and our very last stop in the Kimberley. And waiting for us there was Brian and Sandra who’d gone ahead to meet some friends.
We had about 50 miles to cover across King Sound, which is renowned for having the second largest tidal range in the world. This means 11 to 12 metre tides and fast running currents, whirlpools and eddies. Gulp! We left a little earlier than planned, encountered some swirling whirlpools and then hit the brakes, moving along at only two to three knots. Just when we were thinking we might have to drop anchor somewhere safe to wait for the tide, the current turned and we picked up pace, notching up speeds of eight to nine knots before positively flying into Cygnet Bay at ten knots.
Negotiating around the buoys of the pearl farm, we dropped anchor near Sealeaf and prepared to head to shore for another swim, some more drinks and another meal out. How spoilt are we! But first, we had a slight problem to overcome. When Matt pulled the outboard engine off the yacht to attach it to the tinny, he knocked the fuel hose and it went flying into the sea. Oops! Not having a spare, there was nothing to do but row all the way in to shore.
We found Brian and Sandra relaxing by yet another infinity pool and promptly joined them, regaling them with the tale of our poor old fuel hose. We had several drinks by the pool, a sneaky shower and then a delicious dinner at the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm restaurant. Brian and Sandra kindly gave us a tow back to Cool Change and then came on board for a few nightcaps.
The next morning, Matt and Brian very cleverly rigged up a solution for the missing fuel hose and we were able to head over to shore, this time for another swim, some lunch and a tour of the Pearl Farm. It was very interesting to learn about the process of farming pearls and we even got to watch as the guide opened up a live pearl shell to discover the beautiful little pearl that was growing inside. Fascinating!!
Cygnet Bay is right on the edge of what can be considered the Kimberley. From here we would head north up to Cape Leveque and then around about 120 miles south-west down the coast to Broome. Our time in the Kimberley had finally come to an end. We had had an incredible eight and a half weeks exploring one of the most ancient, magical and iconic places in Australia. It had been a truly special experience and one that had surpassed all of our expectations. Although it was just the two of us alone together for a large part of that time, we had also met some amazing people along the way and shared some really fabulous times with our friends. We had made memories that would last a lifetime.
There are friends, there is family and then there are friends that become family.
Unknown
Cool Change 