Talbot Bay and Horizontal Falls

 'Once everyone was back on board yesterday afternoon we set sail for Talbot Bay. The plan was go through the narrows to get into the bay on a slack tide at 10 pm and anchor overnight so we would be ready to go to the falls to catch the outgoing tide in the morning.

We awoke this morning to a lovely day and beautiful calm waters in Talbot Bay

Unfortunately it is our turn to be the early expedition group this morning, so we are lined up at 7 am to get into our zodiacs. The morning program is to visit the horizontal falls first and then continue on up Cyclone  Creek for a 2.5 hour return trip.

Sadly you are no longer allowed to go through the falls unless you use the services of the high speed boat company that is resident here during the tourist season. Ironically, it is the same company that had the serious accident which has resulted in others being banned.

It is a bit hard to capture in a still photo, but the water is rushing through here

We are allowed to poke the nose of the zodiacs into the oncoming torrent but not enter the falls

The black mark on the escapement is the tide level, so you can see we are well into the outgoing tribe which drops around 8 metres

As we retreated from the falls and moved to a quiet bay, we were treated by the leader of the expedition team and some of his crew with a farewell dink of champagne and mimosas, as this is our last day before heading our destination, Broom.

The expedition drinks cart

On the helm is our sth African expedition leader, Skalk, who with his team were exceptional 

Even though it is only 7.30am, the drinks were readily accepted and consumed.

In the middle of the river is a floating complex that is operated by the company that offers the high speed boat rides through the falls. It is largely a large floating reception area for visiting seaplanes bringing in passengers from Broome and loading them onto boats to pass through the falls. We lost count of the number of planes arriving and leaving.

A bit further down the creek there was a refueling barge tucked away in a quiet bay near the mangroves.

And a little further down the creek, there was floating accommodation.

We also saw one of the boats filled with passengers ready to take on the falls.

Our tour up the creek concentrated on the geology and the odd wildlife sighting. The amount of upheaval that took place in the sedimentary rocks in this region is quite amazing, and the folding of the layers is very visible.

Heading further up the creek in quite a bit of current

We saw a lot of small wildlife, like mudskippers, fiddler crabs, a few birds and a rock wall ably, but most I it escaped all but the best photographers with huge telescopic lenses.

On the way back down the creek, we had a final look at the horizontal falls which were now running much harder creating big whirlpools which were challenging the zodiac drivers as the tried to get us closer.

We hen headed back to the ship for lunch and a bit of a relax before we set sail for Broome at 3.15 pm to give us enough tidal depth to get through the narrows to exit Talbot Bay.

Heading back to the ship

Underway, on time at 3.15 pm, it was only 15 minutes before we reached the narrows and we were pushing a healthy incoming tide.

Approaching the narrows 

This area is an archipelago of many small islands that we pass through before hitting open sea.

Passing one of the outer islands to reach open sea

Tonight there is a farewell function run by the expedition team, which includes a very professional video of the trip that the onboard photographer compiled. It was excellent and we were all given a copy on a usb drive to keep as a momentous of the trip.

The expedition team all turned up to say farewell, with the usual drinks on offer to encourage attendance.

The expedition team

The final item on the agenda was an auction of an illustrated chart of the cruise which a wealthy Californian acquired for USD1,000. The money going towards a slush fund for the crew to enjoy themselves.

Sadly, it looks like our cruise is coming to an end. The Kimberley certainly lived up to our expectations. Tomorrow we disembark in Broome, where we will spend a few days before flying home.