Derby - Horizontal Falls

Well we certainly are living the dream! Today was a fantastic day and one we'll always remember. We flew from the Derby airport to where the falls are and landed on the sea alongside their houseboat. 

          

Some people were very lucky to get the prime first class seats!!

       

    

We were very fortunate as we didn't go through the falls once but several times on two separate occasions and they were great! What happens is the when the tide goes in and out, there are two narrow spots where it has to pass from an inland sea to the ocean, making for a big rush of water - especially in the narrow gap. Our boat driver loved zooming across and we had complete confidence in his abitilies and never felt scared at all. 

    

    

We also were able to swim with sharks and watch them being fed .... It was quite fascinating and they were lovely to see. They were nurse sharks and quite used to being fed and put on quite a show for us. We could stand up and watch them or get into the cage next to them and watch through our goggles. We took the opportunity to have as many dips as we could seeing we will be leaving the beach soon. 

    Dennis loved the sharks!

   

We were taken on a cruise up Cyclone Creek - so named as its a perfect shelter for craft during cyclones. The gorge was spectacular too with amazing rock formations. We searched for crocs but found none! 

     

A delightful barramundi lunch was prepared for us - as much as we wanted then we hit the falls again. It was actually more exciting as the tide was going out - we've become real thrill seekers. 

Then we enjoyed our scenic flight back over some barramundi farms - we were told the farmers live out there for a week then they swap over workers. What a lonely life! 

     

Now we are relaxing before we go to the wharf to watch another sunset! They are supposed to be sensational from here. We'll spend tomorrow here looking around, washing (again!!) and stocking up (again!!). Then Friday we will head off along the Gibb river - first stop Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. The road has only just opened to these spots today so we are lucky. I had to spend a whole $1 in Target buying a pair of thongs to wear in Tunnel Gorge.  

The very happy travellers sign off till another day - the service is probably non existent where we are going, so there could be a lull in blogs. We send our love xxxxxxx