Horizontal Waterfall - more moving water

 We motored from Dugong Bay back north to reach a channel where we could come back south but a few miles to the east.  This brought us to the famous Kimberly horizontal waterfalls. The waterfalls are caused by two small gaps in the rocky cliffs which concentrate tidal water flows into a very small area.  The first gap allows the ocean tide to flow in/out of a small but deep bay.  The second gap allows water to flow from the first bay into a second bay.  This means that the water flows between the two gaps are offset from each other by about an hour.  When we went through in the first third of a rising tide, there was a noticeable decline in the flow through the gap to the first bay and the water was fairly turbulent with standing waves, whirlpools and meeting cross current waves.  We motored across the first bay and looked at the second gap but the drop was one to two metres and we did not think the dinghy would be able to climb back up to the first bay if we went through.  Our trip back out of the first bay to the outside was much rougher than the entry.  Paul created videos of our entry and return which you can watch here 

Horizontal Falls entry from outside https://photos.app.goo.gl/hG6mqimXpH1X8Jjj6

Horizontal Falls exit to outside from 1st bay https://photos.app.goo.gl/VmX4DY67iGFYusDEA

After traversing the falls we headed out on an exploration of the river at the south end of the bay.

Heading out in the dinghy to explore the river

As we headed into the river, we were buzzed by two seaplanes who had just taken off.

A short video of one of the seaplanes https://photos.app.goo.gl/V6Hve8unAJqxfjDV8

The seaplanes bring tourists in to their base in the outer bay where they board speedboats to go in and out of the horizontal waterfalls.

The river trip had many stunning views and some interesting passages through mangrove waterways.  Although we watched for them, we did not see any crocodiles.



A trip through the mangroves   https://photos.app.goo.gl/sz5k8uFbeDBDMfZ5A



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Russell

Image
 It was finally time to head to civilisation and leave the islands behind for a few days.  We sailed the short distance to Russell where we could find good shelter from a forecast strong wind.  We dropped anchor outside a large mooring field filled with yachts.  That evening we took the dinghy into the Russell Yacht Club dock and had a very good roast pork dinner at the club.   The next day we headed over to the Russell town dock in the dinghy to see the picturesque town and then take a hike up to the flagpole above town.  The flagpole is a very famous site in New Zealand because it was built as a signal flag by the British but the Māori kept cutting it down because they were unhappy with their treatment by the British.  These events caused a long war between the Māori and British.  When peace finally came the Māori cut a large tree, carried it up the hill and replanted the flagpole symbolising the peace between the groups. A poinsettia in a garde...
Read more

Fremantle Sailing Club

 Still on the dock at Fremantle Sailing Club We arrived at the Fremantle Sailing Club Friday April 7 2023 after a good sail north from Mandurah.  We docked at the fuel dock, topped up our diesel tanks and placed a call to the harbourmaster to see if they had a dock available for the night.  Jason, the harbourmaster came out to True North and told us the docks were all full but he would works something out.  Eventually we were accommodated at the shore end of the fuel dock.  We stayed on the fuel dock 2 nights and after looking at the weather reports determined that we should stay at dock for the upcoming week.  The weather showed two bouts of high winds with 5 metre swells accompanying the second blow. Jason found us a slip where we tied up True North tightly with many lines.  The forecast turned out to be accurate with winds up to 44.8 knots during the first blow and 47.4 knots during the second.  We felt very comfortable at the dock and kept bus...
Read more

Binalong Bay / Bay of Fires Hike

Image
 Its our second day at Binalong Bay and we are still waiting for better winds to head south. Andrew and I decided to get off the boat and for a hike around the point between Binalong Bay and Lady Barron.  The walk ended up being about 15 kilometres with shoreline views, many woodland micro climates, beaches, boardwalks, dirt tracks, paved roads and even sidewalks. The map of our hiking route.  The distance is a little short because I forgot to turn on the tracker for a bit at the start of the hike  🙄 We were able to take the dinghy to a good dock in a very protected little man made harbour.  The hike started on the waterfront trail right at the dock. True North at anchor taken from the dinghy dock The hiking trail started right from the dinghy dock and headed around the point. After we rounded the point we were walking along the entrance to the river that leads to the town of Lady Barron.  We had planned to visit Lady Barron but when I called the volunteer...
Read more