Horizontal Falls via seaplane

It was very cosy in the van last night and not terribly comfortable. Hope we work out a better system. Poor sleep was exacerbated by the need to get up at 4:45 for pick up at 5:20 am. I hate early starts!!!

We took off in the float plane just after 6:00 am and the flight was just over an hour to Talbot Bay. First part of flight was fairly uninteresting as the landscape was pretty flat and we also flew above the clouds but as we neared our destination and descended there were spectacular views of the sea, islands and reefs. We landed on the water in Talbot Bay and taxied to the houseboat complex where 4 float planes could dock, 2 jet boats were moored and 3 helicopters were perched on the roof. Had a cup of coffee and some cereal and then we went and fed the resident sharks and a couple of people went in the shark proof cage but it was pretty cool at about 8.30 in the morning.

We then had a breakfast of bacon and eggs and a roll before heading off in the jet boat to tour around the inlets and then it was off to the falls. The first falls are 20 metres wide and there was about a 1.5 meter difference in height as the water rushed through. Our driver then sped through the falls with a big bump and lots of skillful driving and then repeated the exercise which was quite thrilling. The second falls are through a gap of only 7 metres and obviously a bigger height difference but we could not navigate them but got really close to take photos.

About 11:00 we reboarded the plane and flew for another half hour over the most spectacular bays and islands to One Arm Point where we landed on the dirt runway and were met by our big truck/bus which also acted as the refueling wagon for the planes. Meanwhile we all waited in the "terminal" aka under a tin roof until we boarded the truck.

First stop was an indigenous fish hatchery where we were shown lots of different fish in tanks by a young aboriginal girl. Another short drive to Cape Leveque where we had a beautiful barramundi lunch and drove down to a white beach surrounded by very red sedimentary rocks. Passed through a couple of aboriginal settlements and then stopped at Beagle Bay to look at Catholic Church beautifully decorated with lots of shells. Bit of a bumpy ride home over 90 Kms of dirt road. A great day though.

Baked beans and toast for dinner then early to bed.