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A big highlight of our trip so far - an overnight luxury stay at the Horizontal Waterfalls. This trip was recommended to us and we were not to be disappointed.
We were taken to the Derby airport in the afternoon and boarded our 14 seater 'Cessna Caravan Amphibian' seaplane to fly the 130km to Talbot Bay, in the Buccaneer Archipelago, landing in the bay on the water! Wow...and more 'wows' to come!
The crew were great and greeted us warmly, making us feel relaxed as we kicked off our shoes to walk barefoot for the remainder of our stay. We were shown to our cabins on the houseboat - there are actually a couple of houseboats and pontoons all joined together which make up the 'mini resort'. The guys then showed us their 'pet' tawny nurse sharks that they demonstrate feeding from the boat and we could swim in a cage next to where they were being fed. Mind you, it would be easy to mistake which was the swim cage as the feeding and swimming areas were all next to each other! Royce braved the sharks while we looked on!
After that we were taken in the jet boat (900hp) first up Cyclone Creek, which is where they take the pontoons in the 'off season' and also during a cyclone and then.... to the horizontal falls. These are created due to the huge tidal changes - up to 11m - and in two narrow sections of land the water cannot keep up with the tidal change which creates a 'horizontal waterfall'. The surge of water is amazing and difficult to describe unless you see it (we'll try to post a video). The jet boat took us through the gap quite a few times which was both amazing and scary! Very exhiliarating!
Back on the houseboat, sunset drinks were waiting for us on the top deck, as well as the opportunity to go for a helicopter ride (at a cost), and then we were treated to a barramundi dinner and afterwards had the whole place to ourselves while the crew all went to bed!
We were all up before sunrise to make the most of our time in this special place. Brekky on the top deck watching the sunrise, and for some, another helicopter trip. Then we were offered another jetboat ride through the falls which, again, was such an amazing experience! Then boarding the seaplane and experiencing a 'take off' on the water and a scenic flight back low over the islands - Alf even managed to score the 'co-pilot's' seat!
It's hard to come back down after such a 'highlight', but... all good things come to an end and we still have some more places to explore!
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