After landing, we were given a quick safety
briefing, handed life jackets and ushered onto
the jet boat. The tide was changing and we didn’t
want to miss the experience of seeing the falls up
close and personal, and riding the boat through
the falls.
INTENSE TIDAL CURRENTS
The Horizontal Falls are not actually waterfalls;
rather, they are intense tidal currents tearing through
two narrow coastal gorges. The massive tidal
movements create a waterfall effect, sometimes
up to 10m high, as the water rushes into or out of
Talbot Bay on the changing of the tide.
The two narrow coastal gorges are part of the
McLarty Ranges. They have two ridges running
parallel that are about 300m apart. The first gap,
and the one closest to the sea, is about 20m wide,
while the second gap, and in our opinion the most
impressive, is only about 10m wide.
Taking the jet boat through the smallest gap, with
the tide filling Talbot Bay, was a highlight, or so
we thought. With a 1m waterfall between the sea
and Talbot Bay at this point, we were mesmerised.
Watching the water bubble and form swirling
sinkholes as it rushed into the
bay was amazing.
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Returning from our jet boat ride meant it was
time to swim with some gummy sharks and watch
them being fed. There is a tiger shark that comes
to visit as well but it doesn’t go near the swimming
cage for a feed. The gummy sharks live around the
pontoons and can be easily seen at night time.
If you walk near the swim cage at night, the
gummy sharks will swim in to see if there is any
food on offer.
After swimming with sharks, we enjoyed a
leisurely cruise around the estuaries of King
Sound, looking for saltwater crocodiles, rock
wallabies and all kinds of marine and birdlife
that call this slice of paradise home.