That is right at the top of our list when we head west next year.

too many to name but the kimberleys would be up there for sure, our foray's up the centre were amazing this time, all the colors and the flowers, I have never seen the country in such good nick

Welcome Home Justcruisin and DaveO

thanks Ducky, I'm not sure about being home after I sighted all this mess, I'll need a week to clean it up, 25 messages on the answering machine from people wanting to view the house but I wont allow it in this condition the dust, leaves and rubbish is a foot deep in places, god knows what the old place endured while we were away, heard talk of gust's to 130kph, never mind she has stood for 85 years so I guess it's not the first one she has lived through I'll need another holiday after I finish, cairns looks nice, there's a motorhome needs to go up there next week from the hire joint, HMMMmmmm!!

Thanks Disco.Been home & gone again,there's time to sit at home when we can't do this.currently in QLD,

Hi JUstcruising. We went to the Kimberley a couple of years ago. Had 4 days at Cape Lavique and just loved the place!! Roger and 2 mates flew from there to the Horizontal Falls and were fasinated. Their photos didn't turn out very well as the perspect of the windows of the plane buggered them up. We girls stayed on the ground, because of the costing....were happy the boys went tho. We live in Qld, so.....you are more than welcome to visit on your way thru. Plenty of room to park to moterhome.

Thanks Dell,shame about he pics,if they are digital & on your laptop, with the picasa program you can take most of the glare out of the pics.

cyainthegreatoutdoors........................there'snowherebetter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Did the falls bit last year.Was a bit scared at first trip through but really loved it on the second lap.It's great to get out of your comfort zone occasionally!

Hi Mary, and welcome to the home of the nomads. We hope you enjoy your stay. I haven't done the horizontal waterfalls, but I have seen the tide rush in and out in some of the tidal inlets up the Dampier Peninsula coast. It literally roars as a raging torrent. Amazing. I also experienced a similar phenomenon north of NT at Elcho Island. It's split and the tide belts through at a raging pace with huge whirlpools along the walls on each side. I did that trip agains the tide on a prawn trawler with a top speed of 11knots. We almost had to get out and push at one stage when tide and boat faced each other head on. The trawler won eventually, but it was the longest "short cut" for all sorts of reasons. Other boats had done it before us judging by the names of boats and crew written on the rock walls. They did it by hanging off the end of the trawl boom. V e r y tricky!

I have often seen the trawlers go out and wondered how they get on battling the biggest tidal changes in the world, I have seen walls of water 8 feet high racing up the canyons many times and a couple of times almost got caught with an extra high one magical place!!

They watch the tide charts, and stay out of the way. It was a bugger trying to keep the anchor anchored. We actually had to do anchor watches, and if the chain became too tight we'd have to let a bit more out if there was any, or we'd pull it up, move further out from the shore and try another grab. If we dropped anchor at high tide we could drift anywhere at low tide. Then the SE would kick in and chop the water something rotten. Tide pushing agains wind. Roebuck Bay is the only place I've seen the boats on the moorings facing the tide and not the wind. Quite odd. To tie up at the Darwin Wharf we had bow line, stern line, springers and a breast line sliding up and down the pile to keep the boat close to the wharf, otherwise it was a long drop and a big jump from the bottom of the steps to the boat. Quite tricky, and very acrobatic. A 70ft trawler hanging off its lines which were strung absolutely tight is a scary sight. We attached a line to the winch, loosened all lines very carefully, and slowly let it down. A lot of tonnage hanging from a few ropes.

We did the Falls in 2008 on our biggest trip so far. They were amazing and a little bit pricey but worth it. Like you say, once in a life time thing. We are always so careful how we spend but we couldn't resist. 

Having a better look into the Kimberley next June.

I am intrigued.  Anyone have any piccys?  When you say "a little bit pricey"  just HOW pricey.   Would like to factor it into our lap next year if possible.

Ma

Hi Ma, we did them in 2008 from Derby. We had a couple of places to shop around from and I think it was around $400 a head. That included a bus to pick us up from the caravan park, plane ride, ( made me a bit squeemish but the other half was fine ) and then the boat picked us up and took us to the "mother ship." There we had morning tea and all jumped on the boat which is like the ones in Sea Patrol, you ride the seats.

We cruised all around the estuaries spotting crocs for an hour or so, back to the Mother Ship for a bbq lunch till the tide was right then away we went. It was brilliant, but I wish they had advised us to use the seat belts. We had jackets on but I was trying to take photos and hang on one handed. 

Then it was back to the Mother Ship for afternoon tea and on the plane again. All up, we were away most of the day, and I think it was well worth it. Wonderful day, staff were great. Don't know if it would be cheaper out of Broome though. I will go look for some photos to post. 

I believe the price is much the same from Broome. Pick up in town early in the morning, fly to Cape Leveque, board a boat and away you go.
The food part is the same.
It sounds like a big, hectic and very exciting day. And it sounds like you get your money's worth. Enjoy!

There are heaps of details on the net.  kimberleyexteme.com.au

-- Edited by Cruising Granny on Monday 28th of September 2009 08:02:10 PM

Ma, this is the plane we were on.

Sorry Ma, having trouble uploading, I will try a different one this time.

This one was taken from the boat.







-- Edited by Firefly on Monday 28th of September 2009 08:21:57 PM

Thanks guys, guess who is saving all the pennies we can lay our hands on.

Ma

Its a bit dearer ouy of Broome,But its a longer trip & you see a lot more of the country.Fly direct to the falls,land on Talbott Bay,[float plane],do the falls on jet boat,
have breaky on board a large house boat,return via Archipelico Ils,Cape Leveque,&down the coast overMiddle Lagoon,Beagle Bay,Cable beach etc,just to name some of it.
                           cyainthegreatoutdoors...................there'snobetterplace.............

Ma' if you can stay at Cape Leveque...do so. Its wonderful! We had 4 days there, but, you must book in advance. Firefly, thanks for the piccies. They are great. Sure beat the ones our boys got. Justcruising, what did you think of Middle Lagoon? We loved it! Thats a "must go back to" place for us. Awwwwww, it nice to remember these places.

Hi Dell,Middle Logoon,what a great place,we were camped right on the cliff top above the beach watching sun sets over the water for about a week,.We done day trip to Cape Leveque as friends with us had a big rig which would not fit in the camp area up there,they do not cater for caravansas sites are very small,but what a nice place,.
Shame its so far away,but then every one would be there.we also caught up with people from back home that we hadn't seen in years,they had been there 3mths.
                         


           ...............cyainthegreatoutdoors......................there'snobetterplace................

If you drive yourself to Cape Leveque and then meet the boat is costs $280. All the other ways of doing the day trip are about $600 approx. You can always do it from one of the coastal cruisers such at True North, Kimberley Quest or the other one I can't recall just now. It seems there's more than one way to skin the falls. All beautiful and worth it in the end.