Sunday 21st April 2024

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Sunday 21
^st
April, BroomeRAC Cable Beach Caravan ParkCost $41.62 per night with membershipRated by us 8/10Mileage 17707 travelled 0Well how do I start to document today, amazing, superb, fantastic and lots more, so grab a cuppa and sit down this could be a long blog.Up at 4am to prepare to be collected by Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures at 5.10am.Tippy is walked and then taken to Grahame and Toni friends on the camp site who have agreed to dog sit for the day, he was happy to go and I know they will spoil him, one thing down.At the gate and waiting at 5.05am, first bus arrives but we are not on his list, he says there is another one behind for people doing the full day tour. Second bus arrives and no we are not on his list either, panic, I managed to find a mobile number for they Operations Manager and when I called, it is now 5.20am, she informs us the first bus was ours, she calls him and he has to turn around and come back for us, not a good start.At the airport we are checked in and watch a safety video, we are flying on NUX with the oldest pilot in the company who they all call Papa John, he is a really calm and gentle guy juts what I need as I begin to battle my claustrophobia at getting on a small plane. We are all weighed with our bags as Papa does his safety checks and seat allocation to balance out the plane. We had three rows of three seating nine all up, with eight passengers, it was very cramped as we are all tall and pretty big people. I found that if I concentrated on looking out of the window at all the space I was OK but if I looked into the plane it was hard to control my panic. The flight to Talbot Bay is just over an hour, it feels like we are suspended in space and not moving at all. As it is early morning and misty, and I am taking photos through the plastic plane window some of the colours on the photos are a bit disappointing however the sunrise as we took of was pretty spectacular.The flight took us across the Dampier Peninsular, across King Sound and then we landed on Talbot Bay, a first for us both having never landed in a seaplane it was amazing. We disembarked at the pontoon anchored at the eastern end of Talbot Bay. A quick coffee, tea and toilet stop during which we had another safety demonstration on the life jackets we have to wear on the boat trips. Onto the speed boats for a trip up Cyclone Creek to view the wildlife and learn about the frock formations that form the Buccaneer Archipelago through which we are travelling. The rocks are ancient and were folded up when the tectonic plates of the Oceanic region collided millions of years ago. The orange in the layers is rust from the iron ore in the rocks. We saw a Rock Wallaby but no crocs this morning, still interesting tour. Cyclone Creek is so called as it is the safest spot to be when a cyclone hits as the cliffs and rock islands offer the best shelter. If a cyclone is predicted the pontoon is moved in to the creek and re anchored. The Aboriginals have used this creek as a shelter for thousands of years and many caves exist in the region, but they are a no go area due to the cultural sensitivity of the region.Back on the pontoon we were served a Continental and or full cooked breakfast of bacon and eggs, it was all very delicious. With only eight of us doing the full day trip we were really well looked after. Back onto the speed boats for the trip ti the falls. They used to be known as The Gaps until David Attenborough visited and renamed them Horizontal Falls, the aboriginal name remains. The falls are created by the two tides that rush through the narrow gaps in the rocks. The larger of the gaps is the one “we” are allowed to ride through. We are only allowed to look at the narrow gaps as it is believed The Rainbow Serpent, the source of all the Aboriginal Dreaming lies dormant here and then rushes in with the new tide bringing food and sustenance to they land. We were treated to three trips through the gap as it is early in the season we were the only boat out here so it was amazing when he cut the engines and you could hear the power of the water it is phenominal. Back onto the pontoon we were invited to swim in the shark enclosure on the pontoon. The sharks are wild and swim free but the staff have trained them to come for food, they are strictly controlled by Parks and Wildlife as to how much they can feed them daily. We were close enough to touch them as they came for scraps of Barramundi it was awesome. Dried off and changed we headed back to the plane to fly off to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm in the far north of the Dampier Peninsula. On the way Pappa John did two steep turns in the plane in both directions so we could all get a good view of the falls from the air. Flying back over the islands of the archipelago now that the morning mist has lifted was thrilling, despite my reservations about the small plane. We landed at the local airstrip and were transferred to a fully air conditioned four wheel drive tour bus and taken t o the pearl farm. Lunch was rice, coleslaw and a piece of the freshest Barramundi I have ever tasted it was delicious, all washed down with home made ginger beer. We were then treated to a tour of the pearl farm with a real fun guy called Marli, he is an aboriginal man who lives and works at the farm as has his family for generations. It was interesting to see how they culture the pearls, none are collected from the wild anymore but the South Sea Cultured Pearls are the best quality in the world and well sort after. The shells are now only used in commercial things like paint and cosmetics as plastic has overtaken the button market which made the shells valuable once upon a time. We were treated to a look and feel of some of the pearls including the second biggest they have cultured so far at over 18grams.Back onto the coach and we were taken to Ardyaloon Aboriginal Community. In the 60’s the government closed down the mission on Sunday Island and relocated the people to Derby and Broome. The elders did not want to live in town and slowly they came back, rowed to the Island and rescued what they could of their old houses and built shacks on the beach. After almost ten years of fighting the government agreed to fund infrastructure and build the community at Ardyaloon. The people then created a hatchery to re populate the reef with Trochus which was a main food and trade item for them. The reef was depleted due to a raid by Japanese fisherman in the 70’s. Since the value of the shells which are a bit like the pearl shells has decreased it now operates as a tourist destination with all the fish that live on the reef displayed in the tanks. Unfortunately not all of the community are on board and they refuse to work at the centre, so poverty and government hand outs still loom large.My head and body were now about ready to explode as we boarded the bus for the two hour trip back to Broome across the Dampier Peninsula.I would have to say this has been the best day of our trip so far. Back to camp at 5pm, thirteen hours later, exhausted, overloaded but humbled by the experience. I feel so privileged at been able to witness one of the last places on earth that is un spoilt and virgin, it is like another world, worth every penny of the cost.Back at camp Tippy had been on a long walk in the morning, refused to walk further than the pub at lunch time (well that’s Graheme’s excuse) then slept under the van all afternoon. In short he had a ball and was fine but glad to see us back, thanks to Grahame and Toni for dog sitting.Going to do nothing for at least the next two days whilst my brain and body absorbs its all.

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