With all the years I spent in the tourist industry, I know that one of the most popular attractions in the Kimberley is the "Horizontal Waterfall".
If and when you go to book your flight, make sure that the "falls" are "running" (I mentioned this on GN the last two dry seasons) What I mean is, when you are parting with your hard earned, be sure to ask if the tide is "falling" through the gorge that makes the "falls"
Don't accept, "It should be". or "Bound to be" etc, etc. Ensure that when you arrive over the sight, that you see what you paid for. Over the years I have seen many people, like you, fly over it and see just flat water. Ask the pilot, and don't accept, "I thought it would be!" Ask the booking person, that if there are no "falls" do you get a full refund. If they say no, don't waste your money. Ask to see a tide book. You've come a long way to spend it, so don't get ripped off. It happens.
Regards
Pipes
Dougwe said
08:13 PM Jun 6, 2012
Great tip there pipes. Good on ya.
pricey43 said
10:30 PM Jun 6, 2012
The one we did out of Derby had different prices for different times. More expensive when the drop is at it's peak.
We went 6 years ago and they had banned people going through the main gap then.
Absolutely fantastic. A real highlight of our trip.
-- Edited by pricey43 on Wednesday 6th of June 2012 10:33:01 PM
barrie said
02:44 AM Jun 7, 2012
We flew out from Derby last year and did the overnite stay and we did the falls on both days on the boat and it was well worth it.
justcruisin01 said
02:55 AM Jun 7, 2012
We done this fly in , land & jet boat through the falls back in 08, out of Broome, A little more expensive than out of Derby as the Derby trip runs Derby , falls & Derby.
Out of Broome you fly direct to the falls, The return is via the Archipelago Isl's, Cape Leveque, Lombadina, Middle Lagoon,& along the coast,Cable beach back to Broome.
The trip left Broome at 6.00am, included a BBQ breaky on a house boat moared at the falls, arriving back in Broome at 1.00pm.
The company we flew with planed the flights to coincide with the tides, On days where the tide was the wrong time of day for the trip they DID NOT FLY.
Icing on the cake, I scored the front seat beside the pilot on the return trip, like Clint Eastwood said , go ahead & make my day. Made mine.
JC.
Gerty Dancer said
03:55 AM Jun 7, 2012
We did the Horizontal Falls day trip from Derby and loved every minute. From our experience they change the order of activity according to what the tide is doing. When first arrived at the pontoon/houseboat were straight onto the jet-boat to go through the falls... back and forward, several times.. fantastic! Then came feeding the sharks, lunch and the trip around the bay with feeding the parrot-fish lifted out of the water. The flight home was also great. Others have told us they went through the falls later in the day.
Cruising Granny said
05:21 AM Jun 7, 2012
The only way to make sure the falls will be "falling" is if you check the tide charts for that area, and there are tide books all over town, Broome and Derby, because much of what they do at sea is determined by the tides, including the pearling industry and fishing. The moon is the other big factor in all of this. Big moon, big tide. If there's staircase to the moon, you can pretty much guarantee there will be a big tide which causes the horizontal falls. It happens when the tide is running our of the bay between the 2 rocks/islands. As you read there are a few options for seeing this phenomenon, but just make sure your trip coincides with the big tides. Much of this activity only happens from now until October. I haven't done the Kimberley falls, but there is another falls at Elcho Island further east of Darwin, but the isolation makes it less likely to be frequented. I experienced this during my prawn fishing days.
With all the years I spent in the tourist industry, I know that one of the most popular attractions in the Kimberley is the "Horizontal Waterfall".
If and when you go to book your flight, make sure that the "falls" are "running" (I mentioned this on GN the last two dry seasons) What I mean is, when you are parting with your hard earned, be sure to ask if the tide is "falling" through the gorge that makes the "falls"
Don't accept, "It should be". or "Bound to be" etc, etc. Ensure that when you arrive over the sight, that you see what you paid for. Over the years I have seen many people, like you, fly over it and see just flat water. Ask the pilot, and don't accept, "I thought it would be!" Ask the booking person, that if there are no "falls" do you get a full refund. If they say no, don't waste your money. Ask to see a tide book. You've come a long way to spend it, so don't get ripped off. It happens.
Regards
Pipes
The one we did out of Derby had different prices for different times. More expensive when the drop is at it's peak.
We went 6 years ago and they had banned people going through the main gap then.
Absolutely fantastic. A real highlight of our trip.
-- Edited by pricey43 on Wednesday 6th of June 2012 10:33:01 PM
We done this fly in , land & jet boat through the falls back in 08, out of Broome, A little more expensive than out of Derby as the Derby trip runs Derby , falls & Derby.
Out of Broome you fly direct to the falls, The return is via the Archipelago Isl's, Cape Leveque, Lombadina, Middle Lagoon,& along the coast,Cable beach back to Broome.
The trip left Broome at 6.00am, included a BBQ breaky on a house boat moared at the falls, arriving back in Broome at 1.00pm.
The company we flew with planed the flights to coincide with the tides, On days where the tide was the wrong time of day for the trip they DID NOT FLY.
Icing on the cake, I scored the front seat beside the pilot on the return trip, like Clint Eastwood said , go ahead & make my day. Made mine.
JC.
Others have told us they went through the falls later in the day.
The moon is the other big factor in all of this. Big moon, big tide.
If there's staircase to the moon, you can pretty much guarantee there will be a big tide which causes the horizontal falls. It happens when the tide is running our of the bay between the 2 rocks/islands.
As you read there are a few options for seeing this phenomenon, but just make sure your trip coincides with the big tides.
Much of this activity only happens from now until October.
I haven't done the Kimberley falls, but there is another falls at Elcho Island further east of Darwin, but the isolation makes it less likely to be frequented. I experienced this during my prawn fishing days.