and out with the change of the tides
for perhaps thousands of years, yet
it is something that the non-indige-
nous people of Australia, and now the
world, has known about for a very
short time.
This part of Australia, the Kimber-
ly, has some of the largest tides in the
world adding to the spectacle as the
water rushes into the twin gorges,
through narrow openings. At the
peak the water movement is so great
that the flow can’t keep up resulting
in a backlog between the gorges and
Talbot Bay. The difference in water
levels can be as high as five metres
on certain tides. Literally thousands
of litres of water gushing through to
balance the water levels. This flow
creates a horizontal waterfall.
We were here for an overnight
excursion and despite the touristy
feel of it all we thought that this was
an opportunity not to miss … there’s
really no other way to get here.
We’d stepped aboard a small float-
ing village and were surprised by the
luxury despite the remote location.
“Your rooms are down there,” a
pretty young girl motioned towards
a hallway. Everyone onboard were
young, I’m only in my thirties but
these were mere kids. What a great
life, what a great first job.
We’d barely had time to place the
bags in our room when we were
called to a boat that resembled a
floating bus. Apparently the tide was
now ideal, we were going to ride a
boat uphill on water. How the hell
would that work?
The boat roars to life as we head
toward the small gap in the cliff face,
already the water is gushing out, our
guide informs us that this is as good
as it gets. A near full moon creating
a great tide, we’re told that if it was
any larger it would be too dangerous
to enter. Nine hundred horsepower
is given full throttle and we lurch
forward and enter a mass of swirling
water.
It’s a strange experience as the
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