drone and slight shudder, the feeling
was that of freedom, we were almost
at one with nature. The ‘apprentice’
pilot took us high to gain a great-
er perspective of the area and the
maze of waterways; green and blue
as far as the eye could see. We then
dropped down to almost water level
as the sun lifted above the horizon, I
couldn’t believe this was happening, a
truly magical experience.
We circled the ‘falls’ a few times
before heading back to the floating
village and gently settled on the small
floating helipad. The ‘apprentice’
smiled and thanked us for joining
him, his piloting skills were exempla-
ry, I couldn’t help wonder if he was
also one of the highly skilled pilots
who muster cattle up this way.
We were on the move again, guid-
ed back to the high-powered boat
used for traversing the ‘falls’, we were
going through again despite noticing
from the helicopter that the water
was much calmer now. Perhaps a
perfect opportunity to take in more of
the natural wonder of the Kimberley
landscape that so very few get to see.
We circled through the twin bays,
in and out of the narrow passages,
everyone silent or talking in hushed
tones as if trying to take it all in,
words simply cannot describe this
landscape.
The boat gently cruised toward the
floating village and I caught myself
thinking of the future of this place. Is
tourism saving it? Or are the constant
flights and boat trips slowing destroy-
ing the pristine environment? Swim-
ming with the sharks might actually
be saving them; the Tawny Nurse
Shark is considered vulnerable, per-
haps the tourism dollars are helping
to protect them.
There’s no doubt that tourism is
making this area accessible and open
to the world but how long before it
becomes developed? Horizontal
Falls Seaplane Adventures are doing
what they can to protect the area,
TRAVERSE 78
controlling the numbers and access
of tourists, yet the dollar wields more
power.
The whine of turbines started to
fill the air as a squadron of seaplanes
came in over the horizon; the next
load of ‘adventurers’ were here, it was
time for us to leave. Biggles would fly
us back to Derby.
As the sun set behind the Derby
Wharf, it seemed a fitting end, a glass
of wine, good food and beautiful
views from the Wharf Café. We sat
watching the next lot of adventure
tourists wander about, perhaps wait-
ing for their time to witness one of
natures true gifts.
And I wondered to myself … Did
that really just happen? MG
Megan Governi is a founding member of
the Traverse team and has travelled ex-
tensively throughout Europe and Australia,
the latter mostly by motorcycle, and loves
getting off the tarmac.