27 Aug 2023

Discovering Dugong Bay and up the Rapids of Horizontal Falls and Cyclone Creek

Another day and another early start in the Kimberley for those of us who had put our names down for an exploratory Zodiac cruise of Dugong Bay. Not long after Heritage Adventurer entered the narrows at Talbot Bay, four Zodiacs were lowered and skimming across the glassy water by 0615 while our trusty expedition vessel carried on to her anchorage.

Our destination was an area known as Dugong Bay, though unknown to our expedition team we were on an authentic expedition adventure. We entered a shallow channel rippling the calm, crystal clear water accompanied by a raucous dawn chorus signalling the start of the day for the local birdlife. Entering the thick of the mangrove forest under a canopy of twisted, gnarled trees Little Kingfishers were observed perched on the branches above tracking schools of fish below.

Further along we found the entrance to a small channel where we discovered a huge red sandstone cliff and a small waterfall cascading into the base of the mangroves. It was so calm and peaceful; awestruck we took a moment to appreciate its Zen-like beauty before exploring another channel where a shadow-casting sandstone gorge towered above us. Flocks of Little Egrets and Brahminy Kites perched in the treetops above as our intrepid exploration, and what we might find around each new bend, filled our Zodiacs with anticipation. There was much to discuss on our return to Heritage Adventurer and we were all back on board just after 1000 hours to enjoy some downtime prior to lunch.

Our afternoon excursion took us for an adventure to experience Horizontal Falls at its peak ebb and up into Cyclone Creek. The geology here is astounding, everywhere we look we see rock that, over millions of years, had been twisted, folded and buckled from the pressure of the earth's crust. Several Short-eared Rock-wallabies were observed resting on the rocks, their colour blending with the sandstone made it hard to spot them at first. As we made our way further up the creek we had ringside seats of a Brown Falcon chasing prey and were able to truly appreciate the incredible speed of these birds, while an Osprey on a tree above sat quietly watching us as we marvelled at the incredible rock formations.

Back on board Heritage Adventurer our exceptional restaurant team made the most of the balmy evening with impromptu sunset cocktails and an incredible al fresco barbecue dining experience out on the Bistro deck ending another magnificent day in the Kimberley.

Image (c) by: T.Todd