The bus arrived at 8.15 to take me the short distance to the airport. Other busses had arrived; a group were returning from an overnight stay at the falls. This is a big business. Four sea planes were lined up, each holding about 15 passengers. The pilot offered me the co-pilot seat being alone (on return a lady took the position). This gave me a view clear of wings and struts, but the light was poor on this east side. The return was better sitting behind him. The patterns on the mud flats were interesting, followed by the ranges, and then the sea. We flew along the sea cliff past the falls gap, to land close to a set of linked anchored platforms. The upper deck is open all sides, shaded by sails and a steel roof to support a helicopter. Part of this main ‘ship’ houses the crew of young people who live here 5 weeks at a time, with a few days off on land. Guests arrived and departed continually, due to the options available. We had a quick tea and then went down to the lower deck where, in one of two cages, the sharks were fed bread. These are tawny sharks, all male (they never see females) up to 1.2m long, quite ‘tame’. They are almost blind, relying on sense, snapping at the bread. A few other fish also showed up.
Next a ride on the launch, powered by four 300hp motors. The tide was rising forming a horizontal fall of about 1-2m in a series of rapids and whirlpools as the water rushed to fill the bay behind. Tides are high here so the sea rises faster than water can pass through the gap. The motors roared as we sped to the gap – we were through in seconds, and he made a sharp turn to go through again several times. We approached the second smaller gap but could not go through as the fall was too high. He reversed the launch to hold it at the 7.5m wide gap entrance for a few minutes, motors running at 15 knots to maintain position. We returned, passing the ‘mother ship’ on the way into Cyclone Bay where the platforms are held over the wet season. Surrounded by high ridges, the cyclones have little effect in here. We continued up the drowned river several km, to hear about the rocks (millions again) till the mangroves prevented further advance.
A barramundi lunch was served on the deck of the mother ship, before another trip through the falls. I made sure to sit at the front rather than a few rows back. This time the first gap was calm, but the narrow gap was still running, so we went through it a few times, returned to the mother ship, and boarded the sea plane for home on a different route, passing over a tent camp on a small bay and the barramundi farm. From this height it appears the tops of all the ridges are at the same height; they have been scoured to bare hard rock and valleys carved into the softer rocks. It is also clear that the valleys have subsequently been ‘drowned’ ie sea level has risen or the platform has dropped, hence the narrow gaps forming the falls.
We had dinner at the Wharf again. This time I set up in the carpark for the sunset and it was even better.
