12/8/21 Discovery One Cruise Day 5

 

  Well what will today bring ?  Everyday so far has been amazing scenery and experiences - will we come down from this in a bump or a crash - we’ll just have to wait & see .

  Talbot Bay was a hive of activity this morning , one boat was taking the overnight guests for an early pass through the falls before they leave for home , then the first seaplane arrived with todays guests , then the 2nd & 3rd , then the 4th , 5th and 6th plane arrived . About 20 mins later 3 seaplanes departed with the overnight guests and would then be on their way back with more paying customers .

  A cruise boat had arrived during the night as well .

  Here’s a map of our track log .

Today we are headed to Raft Point , our location for tonight , but with a scenic out to Ruby Falls . Our time is spent watching the ever changing sea and landscape , being in awe of what we are seeing - It’s hard to drag myself away and doing the blog - it’s taken 8 days of the cruise so far to get these blogs done - I didn’t want to miss out on anything !! 

   We approached these 2 islands , one a very small rocky outcrop with no name and a much larger one , Steep Island - and it is , at 149m tall . 

  Further to the right was Raft Point , our anchorage for the night . Raft Point is 189m tall and looks like an explosion of rock .

  Further around from Raft Point is another rock , almost resembling the shape of Uluru .

  Here’s another track log 

   We have been promised a swim at Ruby Falls , after arriving at Red Cone Hill and motoring up the estuary for a few kilometres , we anchored and got in the tenders for the rest of the journey through a forest of mangroves , twisting and turning before coming to a gorge section .

 Rounding another corner we were presented with this view of Ruby Falls .

   They even had the welcoming committee out to greet us , not sure it was overly happy with us , but bad luck for it .

 That meant the bottom pool was out of bounds for swimming - the crocs could be in there - if you look in the bottom right corner you can see the murky tidal water mixing with the freshwater .

   We climbed up the rocks , not the easiest to climb , but there was plenty of incentive to hold on with old mate basking in the sun below us . As we got higher and further in , it flattened out and led us to this pool , looking very inviting - I was the first to slide into the water . It was crystal clear and beautiful temperature and we could swim ( actual exercise ) something that we’d been missing out on , apart from going up & down the stairs in the boat about 30 times a day . At the end of this pool was a rock shelf with the water running over it from another pool above .

That pool also looking spectacular .

      It was over all too soon and we made our back down to the top of the falls for a quick photo or 2 .

Here’s a better view of the fresh & seawater mixing together - and old mate has moved a few metres closer as well .

  Back to the boat and a cruise back to Raft Point for our overnight anchorage . But before kicking back with a drink , there’s another scenic to be done around Steep Island .

  Our anchorage view .

 Into the tenders and away we go again . This is Steep Island from a different angle .

The eastern side of the island is quite steep , with cliffs that have been gouged and eroded , splits from top to bottom . Surprisingly there is a lack of seabirds here , I was expecting to see plenty as there are so many protected nesting sites !

  Out of the shadows and around the northern end of the island we were surprised to find a cave , then a more protected bay , before coming round the western side into bright sunlight .

 The tidal movements up here are amazing creating eddies & whirlpools , water moving in all directions , makes for an interesting boat ride . These are some smaller ones .

 The island with no name was next , surprisingly it had a lot of birdlife unlike Steep Island a few hundred metres away .

 Not such a bad spot for the night and sunset of course .

     An answer to the question I asked at the start - the bar was set pretty high at the start , and it has stayed there , no day better or worse than the other - what an awesome time we are having !!

11/8/21 Discovery One Cruise Day 4

 

   Day 4 dawns on us , the weather forecast is for some wind , not ideal , but we have to live with it .

As well as the sun , we had some dolphins come & say hello .

Today we are cruising to Dugong Bay via Koolan Island - to dodge some wind , then on to Talbot Bay .

 The wind was much calmer on the northern side of Koolan Island , so it was reasonably pleasant outside . Koolan Island has another iron ore mine as well . 

The northern cliffs glowed in the sun .

The mine was hidden , but we could see the multicoloured spoil mounds as we went past .

     More layered rock was visible , and is a big feature up here .

Mainland and islands are all part of the rolling & folding of the earth .

  Some catamarans were sailing along , providing a stark contrast to the landscape behind them .

  Views are abundant and continual , not mattering where you look , making you wonder what’s coming up next .

  Anchoring up in Dugong Bay , a yacht cruised by , we will catch up with it later on our scenic .

  We headed out into the bay making our way up to Turtle Falls , more evidence of the upheaval of the earth many , many years ago .

 Tucked in behind a large expanse of rock was a little inlet , and in the wet season would be awesome to see - water would be cascading off the rocks .

       And this is the falls - approx 150 m high .

 Back to the yacht from earlier , there were 10 people dropped off and they were climbing up the ridge about 200m from Turtle Falls - very very keen !! The lead climber also wore a pink tutu - must have lost a bet !!

  Back to our scenic , the bay is surrounded by high ridges and varying vegetation .

   We went over to the yacht and had a chat with the skipper , the photo shows the ridge the people were climbing , just above the front of the yacht .

  Crossing the bay , we went into some mangroves , and found a hidden treasure - we went for a short walk over the rocks and found this .

  After that , it was back to the boat for lunch - we seem to be doing a lot of sitting & eating , but I guess that’s why they call it a cruise !!

  Next stop was Talbot Bay and another scenic up Cyclone Creek . This might ring bells for some readers , as we’d been here before in 2015 . Of course it’s also the home of Horizontal Falls !! 

  We’d no sooner anchored up for the day when the locals came for a visit .

 It’s a Tawny Nurse Shark , and also had a few friends , they all visited later when it was dark .             Fortunately , they have 2 flood lights at the back of the boat which attracts quite a few sharks etc  , so we get a snapshot of nature in action . I could watch it all for hours , sharks coming & going , bait fish getting chased and eaten .

  A scenic up Cyclone Creek was next , so away we went again , it felt very familiar . Called Cyclone Creek because it gives great protection in cyclones - big high ridges surround the creek and is a safe haven for boats in rough weather . It also has some amazing geology .

Before too much longer we were back out to the boat , this is our view of the Horizontal Falls operation . You can see 4 very powerful boats and also 3 seaplanes on the far side of the pontoon. People came and went , then flew back to Derby or Broome after their experience .

  We were due to do it at 10:30 this morning , but got changed to 4:30 this afternoon .

   This is part of Talbot Bay - it’s pretty much the water runway for the seaplanes .

 Had a visit from some Snubfin Dolphins as well .

  Time had come for our ride through the falls - it was an optional extra that we had to pay for , but we figured it was well worth the $85 each seeing we were here .

  As luck would have it , we caught it with the tide going out - opposite to the last time we were here . 

   Briefing had , life jackets on , we roared off to the falls , the first one was a little bumpy , we expected to stop & have a look at the 2nd falls , but no , he just powered into it and bounced us through it at good speed - also catching a lot of water from the front of the boat that gave everyone a little cool down as it sprayed over the top of us - some got wet , some very wet , but if you were quick enough to duck it wasn’t so bad . 

   They then reversed us into the falls , he couldn't help mentioning that the water flows through at about 55klms per hour , but the boats top speed is 50klms per hour - I think it's the other way round - either way it's lots of water and we managed to drive out of there safely .

    It is deceiving in photos from this side , not showing the actual drop of 1.5m very well .

 The height difference between 1 & 2 was 1.5 m - right on their safety margin . Every minute the water level drops 1 inch , so with no time to waste we headed down and through , we drove off the wave and dropped down to the lower level with a thud , roaring through the turbulence and whirlpools that were about 1m deep and 3m across , then spun around and went back to it again for everyone to get a photo etc .

   Then it was time for some fun , racing through the 1st falls and back down again several times , before delivering us back to the boat for a beer & and hear everyones enjoyment of the ride .

Then we sat & watched the sun set on another glorious day .

Here's our track log for today