TRADEABOAT.COM.AU | 97TRAVEL | KIMBERLEY REGION, WAThe boats used here for the thrilling run
through the cascades are 10.5-metre RIBs
designed and built by Outlaw Boats in Perth.
With a maximum of 22 people and two crew,
the boats are powered by three 300-horsepower
V6 24-valve Yamaha outboards, which pushes the
Outlaws along in excess of 45 knots. That's more
than enough to handle the whirlpools, steep walls
of water and the incredible current the area is
famous for.
We joined the throng for a few runs through
the Falls and with our adrenalin pumping
returned to the Kimberley Xplorer and said
goodbye to the crowds.
MONTGOMERY REEF
But there are many more natural wonders to
behold on a Kimberley boat trip than just the
highly acclaimed Horizontal Waterfalls.
At vast Montgomery Reef just a couple of
hours steaming north from the Falls, the tide
drops so quickly and so far that waterfalls form
and plunge over the side of the reef complex.
Meanwhile, so much water gushes down some
of the 50-metre channels cutting through the reef
that they form tumbling whitewater much like a
wild mountain stream.
After a check to make sure the area was free of
crocodiles, one of our team grabbed a mask and
snorkel and drifted with the current, albeit not
too far from the tinnie!
Fish and turtles hung behind rocks and in the
eddies of the fast-moving current.FRESHWATER SHOWER
For the next 10 days we cruised north, never far
from the mainland coast dodging among islands
and into small inlets and bays.
Every day we went ashore somewhere to
discover ancient Aboriginal art, historic carved
trees, lost graves or even forgotten European
settlements that had started back in the 1800's
with much fanfare and then fizzled out as the
demands of climate, remoteness, rocky soils and
the harsh environment took their toll.
In some places we swam in rock-rimmed
freshwater pools where red cliffs towered over us
while at other times, when it was safe to do so,
we swam on pristine beaches where blue water
lapped onto a sandy shore.
At the King Cascade, where an indent in the
50-metre cliffs allows the outflow of the Prince
Regent River, Greg nudged the Kimberley Xplorer
right up to the rock face and we frolicked on the
front deck in the tumbling waters that were pure