Windjana to Broome Tuesday 02/08/11

This was an amazing, easy walk where we were able to view life from the Devonian era with a mrine fossil - a nautiloid. Soon brought back to reality by a 3.5m Olive Python just lazing on the sand digesting it's breakfast.
Reflective gorge scenery, lush shady vegetation, noisy corellas and freshwater  crocs sunning themselves on the river bank were also highlights of this walk.
We head along the last of the Gibb river Road to Derby where we  lunch by the jetty. Derby is best known for it's 12m tidal variation, the largest in Australia and 2nd largest in the world. We visit another Prison tree which was once used as an overnight lockup but now housed a swarm of bees. 
Tourists in Derby can also visit the Horizontal Waterfall which is an unusual phenomenon in a narrow gap at the mouth of a large inletin the Buccaneer Archipelago. At high tide the inlet fills, & as he tide turns, the water begins to drain out through the gap. During Spring tides, the rate at which the water is able to escape from the inlet cannot keep pace with the falling tide and thus a horizontal waterfall is produced. We will have to save this for next time as you can only get there by boat or float aircraft and Broome awaits us.