Montgomery Reef - Amazing Australian Wonders

A RAGING torrent of water carved this spectacular landscape off Western Australia's pristine Kimberley coast.
What looks like a river, is actually a deep underwater trench knifing through Montgomery reef, in one of the most remote and spectacular unspoilt oceans in the world. Montgomery reef, sitting 20km offshore, protrudes from the surface of the water and low tides expose a deep blue trough that splits the coral formation in two. To the right, the Montgomery islands are just dots above a swirling ocean. The picture was taken by Rod Hartvigsen from Murranji Photography from a light aircraft while on his way to the Mitchell Plateau.

Horizontal Waterfall in Talbot Bay - Australia

Horizontal Waterfalls
The magnificent Horizontal Waterfall at Talbot Bay in the Buccaneer Archipelago is created by massive tidal movements, among the biggest in the world. The white water ocean banking up against one side of a narrow cliff passage creates the waterfall effect.The dramatic contrast of red rock cliffs and turquoise water is best viewed from the air. Scenic flights and sea safaris to the Horizontal Waterfalls depart Broome and Derby on a regular basis.

One of the most unusual sights in the Kimberley is the horizontal 'two-way' waterfall of Talbot Bay in the Buccaneer Archipelago.Massive tidal movements create a waterfall effect as water banks up against one side of the narrow cliff passage, to be repeated again on the turning tide. The sight of turquoise blue water rushing between rugged red hills is best viewed from the air. Scenic flights leave Derby to co-incide with the best times to view the tides on any given day. Sea safaris depart Derby.

Horizontal WaterfallsLocated deep within Talbot Bay in the Buccaneer Archipelago are the Horizontal Waterfalls. Massive tidal movements create a waterfall effect as water banks up against one side of the narrow cliff passage, to be repeated again on the turning tide.The twin gaps are part of the McLarty Ranges, which have two ridges running parallel approximately 300 metres apart. The first and most seaward gap is about 20 metres wide and the second, most spectacular, gap is about 10 metres wide.On a slack tide it is possible to drive boats through the two gaps to the bay behind. The tides in this area have a 10 metre variation which occurs over six and a half hours from low tide to high tide and vice versa. The effect of the waterfalls is created by the tide building up in front of the gaps faster than it can flow through them and there can be a four metre high waterfall between the bays.The waterfall phenomena has been described by David Attenborough as "one of the greatest natural wonders of the world".The sight of the turquoise blue water rushing between the rugged red hills is best viewed from the air,

Gondwana - Origin of Australia

Gondwana originally Gondwanaland, is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent (final ongoing joining occurred between ca. 570-510 Ma, joining East Gondwana to West Gondwana and then as a remnant separated from Laurasia 180-200 million years ago during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Ma ago into two large segments.While the corresponding northern hemisphere continent Laurasia moved further north, the nearly equal in area Gondwana included most of the landmasses in today's southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, and New Zealand, as well as Arabia and the Indian subcontinent, which have now moved into the Northern Hemisphere. The name is derived from the Gondwana region of central northern India (from Sanskrit gondavana "forest of Gond").
The adjective "Gondwanan" is in common use in biogeography when referring to patterns of distribution of living organisms, typically when the organisms are restricted to two or more of the now-discontinuous regions that were once part of Gondwana; e.g., the Proteaceae, a family of plants that is known only from Chile, South Africa, and Australia are considered to have a "Gondwanan distribution". This pattern is often considered to indicate an archaic, or relict lineage.

World Heritage

World Heritage Sites
For a truly memorable and rewarding holiday, make time to visit as many of the World Heritage listed sites in Queensland as you can.
The Great Barrier Reef encompasses more than 2,000km of scattered islands and reefs along the coast. Here you can snorkel, dive, cruise, sail or stay on an Island of the Great Barrier Reef.
While Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, invites 4WD and adventure holidays. See rainforest growing from the sand, freshwater lakes and a stretch of sand that is aptly named "75 mile beach".
And then there’s the rainforests…the Wet Tropics in the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef Region and the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia on the Gold Coast. The experience in the north is a truly tropical one, with towering canopies, abundant wildlife and stay in rainforest lodges. The southern experience is a sub-tropical one, where you can experience mountain stays and hidden country retreats.
Venture to the Outback and see the footprints of dinosaurs in a stampede site. Or spend time in remote areas at World Heritage listed Riversleigh Fossil Mammal Site, which offers extensive fossil exhibitions and the chance for you to try your hand at fossicking.

The Twelve Apostoles, - Australia - Great Ocean

The Twelve Apostles are giant rock stacks that rise majestically from the Southern Ocean and are the central feature of the rugged Port Campbell National Park.
The Twelve Apostles have been created by constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10–20 million years ago. The stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed rock stacks up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore.
Sunrise and sunset offer particularly impressive views as the Twelve Apostles change colour from dark and foreboding in shadow to brilliant sandy yellow under a full sun.
The Twelve Apostles are located just east of Port Campbell, along the Great Ocean Road. Parks Victoria has built boardwalks, tracks, and viewing areas to ensure you get spectacular views of the Twelve Apostles.

Kimberly - Coral Reef a Global Treassure

Coral reefs of the Kimberley - a global treasure
Many people know that the Kimberley is home to an amazing, ancient fossil coral reef system – the 'Devonian reef' - near Fitzroy Crossing, which includes the famous Windjana and Geikie gorges. This now 'stranded' coral reef system was formed millions of years ago when the area was under the ocean. What is only now becoming understood is that the present day Kimberley marine environment is home to some of the most diverse and unspoilt tropical coral reef systems in the world.Scientists are finding that the Kimberley marine bioregion is the most coral diverse area of WA (Masini et al 2009) and future research is likely to show that the diversity exceeds even that of the Great Barrier Reef:"..it is highly likely that further survey will demonstrate that the Kimberley contains a coral reef province of global significance." (Masini et al 2009)
Kimberley coral reef communities are the most diverse in WA, Photo (c) Richard Costin
Kimberley coastal ecosystems have been shown to be amongst the least human impacted in the world, comparable only to areas such as the arctic and Antarctic coasts. Unfortunately due to a lack of marine protection and management and the industrialisation proposals from multi-national fossil fuel companies the future for the special Kimberley marine environment is under grave threat.
Kimberley corals - Crucial in a climate change world
Preliminary analysis of satellite and other imagery indicates that the Kimberley rivals the famous Red Sea fringing reefs in terms of extent. The reefs that have been studied to date indicate that the Kimberley has high species diversity, are relatively healthy and are important ‘stepping stones’ maintaining connectivity between the Indo-west Pacific and Australian West coast ecosystems (Masini et al 2009). These characteristics make Kimberley coral reefs crucial to ecosystem health and resilience in the face of climate change.
Kimberley marine environment – as special as the Great Barrier Reef but without the protection!
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an Australian icon and contributes well in excess of $5 billion per year to the Australian economy via sustainable industries such as tourism and managed fisheries. Scientists, conservationists, tourism operators and others are realizing that the Kimberley marine environment is equally special and valuable. In addition to the amazing coral reefs the region is home and nursery to the world’s largest population of humpback whales and thousands of other marine wildlife species.In the 1970’s Australia said no to oil and gas mining on the GBR, and we have never looked back. The GBR is now protected in one of the largest and best known marine parks in the world. In stark contrast, currently 0% of the Kimberley’s coastal waters are protected in any form of marine reserve. Threats such as proposals to develop the Browse Basin gas field off the Kimberley coast have the potential to damage the special environment that supports ecosystem health, tourism, pearling and other industry.
Corals under threat
The greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuel industry proposed for the Kimberley marine environment (with onshore processing of gas) would have a wide range of impacts on this special area. Impacts include:
Pollution from routine spills, regular discharges of oily and contaminated water and gas flaring
The risk of major accidents e.g. Queensland oil spill, Varanus island major gas explosion (WA), Cyclone Katrina damage and dislodgement of oil platforms, and the environmental and human disasters they can cause.
Sonic (sound) pollution from blasting, drilling, construction and shipping
Increased risk of introduced marine pests from international shipping
Dredging, drilling and pipeline construction stirring up sediment and smothering corals, sea grasses and filter feeding organisms
Increased risk of boat strike (large tankers and other shipping striking whales, turtles etc.)
Other threats to the Kimberley marine environment include:
Climate change - which will impact on the Kimberley marine environment, ecosystem health is the best way to allow for adaptation
Unregulated tourism – poor practices such as anchoring on reefs and discarding waste can impact, good management is the solution
Over-fishing – extensive trawl fisheries and illegal fishing can all have a negative impact, proper management including marine parks is the answer
Mining – the threat of large scale ore mining projects could mean increased sedimentation from erosion and increased pollution from mines and processing
Broad scale irrigated agriculture – Dams and excessive water use could impact on rivers and coastal ecosystems as can the increased nutrient load from fertilizers and erosion
Marine Parks – certainty in a changing world
Montgomery reef from the air - one of the most spectacular coral reefs in the world, Photo (c) Murranji Photography
Scientists the world over agree that marine parks are the single most effective way of improving ecosystem health, climate change resilience and protecting biodiversity in the marine environment. Of course there is no one ‘silver bullet’ for marine protection and improved management and protection outside of parks is important too. With the special Kimberley marine environment currently only home to a few small protected areas far offshore, this situation must be improved.