The Horizontal Falls are one of Australia’s strangest natural attractions, a unique blend of coastal geography and powerful tidal forces that visitors pay big money to see up close.
But all that is about to change.
Located at Talbot Bay, a remote spot on the country’s northwestern coastline, the falls are created when surges of seawater pour between two narrow cliff gaps, creating a swell of up to four meters that resembles a waterfall.
For decades, tours have pierced these gaps on powerful boats, much to the dismay of the area’s Indigenous Traditional Owners, who say the site is sacred.
It’s not the only reason the boat tours are controversial. In May 2022 one boat hit the rocks resulting in passenger injuries and triggering a major rescue operation. The incident led to calls to halt the tours for safety reasons.
Although the boat trips have continued, the concerns of the Indigenous Traditional Owners have now been heeded, with Western Australia, the state in which the falls are situated, saying they will be banned in 2028 out of respect.
You’ve decided that you have the right to impose your view over the views of the people who have traditionally lived in these places. You have decided that your view is the one that matters and damned those who have always occupied a space.
That is what it boils down to doesn’t it.
Sometimes you can get these fools mad enough by simply asking them to explain their logic that they just come right out and say it which is always funny. It’s like keeping this mask on of empathy and understanding for others is an uncomfortable burden that they just have to rip off when they get mad enough because they can’t take one more second of it.
These people always seem so self righteous and oddly relieved in the moment they finally rip their mask off and stop pretending to care or have empathy. It is like watching someone rip off a N95 in relief after they walk outside into an open space where they can safely take their mask off after being inside a crowded space for hours.