Horizontal Falls tourism extended

Western Australia will let boat tours keep passing through Horizontal Falls until 2028 and will spend 5 million Australian dollars on infrastructure for new tourism experiences led by traditional owners. (abc.net.au) The agreement covers Garaan-ngaddim, the Dambimangari name for Horizontal Falls, in the Kimberley. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported the state struck the deal with traditional owners and tourism operators on Monday, April 13, 2026. (abc.net.au) This changes a March 2024 plan that had set a staggered phaseout: most licensed operators were to stop passing through the falls at the end of 2026, while the largest operator could continue until its licence expired in March 2028. (wa.gov.au) The state’s new funding is earmarked to support traditional owner-led tourism as the site shifts away from speedboat rides through the gaps and toward cultural experiences on Dambimangari country. The government has not said that boat transits will continue beyond 2028. (abc.net.au) The fight over access has been running since a May 2022 crash, when a tour boat carrying 27 people hit a rock wall at the falls. That accident sharpened safety concerns around a site the state park system says can produce treacherous currents in a confined area. (abc.net.au; dbca.wa.gov.au) Traditional owners had also been pressing a separate argument: that racing boats through Garaan-ngaddim was not culturally sustainable at a place they consider deeply significant. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the new arrangement is intended to move tourism toward a more immersive cultural model. (abc.net.au) Horizontal Falls sits inside Lalang-gaddam Marine Park on the Kimberley coast, within the Dambeemangarddee people’s native title area. The site has long been one of the region’s best-known drawcards, with seaplanes, helicopters and boats bringing visitors into a narrow tidal channel system. (dbca.wa.gov.au; exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au) For operators, the extension preserves another two tourism seasons at one of Western Australia’s signature attractions. For the state and Dambimangari people, it sets a deadline: keep tours running for now, build the replacement infrastructure, and decide what tourism looks like after March 2028. (abc.net.au; wa.gov.au)