8th Wonder of the World 🔮

Kimberley, Australia Expedition Day 6 of 14
Written by Scott David Martin | May 4, 2023

The Dash [ - ] goes behind the scenes of a WABU filmmaking expedition in the remote Northwest region of Australia, The Kimberley. In this 14-part series, we’ll share the highs and lows, from marathon shoots aboard luxurious yachts to heart-stopping encounters with nature's fiercest creatures.

“8th Wonder of the World,” Horizontal Falls.
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina

The “Shark!” call immediately wakes us.

A grey nurse shark.
Circling the Akiko in silence.  

She’s unpredictable.
Volatile.
Magical.

A perfect symbol for this place:
Ancient & Beautiful.

The Kimberley has me.

Talbot Bay, Horizontal Falls, Australia 17.9466° S, 122.2287° E

A nurse shark patrols the waters around the Akiko

It feels like the “Alaska of Australia,”
and it already carved a home in my heart.

The call time: 3:30 AM.
The crew is up…
eyes heavy, spirits light, coffee flowing.

I don’t drink caffeine.
But the crew? Think Zoolander at the gas station.

Orange mocha frappuccinos.
Weird names.
High energy.

Embarrassing? Yes.
Hilarious? Absolutely.

The crew preps three vessels:

The Akiko.
The Nyaid.
And the black Seabourn-branded MK5 Zodiac.

It was our biggest shoot day yet.
And, for the first time, I wasn’t sick.

Full meals. 
No nausea. 
Boom. Gametime.

What is looks like through the lens.
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

A Plan Never Survives Contact with the Nature

The plan:

Shoot Horizontal Falls at peak tide.
Capture the fury of the water.
Document “The 8th Wonder of the World.”

Josh takes the Nyaid with our crew.
Robin guides the Zodiac, carrying talent.
We move silently through the bay at first light.

Anticipation is high.
Last night, our scout team raved…

“The tides are insane!”
“It’s spinning in every direction!”
“You won’t believe it.”

BUT… as we arrive…nothing.
No rapids. No drama. No tide.

Just stillness.

What it looks like in the Zodiac (Organized Chaos).

We stare at the calm water.
Someone mutters, “Where are the rapids?”

In my head, I hear Lloyd Christmas:
“That John Denver is full of s---, man.”

We’d done everything right.
Checked tidal charts. Double-checked conditions.
But nature had other plans.

And when nature shifts, WABU shifts with her.

Manjit and Britt enjoy the reversing rapids of Horizontal Falls via zodiac.
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Adapt or Fold

This is why our call times are tight.
Why breakfast is fast.
Why we move like a machine.

Because when the window opens, briefly,
we need to be ready.

So we pivot.
No rapids? No problem.

We film close-ups.
Talent reactions. Cutaways.
Imagining the water swirling just off frame.

It’s a punch, but it makes us stronger.
Just like coffee beans.

Horizontal Falls demonstrating how it got its name.
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? 

The story goes like this:

A young woman went to her mother,
told her about how things were so hard for her. 

She did not know how she was going to make it,
she wanted to give up. 

She was tired of fighting and struggling. 
It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. 
She filled three pots with water. 

In the first, she placed carrots,
in the second she placed eggs,
and the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil without saying a word. 
In about twenty minute she turned off the burners. 

She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. 
She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. 

Then she ladled the coffee into a bowl. 
Turning to her daughter, she asked,
“Tell me what you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

She brought her closer
and asked her to feel the carrots. 

She did and noted that they were soft. 
She then asked her to take an egg and break it. 

After pulling off the shell,
she observed the hard-boiled egg. 

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. 
The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked,
“What’s the point, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity
… boiling water.

But each reacted differently. 

The carrot went in strong.
Hard.
Unrelenting. 

However, after being subjected to the boiling water,
it softened and became weak. 

As we entered, we could feel the ancient beauty wrap around us.
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina

The egg had been fragile. 
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. 

But, after being through the boiling water,
its inside became hardened. 

The ground coffee beans were unique.
After they were in the boiling water,
they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked the daughter. 

“When adversity knocks on your door,
how do you respond? 

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

Think of this:  Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong,
but with pain and adversity,
do I become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart,
but changes with the heat? 

Did I have a fluid spirit,
but after death, a break up, a financial hardship,
or some other trial…

Have I become hardened and stiff? 
Does my shell look the same?

But on the inside, am I bitter…
Tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Zodiac navigating horizontal rapids
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

Or am I like the coffee bean? 

The bean actually changes the hot water,
the very circumstance that brings the pain. 

When the water gets hot,
it releases the fragrance and flavor. 

If you are like the bean,
when things are at their worst,
you get better.

You change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest,
do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity?

By mid-morning, things shift again.

We reacted like coffee beans.
The WABU way.

The tide begins to rise.

Just enough energy.
Just enough movement.

We have a shot.
Drop into formation.

Talent performs like pros.
Cameras rolling.

I shout, “We got it!”
…channeling my inner Squints from The Sandlot.

Talent in Horizontal Falls.
Captured forever.

But we don’t stop there.

Navigating the narrow waterways of Talbot Bay by Zodiac.
©SEABOURN | 📷 C. Trantina

We push forward.
Boat-to-boat tracking shots,
scenic pulls.

And a Kimberley sunset…
that looks like it was painted onto the sky.

Every frame felt earned.
Every moment tested us.

And as we head back to the Akiko under dusk,
I realize something:

We hadn’t just filmed a location.
We’d collaborated with it.
The WABU way.

Kimberley Coast Sunset ☀️
©SEABOURN | 📷 S. Martin

On the next Dash ( — )

Our first contact with artwork 41,000 years old.
If we beat the tides.