Kununurra

28th July - 1st August

Arrived in Kununurra early as it was only 60 kms drive from Lake Argyle. Called into the small shopping centre of Kununurra and stocked up on much needed fresh fruit and veg.

Staying at the Kimberleyland Caravan Park right on the lake and a very short bike ride into town. We secured ourselves a great spot overlooking the lake.

          On the right of the pic is the front of the van with the lake straight in front of us - lovely.

Short bike ride into town to get some info of the area from the tourist centre and then back to book some tours as a lot of interesting places up here, in the Kimberley, are dirt roads and we don't do dirt.

Often times when you are in a caravan park people will ask you to bring your chair and have a drink with them and so we watched the sunset chatting to three couples from different parts of Aussieland. 

Whilst sitting there the most amazing scene evolved before us. At exactly 5.30 every night, you can literally set your watch on it, millions of bats leave from the bush just over the water from us and fill the sky from one horizon to the other. It is the most amazing thing you have every seen. Nobody seems to know where they come from and where they go. Will have to google it and see what I can find out.

    If you look closely at the sky just above the mountains in the middle of the pic you can see small black dots. This is the starting point of the bat migration every night.

    Zooming in to get a better view and now the bats have filled the sky.

    I won't bore you with any more pics but this is a closeup to give you an idea of the multitude that emerge from the area. It's like Mez said they have staggered starting times as they just keep coming for about 15 minutes and then disappear.

You wake very early with the sun in WA just before six and as Mez said it is like nature is having a disco every morning.

Today, Wednesday we have a small plane flight booked with Kingfisher Tours. The actual tour was the Purnululu(Bungle Bungles) and Cockburn Explorer. The flight was to take 2 and a half hours but we were in the air for easily three. Great flight with only six of us plus the pilot, all with a window seat. If you  ever go on one of these flights make sure you sit on the right side of the plane as all the best viewing is on that side. 

After leaving Kununurra we headed south and flew over Lake Argyle, which was great to get an aerial view of the lake.

      An aerial view of the Lake Argyle caravan park perched on the cliff - this is where we stayed. The pic unfortunately is not as clear as it could be, due to the reflection or the window and the afternoon sun.

             Lake Argyle.

We then flew over large expanses of land where there are two remote working stations that cover thousands and thousands of acres. They are so remote that in the wet season they are only accessible by helicopter. There is no ducking down the road to get bread and milk.

        In the middle of the pic you can just see a few buildings. I could have zoomed in but wanted to show it's remoteness.

We. Then followed the very dry Bow River where the first Argyle diamonds were found and crossed the unique wave-like formations of the Osmond Ranges.

       These ranges were amazing 

Next were the Bungle Bungles located in the world heritage listed Purnululu National Park.

     It was really hard to do these very unique rock formation justice with so much sun glare.

     All through Purnululu National Park are the deepest of gorges so much so that some areas don't see sunshine at all. At the bottom of some of the gorges the temperature can drop to minus degrees at night in the hottest of months.

After the Bungles we flew over El Questro, a million acre cattle station turned wilderness park, with its famous cliffhanging homestead.

    The reason this area did not survive as a cattle station was due to its rugger terrain.

      The cliffhanging homestead that housed Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman when filming the movie -Australia. If you would like to stay there you can at a small cost of $2200 a night.

We continued downstream towards the coastal town of Wyndham and the lower Ord River wetlands, that are very dry at this time of year.

     If you look very closely there are small black dots in lower middle of the pic. They are cattle crossing the dry, salt bed of one of the tributaries of the Ord River that feeds into the sea near Wyndam.

      Above and below are pics of what is left of the wetlands at this time of year - just small meandering rivers

 Along the way we passed yet another mountain range in the Kimberley that being the Cockburn Ranges.

  We flew over some of the most picturesque scenery with Mother Nature having performed at her best with many different techniques. Above and below are the Cockburn Ranges.

This was a great tour of the Kimberley Region even though I felt quiet air sick as it was very bumpy to start but that aside it was well worth it.

Today,Thursday we decided to take the van out and explore the local area around Kununurra. First stop just a few kms out of town was Kimberley Ornamental Stonecraft where they turn the zebra rock, and all its beautiful colours, into ornaments, jewellery and small and large statues of the native animals. All very nice and they are also well known for their mango smoothies, just delicious - oh the waistline! 

The area is full of massive mango trees, one farm was recently sold with thousands and thousands of trees on it( we can't remember exact numbers but it was an OMG that many moment). 

Next stop Ivanhoe Crossing. This is the first obstacle encountered by the barramundi on their annual migration into freshwater.

     Beautiful spot but strictly no swimming due to the croc population.

        Some locals can enjoy the water but have to be very wary.

Next stop the Hoochery, a family owned and operated distillery, the oldest legal still in WA. 

     You can sample some of the fancy liquor. They distill rum and it is quiet expensive. In the above pic the glass on the right had rum valued at $175 a bottle, next was $163 and the last one was a mango liqueur that was valued at only $56. Needless to say we didn't buy any. 

While travelling along you pass the many irrigated farms being supplied by the ord river scheme. Many believe that Kununurra would not exist without the agriculture in the area.

   Taken on our plane trip yesterday - not the best pic but gives some idea of the patchwork landscape.

   Lavender fields

We had a quick look at the Sandalwood Factory which is a result of the millions of sandalwood trees being grown in the area. They extract the oil from the tree and it is sold for $2000 dollars a barrel. Lucky our cars don't run on it. It is in great demand especially in India and so this is one of the number one products being produced in the area.

Back to town and off to the Pumphouse, an old irrigation Pumphouse turned restaurant. Don't get conned into going it is very expensive and they need a new cook. We have had heaps better meals on our bbq, didn't tell you that after lugging the new bbq around for 5 weeks we finally used it two nights ago and works a treat. Have been using camp kitchens.

Today, Friday, we thought we would try our hand at catching a barramundi. So we booked a tour with Ultimate Adventures Ord River Fishing Safari's. They picked us up at 6am and we headed out along a long dirt road with four other people for about an hour, so we were very remote. We arrived at a very unusual fishing camp and set off three in each boat and a skipper. 

 Some of the inventive furniture that inhabits the very open plan shack.

Jim our skipper was a local young guy who loved living in the area and loved everything about the river. He was a wealth of knowledge and we had a great day. 

     The first thing we saw just after getting into the boat. According to Jim this would be the first of many crocs basking along the river bed that we would see and this one was a small one. I must admit at first I was a bit edgy as we were travelling down a river full of crocs in a hard plastic tinny- but a very sturdy one I was to later find out.

    This is how close we were to the croc.

Barra fishing is very different to the norm where you have to let the reel run for a while before pulling back sharply at an angle. It goes against your instincts when fishing normally. 

    Our first fishing spot but no luck.

We were followed to each fishing spot by a water eagle and two whistling kites looking for a feed but they went home hungry as we didn't catch anything. Got the tail of a bait bitten off, according to Jim, probably by a potty shark. 

        The beautiful looking water eagle that followed us all day.

     One of the two whistling kites. The noise they made was amazing it could be heard from far away.

     The other one.

It didn't matter that we didn't catch anything just being on the river and seeing the different wildlife was a pleasure. And the river was a perfect picture all day but OMG it was hot.

    We were sitting in the boat on the edge of the bush while Jim went to get bait for our fishing.

I had a very important job all day. 

    No it wasn't a glamour role as a barrel girl but much more strenuous as anchor girl but it was fun.

     Lunch in the shade in the boat under an overhanging tree. Lunch was supplied by the tour - cut up fruit with bread rolls and cut up salad, very simple but lovely all you need.

     This unfortunate cow is just one of 500 that are lost to the crocs in the area each year. I was curious to see why the croc had not eaten it already and they leave them until they 'marinate', as Jim put it, for a while and then come back. Why doesn't another croc come and get it - was my question. The response - they have their own sections of river and they will fight for their territory and their women. That is why a lot of the older ones have scars or teeth missing.

It was a great day and we knew before we went that it was not the best season for Barra fishing. It was very exciting to see lots of the wildlife of the area and you could understand how Jim was in love with the ever changing and challenging river and the bush.

     Loved speeding down this beaut river to get to the next fishing spot.

Just as we were nearing the end of the trip we came across the biggest croc that we saw on the river bank. We did see bigger ones in the water - could only tell that by Jim pointing out the size of their heads. 

      He doesn't look that big from here but ..........

      He looked very big from here. As Jim pointed out he had teeth missing on the right side of his mouth and scars on his snout. His partner was hiding just down the bank a bit. 

   Up close and personal. Just after this shot he slithered into the water towards the boat. We saw lots and lots of crocs, you can totally understand why there is strictly no swimming in the area.

 It was along hot day arriving back about 4pm to be met at the campsite by an outdoor concert just on the park area in front of the van. There was a guy singing and everyone watching with their glass of wine and nibbles.

     This is taken from the waters edge looking back. If you look at the right of the pic just behind the last tree you will see the van. So we pulled up a chair and listened for a while.

Our day and adventures at Kununurra finished with a perfect full moon.

Darwin to Lake Argyle

25th July - 28th July

After leaving Darwin we had a long day on the road travelling over 600 kms taking 8 and a half hours. First stop was Adelaide River for brekkie and then pushed onto Victoria River where we made lunch over looking large Lucerne Farms.

                                                  Lunch stop at Victoria River

   On the long journey to Timber Creek we were stopped in the middle of nowhere, twice, for some time till we got a green light. Mind you there was no one else around and no cars. 

We arrived at Timber Creek in the middle of Gregory National Park. We were only here for the night as a stop over on the way to Lake Argyle.

Up early for the short trip of approx 200 kms.

Stopped a short way down the road next to Victoria River for a scenic brekkie. The bridge we stopped at has restricted access only for the military- you can walk on it but no driving without permission. There are large gates at the far end of the bridge which lead onto Bradshaw Field Training Area, an enormous expanse of land to the north of Timber Creek covering thousands of square kilometres.

            Overlooking the Victoria River, southern view.

                 Looking north at brekkie

    Along the way we passed lots and lots of these very unusual but at the same quite majestic Boab Trees

Approx 10kms before the turn off to Lake Argyle is the Western Australian Border 

and the quarantine station. Every car is pulled up and searched. They take all fruit, most vegetables and honey. You can keep carrots but have to top and tail them and that's about it. They looked in all the draws of the van and even in the freezer. We knew that it was coming but there are only so many pieces of fruit you can eat in a day. So we were left with no fresh fruit and veg and nowhere to buy it. Lake Argyle has a captive audience and they only sell very limited groceries and no fresh fruit or veg. A drive through van selling fresh produce would make a killing there. In hindsight frozen veg would have been ideal. 

      We had to resort to cheese and bikkies for lunch, very yummie but not good for the waistline.

Besides all that Lake Argyle is a beautiful place.

Lake Argyle is classed as an inland sea over 1000 square kms. It is Australia's largest body of fresh water and was formed by the damming of the Ord River in 1971.

There is a lovely infinity pool overlooking the lake which is spectacular. A little crowded in the afternoon so we sat looking over the lake and relaxing. At one stage Mez said the view looking back at the pool was like a scene from a famous movie, yep you guessed it - Cocoon. We shared the view with lots of other greys who like us were taking lots of late afternoon pics.

       Afternoon relaxing taking in the view

    Sunset over the lake from our fab viewing spot.

     Different view from same spot.

Very windy night, you could hear the wind roaring up from the lake and then it would hit us. This was apparently unusual for this time of year normally happens in early June.

When we crossed the WA border we also gained another hour and a half and so we are now waking up  to the sunrise at 6 instead of 7.30 in NT. We are presently 2 hours behind you guys back home.

Seeing we were up early went for an early morning swim and were not supposed to go into the pool area till 7.30 but the guy cleaning it said we were ok. Just magic being the only ones there and being able to get some beautiful pics.

               Just gorgeous

          Mez had the pool to herself.

       Finally worked the camera for a selfie

Thought we would go for a bush walk to try and stop the kilos from marching back on. Boy was it hot and dry and probably not such a good idea but we made it.

      Hot and dry but still had the view for some of the walk

Spent the arvo washing the van, enjoying the surrounds and getting ready for our departure the next day to Kununurra a short 60 km drive away.

If you ever get to visit the lake they say that the cruises are well worth it.