The highlight so far, has been the cruise from the Argyle dam down the Ord River & back to Kununurra. Unusual for us, but we took a tour bus out to Lake Argyle, which included a visit to a replica of the Durack Homestead of "Kings in Grass Castles" fame - another Aussie classic written by Mary Durack, and telling the story of the Durack family & their quest to breed cattle here in the Kimberley. Another amazing and resilient pioneering family.
We boarded the boat beside the dam wall and the afternoon unfolded into the most informative, delightful and scenically magnificent trip you could imagine. Our young tour guide was so impressively knowledgable about all aspects of the Ord River - its history, its ecology and the flora and fauna, as well as the working of the river system. He named all the birds on the way, and they were many, as well as the plants, trees and different aspects of how the Ord irrigates the Kununurra area and why. We would give him 10/10 for local knowledge, and none of it one iota boring.
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| About to leave from the dam wall. |
Once again the camera in its one-dimensional limitations really cannot capture the magnificence of the scenery, but ones memory and imagination are imprinted indelibley with images of deep red cliffs, time worn trees, and reeds shielding who knows what from the prying eyes of tourists.
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| Beautiful Jabiru |
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| The local residents - Freshies Finally someone explained why they are not dangerous for humans - our guide explained that the have a long thin snout, which is quite fragile, so that is why their food is small mammals & fish, not large stuff or humans - because they can't tear their food like the salties do, for fear of breaking their jaws. Makes sense now ! Even so I won't be swimming with them :-) |
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| Maybe these pelicans weren't taking chances - don't often see pelicans in trees - on lamp posts yes, but not trees !!
We were served afternoon tea beside the river, and returned to Kununurra after sunset. It really was the most enjoyable day so far, I think, and a bonus to be out on the water under a shady canopy on what was a very hot afternoon.
Yesterday was an early start as we were taking a flight over Lake Argyle, the Bungle Bungles, the Argyle Diamond Mine, then El Questro, the Cockburn ranges, Wyndham & back to Kununurra.
It was a 7 seater fixed wing plane, and there were 2 other couples plus the pilot on board. We were interested to fly over some of the ground we had covered, and we had been told that a flight was the only way to fully comprehend the immense area that Lake Argyle covers, and the amount of water contained in it. That is really true. It is a huge expanse of water and seemed to me quite bizarre in light of the thousands of acres of very dry land surrounding it.
The Bungle Bungles are also quite bizarre, with the rock formations totally unique and different from anything else in the region. Rock formations are the focal point of a great deal of the Kimberley region and each national park appears totally different from the other. We had to land to pick up some tourists suitcase left behind, so it gave us a welcome break from the little plane & an opportunity to stretch our legs. Welcome particularly as one of our number (the lady sitting next to Trevor) was unfortunately air sick most of the way !! He drew the short straw - I for once in my life was the lightest passenger on board, so I had the doubtful pleasure of sitting on my own at the back - not quite on the tail, but close to it !! Great views though.
The diamond mine is huge - apparently the biggest in the world, and producing some of the rarest of pink diamonds. It is said to have about 9 more years of production left in it.
It was interesting to fly over the El Questro area that we had visited a few days before by road, and the sandalwood plantations close to Kununurra, as well as other crops irrigated by the Ord. A note of sadness really that 70% of the irrigated land here is planted down with Indian sandalwood (which is used for perfume, some skincare products and incense) & which takes 15 years before it can be harvested, whilst the whole area was supposed to be a food bowl. Something not quite right there.
 
I could post some more photos of the flight, but really I think you would get a bit bored with various shots of gorges, rocks & terrain. We haven't edited them yet, and I will leave that job to Trevor because I wouldn't know where to start. The photos above of Lake Argyle do give a hint of the vastness, and surprisingly too lots of little islands dotted through it. Quite spectacular really, and we're so glad we did it. But nearly 3 hours, with someone throwing up beside you was about as much as we could handle. Needless to say we relaxed by the pool for the rest of the afternoon.
 
Cheers xx
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