The Kimberleys - Lake Argyle

Arrived in The Kimberleys.

We handed in our old onion and potato at the border, drove through the quarantine gates, and here we were in The Kimberleys.

How do you begin to describe the indescribable?

The Kimberley is that part of Australia that we all think of as "truly Australia". Now seeing it for the first time, I find it simply breathtaking. The sheer size of the country is unbelievable, with huge rocky mountain ranges, steep gorges and huge rivers, that whilst now lazy and meandering, show the ravaged signs of the flooding wet season. When you look at the mountains and gorges, they are red and layered sandstone, broken, tortured and twisted, into the most incredible formations. When God made the Kimberley, he was in a bad mood! It is country you feel rather than see, and can truly understand why so many have fallen in love with this land and have stayed. To the original pioneers who forged this great land, it must have been the realisation of an unbelievable dream. 

The Infinity Pool at Lake Argyle
Caravan Park.

John takes in the pool with a view.

We have decided to stay our first three nights at Lake Argyle, the enormous inland sea formed by the damming of the Ord River. The Caravan Park & Lodge is situated at the site of the old workers camp, from the days when the dam was built from 1970 to 1972. It is way up in class from the days of the worker's camp! It is famous for its "infinity" pool, perched on the edge of the cliff above the lake, and it didn't take us long to immerse ourselves in the cool waters. The caravan park itself is lovely. Lots of green grass and shade, which believe me you need in the 38 degree heat. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful, and it is just a great place to stay. We made a quick dash into Kununurra to buy some fresh fruit and veggies, and then back to the pool. Apart from spending hours in the pool, we toured all around the dam site and took in all the information we could find. There are a couple of great lookouts to survey the dam and the river gorge, and you can drive across the dam wall to a picnic area on the river below the dam.

The Ord River Dam Wall.

Not far away is the Durack Homestead and Museum. Unfortunately it has closed for the "season". Many things up here shut down from end of September. The Durack family were the first pioneer settlers in the West Kimberleys. They were rich Irish graziers with large land holdings in both NSW and Queensland, and quickly saw the potential for cattle grazing in this amazing country. They started one of the longest cattle drives in Australian history, in Queensland, with 7,000 cattle, and arrived in the Kimberley two years later with around half the cattle. Argyle Station was founded, and became a social hub of the Kimberley. There is a book called "Kings in Grass Castles" written by Mary Durack, that tells the story of her grandfather's unbelievable achievements. The family saw the potential to be

View from the Caravan Park.

realised from damming the Ord River, and over many years tried to convince Government of the virtues of the plan. Unfortunately it took them until the 1950's, to get things going. The rest is as they say, "history". First, the Diversion Dam was built at Kununurra in the 1960's. The dam wall is part of the main highway. It is more a weir than a dam, but creates Lake Kununurra, which backs up, 55kilometres, along the course of the Ord River all the way to the Ord Dam Wall. The big Ord Dam, built during 3 dry seasons from 1970 to 1972, for the paltry sum of $19 million, is now recognised as the world's most efficient dam, referring to the volume of water contained relative to its size. The lake is some 65 kilometres long and 35 kilometres wide, and its volume can vary between 16 and 21 times that of Sydney Harbour. The original Argyle Homestead was dismantled and moved to higher ground, as its original site is now under 20 metres of water! So now, the big dam feeds the little dam, and as a result there are 100,000 acres of irrigated farmland around Kununurra, producing huge quantities of mango, melons and other crops. A further 70,000 acres is currently being readied for release. And here is the trivia question for the day. What is the largest crop grown in the Ord Irrigation Scheme? No ladies, it isn't diamonds, it is Sandalwood!!! The oil is liquid gold, and apparently Australia is the largest producer of plantation Sandalwood in the world!

All aboard the Kimberley Durack.

Swimming in Lake Argyle.

There is no better way to learn about the lake, than on a cruise on board the Kimberley Durack, the big orange boat, and owned by the resort. Our skipper, Steve, is a born and bred local, and what he doesn't know about the lake hasn't yet happened! We toured slowly around the dam wall seeing where all the rock was quarried, with the two largest non nuclear explosions in Australia's history, at the time, then it was out onto the lake. It is home to over 200 bird species, 25 fish varieties, and a whopping 35,000 freshwater crocodiles. Yes that's right, 35,000, so you imagine the look of surprise

Sunset drinks on
Lake Argyle.

when Steve killed the engines in the middle of the lake and announced it was time for a swim! He wasn't kidding, as the "freshies" are harmless to humans, if you don't count scaring the crap out of you as harm! So over the side we went! The water was surprisingly temperate, and we had a great time cooling off. Back on board, we cruised around among the hundreds of islands, finding crocodiles, birds and feeding the fish, and learning all about the history of the region. At sunset, it was time to stop in the middle of the lake, crack the champagne, beer and nibblies, and go for a twilight swim. Drinks were passed down to the swimmers. All damn civilised!! The whole thing was just wonderful, and right up there with one of the best cruises we've done. We raced back across the lake as the night fell, and believe me, up here in the north, there is little or no twilight. The sun sets, and it is dark in minutes. We arrived back in the dark, but everyone was still buzzing with the excitement of a great day. 

Sunset drinks with Wendy & Michael
at Pannekin Bay

Next day, I decided to try a little fishing just below the dam wall. I had a lot of fun, but it was stinking hot, and the crocodiles kept floating by, scaring the fish and mocking me. For our last night, we joined our neighbours, Wendy and Michael, and drove out to Pannekin Bay Lookout, to view the sunset. It was up a pretty rough track, but the view was well worth it, looking out east over the lake and west over the rugged mountain ranges. It was quite cloudy, so we didn't get a great sunset, but we had a great time anyway, and drove back along the winding track in the dark.

Next morning, as we were only going into Kununurra, about 70 kilometres, we didn't have to leave early, and in fact, the caravan park has a late 4.00pm checkout, after the season has ended, as lots of people are just going to Kununurra. So we were up early and into the pool before and after breakfast, before packing up and hitting the road. Next stop Kununurra.