13TH JUNE 2013 – KUNUNURRA, KIMBERLEY WEST AUSTRALIA.

Another day, another destination. Temperature 27deg at 8.30am, filled up with fuel $1.99. Apart from the price of the latter I just love this part of the country, with the blue mountain ranges in the distance & the morning sun setting off the bright green of the trees & the orange roadside grasses, red earth & rocky escarpments. We witnessed a controlled burn off not far from the highway & a few burnt Boab trees, though because they store water in their bottle-like trunks, I think they do survive??? At the moment most of them are bare but apparently if they have leaves on it is a prediction of rain as they catch the rain on their leaves in order to store the water. It is amazing the surprising sights there are sometimes. This morning we saw a group of cyclists pedalling along the highway – why anyone would want to do that way out in the middle of nowhere in that heat I have no idea. Some of them were well behind poor things – luckily there are not too many hills. As we approach Kununurra we see hundreds of acres of Sandalwood trees which are processed locally & are used all over the world in the perfume industry.

Kunanurra has population of approximately 6000, an average rainfall of 790mm & a temperature range of 15-25deg in the wet season & 30-39deg in the dry. It originally existed as a cattle town with cattle numbers reaching a peak of 800,000 head in 1978. It is the youngest town in Australia established in 1960 to service the Ord River Scheme. The Ord River was dammed in 1971 to form a storage reservoir supplying water to one of Australia’s largest & most ambitious irrigation schemes. Argyle Downs, a one million acre cattle station was flooded to create a vast & beautiful lake, the largest man made lake in Australia. Lake Argyle is classed as an inland sea covering over 1000 sq kms & holds approximately 32 times as much water as Sydney Harbour. Without agriculture, Kununurra would not exist today growing large amounts of melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes, pawpaw, bananas etc. The lake is also a major tourist attraction with full day boat tours available.

Another major industry in the area is the Argyle Diamond Mine, at which the unique & rare pink diamond is found as well as other fine diamonds. Visitors from all over the world come to view the collection made by the local firm of Kimberley Fine Diamonds. There is a large aboriginal population too & some very good aboriginal art is produced in the region. One of the popular things made by these people are carved Boab nut shells which are really nice when done properly. I was offered several which I could have bought very cheaply but sadly I couldn’t bring them back to NZ.

Swimming pool at Lake Argyle Resort

Lake Argyle

Dam wall Lake Argyle

Arriving at our caravan park we meet up with our kiwi friends again & view a delicate pink sunset by Lake Kununurra on which the park is set, viewing a freshwater croc who seems to be a regular each evening. The next day the four of us took a boat trip of the Ord River itself. Picked up at 11.30am by bus & driven 70kms to Lake Argyle, visiting the old Durack Homestead en route. This lovely old building had to be removed from it’s original site to make way for Lake Argyle. It’s history was so precious that it was totally rebuilt with it’s original materials on the present day site as a museum. The bus then continued on to the Lake where the river starts by the dam wall. The views of Lake Argyle are very beautiful & I was able to take a couple of photos by the ‘infinity’ pool belonging to the Resort on the shores there. The boat trip proved to be a wonderful excursion with a great captain full of knowledge of the history & flora & fauna of the area. The men were particularly impressed by the boat which had 3 x 350hp outboard motors & moved rather well! There were many freshwater crocs to spot & photograph as well as beautiful scenery, lots of birds etc. A delicious assortment of home baking & tropical melons was provided for afternoon tea on the banks of the river in a permanently set up picnic area (built by the boat company). The final thrill was a race between our boat & another one also owned by the same company – great fun! After a journey of 55kms we watched the sunset & were delivered right back to the shore of our caravan park. It was a fantastic day enjoyed by all.

"Freshie" Ord river

 

Tranquil waters Ord river

 

Soldier, natures creation, Ord river

 

Reflections Ord river

 

Next day our kiwi friends left to head to Katherine in NT, so Stuart & I did a bit of fossiking around the town, visited the local market, & caught up with cleaning the caravan & car etc. We made a decision to book another tour to an area called El Questro, once a large cattle station of one million acres, but now a tourist resort. It is currently owned by an American family who subleased 100,000 acres out to a cattle farmer, keeping the remaining 900,00 for the resort. It is a pastoral lease from the government & has been for almost 100 years & the lease expires in 2015. It is possible to camp there but is only suitable for offroad vehicles. We did think about driving out there but when we weighed up the costs (it is very expensive even to camp), we decided it would be a nice relaxing day to take the tour. So collected from the caravan park at 6.30am by a big off road coach, we set off over the very dusty corrugated road. The bus was so comfortable we hardly noticed. Our first stop was Emma Gorge & waterfall which was a 1 hour walk each way over a very rocky track, however with the correct footwear not a problem for most of us though a couple of ladies did turn back before the end. At the end of the trail after passing some gorgeous little pools of an amazing green, we arrive at the impressive Emma Gorge plunge pool. Unfortunately the waterfall was only a shower but the pool was a delight to swim in & although we expected it to be very cold we discovered it was fed by warm springs so was not too bad at all. It was a race to find where the spring fed in through the large rocks at the base, but a joy to sit in once found & everyone was very generous & we all had a turn. Some children (not with our group) found another tiny pool on a rock ledge & were delighted because the rest of us were too old & doddery to climb up there.

Zeberde springs El Quetro Nature Park

 

Well refreshed, we wandered back to the bus at the resort & were served a delightful morning tea of cake & fresh tropical fruits in the outdoor dining room together with tea or coffee, then it was back onto the bus for our next destination. Another swim at Zebedee hot water springs. This was a delightful area of Liverstona Palms with their black trunks, & a myriad of small pools again fed by warm spring water. Most of us found a pool of our own in pairs, swapping now & again (the pool not the partners)! It was such a relaxing, tranquil place it would be lovely to stay for hours. But as is the way with organised tours, it was off again, this time to the station for a delicious lunch in the restaurant there. We had a choice of Barramundi or steak, with salad & chips. We both chose the Barra as we had been wanting some nice fish & it proved to be a great choice & was mouthwatering. Off again for the last part of the tour, the boat trip up the gorge, this time on a very slow little boat with a Hamilton jet engine. I think they only had that engine because the river is quite shallow at times, & also quite rocky. We had a youngish pilot who I am sure was Maori & also another older guy who was a Kiwi & gave the commentary & entertained us with his guitar, singing & poetry. We were told that when we got to the end of the gorge we would be given a warm welcome by some of the local wildlife & imagine wallabies or roos or such like. To our surprise when the boat was launched onto a sandy beach, all of a sudden loads of catfish & ‘spitting’ fish arrived beside the boat. The latter had everyone in fits, as every time someone leant over the side they spat at you. It was amazing how far they could do it. Apparently they do it to insects who then land in the water & the fish are able to catch them. They were also joined by a very large Barramundi. Our captain could actually lean over & catch the catfish in his hands. ‘Bubbly’ or orange juice was then handed around with more tropical fruit & then it was time to return to the bus for the journey home, accompanied by a rather nice sunset before the dark settled at 5.30pm. Luckily we were the first to be dropped back at our park, so it was nice to have a hot shower. a light meal & head for bed.




Burn off near Kununurra