The Mighty Kimberley – Lake Argyle 6 - 10 Sept

We left Berry Springs with the intention of staying at the Victoria Roadhouse on our way to Lake Argyle.  But the night before had been hot and humid and someone had been playing music past our bedtimes at least.  So as we made our way onto the road and headed to WA we realised we were too tired to drive our distance this day – first time we have done this.  So we stopped at our friend the Big 4 in Katherine.  This turned out to be very fortuitous as we ran into the family we had met at the Riversleigh centre in Mount Isa.  The boys were ecstatic to have found their long lost friends again, less so the next day when we left.

Unlike the drive from Mt Isa to the NT which really was miles and miles of nothing but scrub, this drive was incredible.  The rocks, the rivers, the country were amazing.  We were really tempted to stop at the Victoria roadhouse and explore Gregory National Park, but we were really looking forward to getting to the Kimberley.  David and I have talked so often about getting to this part of Australia.  It is spoken about so much and for us it is so very far from home.  We were really excited about this leg of the journey – this was a big part of the ‘dream come true part’ of our trip.

Lake Argyle Village

In researching this trip I had come across images of the Argyle Village caravan park in a range of brochures – well not so much the caravan park but its drop dead gorgeous infinity pool.  I remember thinking this looked amazing, so there was really no decision about where we were going to stay – that pool had made the decision for us.  Fortunately, the pool was every bit as fantastic as in all the brochures, but it was also cooler than we had imagined especially on the day it was topped up.  However, it was still an amazing place to swim, play and take photographs.

 

This is the one pool the adults might have liked more than the kids

Kunnunurra

Zebra rock is this rock that looks well unreal, man made even, but it is all natural.  So we were disappointed that the Zebra Rock Mines had already closed for the season.  Whilst in my planning it looked like they were open all September, apparently the early arrival of the hotter weather sent many tourists packing and so too the Zebra Rock Mines.  We had to make do with the Zebra Rock gallery in Kunnunurra.  Fortunately, the gallery came with a lovely café overlooking Lake Kunnunurra and an outdoor workshop where you can watch them cut and polish the stone pieces.  Needless to say we managed to sample some of the café delights (the boys totally recommend the scones) and maybe just a rock piece or two, or maybe three, actually it could be four or five now I think about it.

We also took the opportunity to look at some great Kimberley indigenous art.   I wanted the boys to understand the diversity that exists in indigenous art across Australia.  Kunnunurra has a couple of lovely galleries but especially one called Artlandish which carries a wide range of indigenous art from the NT and WA.  The boys got to see that not all aboriginal art is the xray style from Kakadu (although that is still their preferred style to paint in at the moment).  David and I got to see a couple of pieces that we might have to do some serious saving for next year.

I thought I would mention the Kunnunurra butcher as this was the best shop we have been to so far.  We have taken to visiting local butchers on this trip and trying their wares, especially dishes we are unfamiliar with (and that can be cooked on our Weber as it is too hot to cook in the van at present).  This was one of the best.   The staff were friendly and completely helpful and the meat, ooooohhhhhh the meat mmmmmmmmmm.  If this is what Kimberley meat tastes like we bring it on we say.

Lake Argyle Cruise

Read a blog, read a brochure, read pretty much anything about Lake Argyle and I guarantee you someone will mention the sunset cruise.  We opted for the cruise run by our caravan park and we weren’t disappointed in the slightest.  The cruise was fantastic.  Our hosts and boat drivers for the day were really great and fantastic with the kids.  The boat was excellent, comfy and fast.  But the star of the day was Lake Argyle – actually inland sea Argyle would give you more of an accurate picture.  Lake Argyle is a manmade lake which now contains over 19 Sydney Harbours’ worth of water.  A good wet can shoot this level up even higher.

Because the days are longer and warmer we had an early quick dip from the boat before setting out for the main part of the cruise.  We got to see birds, fresh water crocs (and their nests – a number dug up by goannas), wallabies and fish.  By the way did I mention there are around 30,000 crocs in this lake - yep you read that right we went swimming with 30,000 crocs!

 

The scenery was amazing, the colours very Kimberley with the spinifex grass growing on the red dirt of the hills against the blue of the water or the sky.

At our long swim we were served drinks in the water with the brave jumping off the boat trying to catch a beer before entry.  Our kids were inspired and both took up the jumping – without the beer option – with gusto.  We headed back to the village as the glow of the sun departed and night fell.  This revealed one final exhibit – an amazing bushfire burning very close to the waters’ edge.

By the way this fire was started by a group of campers trying to burn their toilet paper on leaving, next time they might just want to dig a hole.

Do we recommend this cruise?  Absolutely.  This was one of the most impressive things we have done on our trip to date and we would do it again in a heartbeat. 

  

By the end of our stay at Lake Argyle we knew one thing – if this was a taste of what the Kimberley has in store for us, we were in for an amazing few weeks!