Cruising - Kununurra to Lake Argyle

Trip Start Feb 20, 2010

Trip End May 28, 2010

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Flag of Australia Lake Argyle, Western Australia, Australia
Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The next day (after taking some photos of the rocks in Hidden Valley, we left for Lake Argyle. It was a late start and we didn't leave until 9am but only had 70km to ride – it was already bloody hot though. The ride out to Lake Argyle was spectacular and the scenery made it hard to concentrate on the road. We rode slowly (at 80km/h) even though it was a 110km limit. Lake Argyle is a man made lake which was created when the Ord River was dammed in 1969-71 (it took 3 wet seasons to be built). It is the biggest dam in Australia and is about 20 times bigger than Sydney Harbour.

We arrived at about 10.30am, setup camp and headed for the pool. The caravan park is very well maintained and would have to be one of the best we have stayed at. The pool is set into the side of the mountain and overlooks the lake so you can sit in the pool and have uninterrupted views of the lake below and the surrounding ranges

Lake Argyle

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The sunset cruise left at 2.30pm but there was an optional video, of the dam being built, to watch before the tour company picked us up. After the video, the bus picked us up at the front door and drove to the jetty. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and the scenery was amazing. He pointed out some of the wildlife (rock wallabies, crocodiles, fish, kangaroos etc) and rock formations around the part of the lake that we were in (we saw only about 10%). Apparently there are about 250,000 fresh water crocodiles in the dam! We stopped for a swim just before sunset (we passed on the swimming but others enjoyed the dip). Champagne, beer and coke was provided with crackers and dip, to enjoy while the sun was setting. The tour was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone.

We have an early start in the morning as we head towards Katherine – we will have an overnight stop at Timber Creek (yes the caravan park has a pool).

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