We leave Katherine and head west.
First stop is Victoria River Roadhouse where I had a very tasty Buffalo Burger for lunch.
Pushing on we camped overnight at the Big Horse Campground on the Victoria River west of Timber Creek.
There was a great sunset across the Victoria River
Followed by a great camp oven stew, to get rid of all the vegetables before we hit the quarantine checkpoint into WA.
The WA border and the quarantine checkpoint.
We arrived in Kununurra and checked into the Hidden Valley Caravan Park. Its surrounded by sandstone crags and the sites are spacious and grassy. Facilities are basic but a very picturesque park to stayWe took a flight over Lake Argyle, the Bungle Bungles, the Argyle Diamond Mine and the Cockburn Ranges. It was by Kingfisher Tours and our pilot, Scott, provided a wealth of information about the area we flew over.
Lake Argyle was a wide expanse of blue in the red landscape.
There were a large number of islands and rocky outcrops.
It was like flying over a sea.
The Bungle Bungles appeared below.
We’ve been there a few years ago on the ground but from the air you can really appreciate the vast expanse of them.
Our plane flew a slow “S” across the sandstone domes.
The range was laced with narrow canyons, that appeared as little more than cracks in the rock,
to vast canyons with what appeared to be river beds in the base. It would be a spectacular view during the “wet”.
More canyons.
And even more.
We flew north over the Argyle diamond mine.
It’s no longer “open cut”. The mine is now underground chasing the diamond bearing dirt very deep down.
The geologists calculate it will list until around 2021.
We flew over the Cockburn Ranges
Which appeared quite green.
We got a god look at the exclusive El Questro homestead
Flew over the mudflats outside Wyndham
Overflew Ivanhoe Crossing on the Ord River
Had a good look at the vast farms irrigated by the water form Lake Argyle
And then landed back at the Kununurra Airport.
No visit to Kununurra is complete without a visit to the Hoochery.
We sampled their range of various proof rums. Unfortunately I was the designated driver and could only partake sparingly.
The following day we took a trip out to Wyndham on the dirt road. We stopped to look at Ivanhoe Crossing on the North side. Unfortunately, the council have blocked the crossing with huge boulders so you no longer have the fun of driving across the causeway. This picture shows just part of the crossing, there is about another 75% past the rocks.
We stopped at eh Mambi Island boat ramp and spotted our first wild “saltie” of the trip. Big bugger, at least 4 metres long.
The Marigu Billabong is a haven for birds. We saw quite a variety including a few brolgas.
A short way down from the bird hide an egret was standing on the back of a croc. It flew off and stood in front of it by the time I managed to snap a pic. Probably end up as dinner for the croc.
A feast of barramundi at the Wyndham Town Hotel was next on the agenda. Very tasty.
The port area is pretty sleepy.
And the port area itself is not too inviting being at the confluence of 5 croc infested rivers. The tide was ebbing while we were there and the current was pretty vicious.
The view from the lookout was spectacular.
The Kununurra Rodeo was on. We got there early and set up next to the ring.
They ran out the bulls and raised a lot of dust.
The ladies showed vast skills in the barrel races
And the stockmen got bounced around on the bucking horses. Unfortunately the rodeo was held late in the afternoon and evening and the light was too low to get images of the bull rides.
But I did get a chance to wear my new Akubra.The weather was great for a cruise on Lake Argyle.
The Management were having a great time.
The lake is immense, there are places were you cannot see the other side.
On little island was inhabited by a family of rock wallabies, tiny little creatures.
There are a huge number of fresh water crocodiles in the lake.
We stopped for lunch and a swim on a little island. The water was around 24C.
We climbed back on our cruise boat.
On the way back we passed a small rock outcrop in the lake, the nesting place of a Jabiru, naturally called Jabiru Rock. It contains he nest of a pair of Jabirus, who mate for life. Tragically the female didn’t return a couple of years ago and the male has been forlornly waiting for her. Apparently he’s now showing interest in another female.
We returned past the relatively tiny dam wall and took the bus down to the other side.
It looks somewhat bigger from this angle.And the exhaust from the hydro turbines made quite a splash.
My Stone Stomper took quite a beating up some of the rough roads earlier in the trip so we decided to spend the day repairing it.
A lot of the damage was caused by barbed wire and other detritus dredged up from the roads by the low hanging curtain.
A few metres of shade cloth, some glue, some clamps and some heavy cord saw it returned to a serviceable state.
Ready for the next stage of the trek down the Gibb River Road.
Really terrific photos Rob. You must all be having a fabulous time.
Great stuff Rob, making me want to do the trip again next year.