Last stop in WA - Lake Argyle

After 3 great nights in Purnululu it was time to move on and rattle our way back to the main road and head to Lake Argyle. We were still pretty nervous about the front left tyre as the tear was slowly getting bigger.

Firstly we needed to stop on Kununurra for a quick restock.

I just want to mention that with our revised end-of-trip itinerary, our last scheduled town stop would be Broome, which we left on 19th July, until getting home on 13th September. All restocks would be happening as we passed through the larger towns with a fully loaded car - we can't open the fridge beyond a 3cm gap with the car full. Needless to say there were some messy moments. And a quick restock adds at least an hour to a travel day. 

From the campground to Kununurra was close to 5 hours driving, and Lake Argyle is another hour from Kununurra. It was a hot, long and dirty day.

Luckily Lake Argyle tourist resort (caravan park) has one of the most beautiful swimming pools we had ever seen. An infinity pool overlooking the ginormous Lake Argyle. 

 Very cool (actually chilly) pool

 Thinking about getting in

 It was really very beautiful

 

 When it got too cold in the pool these kiddos happily sat and played in the sun until warmed up enough to get back in the water

 Kimberley Rose

 Lake Argyle caravan park had it all including an outdoor restaurant and bar, as well as the normal facilities - laundry and showers etc.

 Also had massive frangipani trees to climb

 We were given an excellent recommendation to do a Lake Argyle cruise, and booked a sunset cruise on our first full day. The wind had got (right) up overnight and we were a bit worried it might be a bit choppy but it turned out to be a fine afternoon to go cruising. Jemma was delighted as it turned out that two families she had befriended at Cheela Plains (and we kept bumping into for the last few months) would be on the same cruise. The girls all sat up the back of the boat together and had a lovely time.

 The cruise was a fantastic way to see a tiny part of this huge lake. Our skipper and host was a wealth of knowledge on all things Lake Argyle. He was also great at spotting wildlife; we saw small eared rock wallabies which I had never heard of before, euros and lots of freshwater crocodiles and their nests. 

Quick summary; it is part of the Ord River Irrigation scheme, the Ord River Dam was completed and first flooded in 1971. It is huge and the largest man made freshwater lake in the southern hemisphere and way bigger than Sydney harbour. It is home to thousands of freshwater crocodiles, although the population is in decline thanks to the inevitable spread of cane toads which are toxic and deadly to almost everything that eats them. Lake Argyle is named after the cattle station, Argyle Downs, it partly submerged. The Argyle Downs homestead was rescued and restored stone by stone and now houses a museum. Other station buildings remain underwater. 

 Windswept and happy

 Waiting for Archer Fish to shoot spit at a small piece of bread in his hand.

 Heaps of fish in Lake Argyle.

 And crocodiles. That is just one of the eight I counted on this little beach...

...before we jumped in for a swim. The lake water was much warmer than the pool.

 Earth fill only dam wall. It is just huge. 

 We visited the museum which showcased a mixture of early pastoral life, the construction of the dam and the affects on local indigenous people.

 The Ord River hydro power plant at the base of the dam was initially established to produce clean energy for the Arglye Diamond Mine (closed in 2020), the towns of Kununurra and Wyndham, and other projects.

 James has really changed on this trip. He is growing so fast. 

 Jemma is also growing and changing but still loves to climb trees.

I'm glad we went to Lake Argyle - it is quite something. 

Here is a funny thing - the taps at the caravan park had NO drinking water. Safe drinking water is definitely NOT a given any where in Australia, and especially not in remote areas. We had assumed that we would be able to get drinking water here, and consequently not picked up water in Kununurra. 

There were filtered taps for filling personal water bottles in the restaurant and reception areas but we certainly couldn't pull up, attach a hose and fill our water jerries. So began our water campaign - using recycled 1L cordial bottles, we topped up our water stores. Walking back and forth we filled our containers until we were good to go, as we really didn't want to back track to Kununurra again, and we needed enough to get us to Katherine in 4 days time. 

Andy and I really should know better - always fill up when you can. Goes for water and fuel.

 Lake Argyle wraps up our WA adventures. From here we head into the NT.