Kununurra, the Bungle Bungles and Lake Arygle...

After off loading the trailer and booking into a cabin in Ivanhoe Resort Caravan Park we set about relaxing and celebrating the fact that we’d made it to help!  We had a look around Kununurra (which didn’t take long) and began to plan the next 2 days.

Before close of business we gave the repairer the go ahead for the trailer and discovered that the new shockers needed to come from Brisbane so it was likely to be 4 or 5 days before it was ready.  Putting a small hitch in the original plan of heading south to Purnululu NP and the Bungle Bungles in 3 days.

We watched the sunset on Kununurra from a nearby lookout and we were treated yet again to the now familiar sight of the stunning rocks turning orange and red providing a beautiful contrast to the lush green valley of Kununurra.

Saturday was spent at the local market, having a look at Ivanhoe Crossing and relaxing by the pool.  We also booked a scenic flight to take us over Lake Argyle, the Bungle Bungles and the Argyle Diamond mine.  It was another wonderful 2 hour flight.

Lake Argyle is an amazing site from any angle, but especially the air.  You can almost (by not quite) appreciate the size of the lake (or inland sea) – at full capacity it holds 41 times more water than Sydney Harbour.  Something I was able to imagine from the air was the landscape that the lake now hides.  What would have been the peaks of mountains now make the islands within the lake.  It is certainly a very spectacular site and an impressive and effective man made achievement.

Kununurra

Lake Argyle

I’ve wanted to see the Bungle Bungles for a long time and the first glimpse did not disappoint.  From the air you get a real sense of where and how the ancient rivers have carved these magnificent structures.  The photos yet again don’t do them any justice – I can’t wait to walk amoungst them in a few days time.

An almost dry river bed - but you can see how much it swells in the wet.  On the right you can see a part of the Bungle Bungles which was originally used to muster cattle!

The Argyle Diamond Mine is a huge V shaped open cut mine – it’s massive!!  It’s mind boggling to think how many diamonds they’ve mined there.  The largest one to date is half as big as a thumb.  I bought a rough Argyle diamond in Kununurra and look forward to having it set when we get home.

Our planned departure day arrived and the trailer wasn’t ready so we set off without it, south to the Bungle Bungles.  An easy (made easier by not towing anything) 250 kms trip south on a sealed road!!  We arrived and checking into a safari tent – the girls were SO excited.  The staff were worried about us all fitting into the tent – obviously they haven’t seen what we’ve been sleeping in for the past 10 weeks!!!

The communal campfire and our safari tent.

Our day in the Bungles began early with the slow, winding, bumpy road into the national park.  After a short stop at the visitor centre we made our way to the Southern part of the park where we could walk into Cathedral Gorge and the Dunes – the site of the only rock art in the park.  Just driving we felt a bit like a kid in a candy store – not sure which way to look.  I’ll let the picture do the explaining…

Cathedral Gorge

Rock Art at the Domes

We drove to the northern part of the park and walked into Ecidina Gorge – up a pebbly riverbed into the high narrow chasm.  Great fun.

The girls were excited to get back to the Station for the evening bonfire and marshmallow cooking.  What a great day.

Our time at the Bungle Bungles ended and so to came time to say goodbye to Oma and Opa.  More tears…. this time sad ones.  I reassured Mum that it’s only just over 5 weeks (which almost made me cry) till we’re home.  We said our goodbyes and pointed the car north again for Kununurra and our repaired trailer.

The day was a big one, just north of the Station at the Bungle Bungles a road train coming toward us blew a tyre and as we passed each other we were peppered with stones – leaving a littering of chips in the windscreen (so far we’ve counted 9), another job to add to the to-do-list in Kununurra.   The day added up to a few hours drive back to Kununurra, food shopping, fuel, putting air back in the tyres, collecting the trailer, finding some numbers to replace the number plate that fell off in the river, unload the storage unit where all our gear had been stored and repack the car and trailer – then drive 70 kms out Lake Argyle!

With all the jobs done it was heaven to dive into the wet edge pool with spectacular views over Lake Argyle.  A perfect ending to a long day – we feel like we’re back on track and ready for the NT and all it has to offer.

Our final day of exploring WA was spent first at the Durack Homestead Museum – the homestead once stood down on the flat near the Behn River (a tributary of the Ord) and was home to an amazing family – the men of the family walked over from Queensland with their livestock and made a new life in the Kimberley, on land they bought unseen.  When the Dam wall was being built and the river began to flood the surrounding areas it was decided to relocate the homestead.   It’s now home to a museum about the Durack Family and the building of the Ord River Dam.

Once we’d learnt a bit about the Dam wall construction we drove up the road to see it for ourselves. The girls were amazed at the size of the wall – a bit like Eildon they said!!!

The view in both directions from the dam wall

Thus ended the list of WA sites – tomorrow it’s on to the Territory!!  When we asked the girls to help tidy up a bit because we had a big day tomorrow and we needed to get away early, Olivia asked how far we had to drive.  When I told her it was about 400 kms, she very quickly replied ‘that’s not a big one Mum’.  When I quizzed her about her definition of a big days driving, it appears that only days over 600 kms can be given the label of big – my mistake!!!

A.