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Published: October 14th 2007
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And so it was back to Kununarra again for more supplies -
with all these early starts and fresh air there was no
shortage of healthy appetites. We had a bit of time to
put in before heading out to our camping spot on an island
in the middle of Lake Argyle and went over for a look
at the Ord River. Joel once more displayed his excellent
driving skills by manuovering us and the trailer in tow
over the fast flowing river at the Ivanhoe Crossing. We
found a shaded and secluded spot for lunch on the other
side and were lucky enough to witness a sea eagle showing
its deadly hunting prowess as it swept down on the nearby
river.
Back in the 4WD we were all very familiar with each other
at this stage and even organised enough to seat ourselves
so that a big person was always opposite a not so big
person. Some people had their "reserved" positions like
Rachel directly behind Joel and Omrih at the back door
"In case the wood needs me urgent shopping!". Where
everyone really wanted to be was in the front seat, which
not only afforded better comfort and views,
but meant
control of the 3 ipods on board. Luckily, there was no
infighting and this coveted position was mostly given up
by consensus. In a group that maybe wouldn't get on so well
I could imagine it being a problem. Anyway when we weren't
chatting between ourselves or sleeping on the long stretches
along the road there was one activity that every single
person partook in either out of boredom or interest. Omrih
is a big fan of the now deceased Steve Irwin and he had
brought along a big hardcover photobook describing his life.
Soon after getting underway someone always perked up "Where
is the Steve Irwin book?". So it came to pass that one by one
we all got to read a lot about his life and even his death.
Love him or think he was a bit of a fool one had to admit
he had some set of cojones on him. Joel was the only one
not to pick up the book, but then he didn't need to as he
often seen him in the street back home and said he was just
an "ordinary bloke".
Lake Argyle is the largest body of man made
water in the world
and the amazing thing is that they only had to build a relatively
tiny dam to achieve this. It was a lake waiting to happen. We
had a good look at its blackish-blue deep waters from above the
dam before heading down to the boat and forming a chain to load
on the swags, all important blue esky and less important orange
esky. There was a bit of a delay before we eventually set off, but
this turned out to be for the better as we had a beautiful sunset
on the lake after we had all dived in (me clutching two noodles
for added buoyancy). Joel had come up trumps as usual with a
platter of delicious tapas and a few bottles of chilled bubbly.
So there was a real party atmosphere on the launch as we cruised
along on the moonlit lake, stopping to put the spotlight on some
stranded island wallabies along the way. Arriving at our island
we set up our swags while Joel got the big barbie underway, God
bless him. Stuffed with meat of all kinds and everyone in a merry
mood and getting merrier the games began. It involved
Back at civilization .....
... the girls catch up with the latest gossip bending down
with your hands behind your back to lift half a wine carton box
with your teeth - see pics for a better idea. You had three attempts
each time and couldn't let your knees touch the ground. My ultra
inflexible frame meant that I was out in the first round already,
but the rest of them kept going for ages - in the end I think it was
down to Ira, Nelly and Joel, but I can't remember who won, as they
were down to a flat piece of cardboard and digging holes in the
sand. Just to really finish the night off Flo and I prepared an
absinthe drink for everyone. It's promise of 60% alcohol content
had caught my eye in the bottle shop in Kununarra, but boy did I
regret that purchase the next morning. Hungover and with a furry,
dry tongue stuck to roof of my mouth Joel had us all up shortly
after sunrise for our boatride back. A few people had been attacked
by mozzies during the night, but no one more so than Agnes - she
looked like a teenager with acne. Unsurprisingly, my request to
make a photographic record of
said condition was refused with
needless and vehement verbal abuse. After stopping to view
some birdlife and freshies that inhabited the lake we disembarked
and piled into the toyota to head to a breakfast spot nearby.
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