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Published: September 14th 2013
Lake Argyle, a man made lake on the Ord River is a must see place to visit, close to the border of Western Australia and The Northern territory.
The region is famous for two thing, both very beautiful; Large Pink Diamonds and The Natural Beauty of the lake. We couldn't afford the former but thoroughly enjoyed the latter.
The journey from Kununurra is easy driving with good roads winding between hills and rocky outcrops. The turnoff to the lake is around 35 ks from Kununurra and Marg is driving - all going well. We turn up the Lake Argyle Road by a couple of ks when about 100 meters in front of the MH a smouldering grass fire suddenly bursts into a wild fire about 50 meters long adjacent to the right side of the road. Decision was made to drive steadily past. Marg really felt the heat through the drivers window, but we moved through without damage.
This was time to use the UHF radio, and we advised David and Mary of the fire beside the road. they were about 8 ks behind us. They were able to pass OK as well.
From there, the road
Sheer rock walls close to camp
The pale colour is the high water mark. The dam has never got to its max since built.winds up and through ever increasingly rugged hills. Typical of this landscape, there are slumps and escarpments, often horizontal, but one hill had a pyramid look and the escarpments were at about 30 degrees from horizontal. Again, there is big evidence of a huge tectonic upheaval. In a couple of places, where there has been pressure in two directions, the rock has a 180 degree or more fold. We photographed one of these on the lakes edge.
Where the lake is today was a grazing station until the 1960s when the lease was terminated and the dam planning and construction started. So the Ord river no longer wandered across the station, but is now stored behind the dam, and holds around 15 times as much water as Sydney Harbour.
The camping ground at Lake Argyle is well treed and has good grass sites - minimal dust. The facilities are a little basic but work well. The big surprise is that this very popular camping and holiday spot has no mobile phone coverage or internet. The Park has a satellite connection, but when we tried it we couldn't link to Bigpond. A known issue apparently.
With no phone,
Rock Wallaby
Smaller than I thought - but cute. This is a juvenile about to leave the family cave to make a life for him/her self. no TV, no newspapers, it was time to enjoy this unspoiled beautiful spot. There is lots of birdlife here, and one of the more common birds is the friarbird. Bit ugly, (some times known as a leather head), very noisy with a huge variety of calls, and just love bathing in the sprinkler systems.
There are several varieties of parrots and lorikeets here. The lorikeets, though similar to our east coast rainbow birds, have a much more orange colour which includes the neck band.
We took a drive along the dam wall and down to a park at river level. The dam wall dwarfs everything in the valley, except the even higher rocky hills which make the dam abutment.
As I was driving along, Marg said 'There's a croc'. A casual look left me uncertain, but in a few seconds Marg had a picture in the camera, and sure enough, a two to three meter long freshie swimming in the dam tailrace. The dam includes a hydro power station which provides power for Kununurra and most of the Argyle Diamond Mine power needs. Crocs generally avoid swift flowing water, but this one was enjoying the flow plus
the ample supply of smaller fish for three square meals a day. It wasn't long before we spotted several more swimming. With the day temps in the 40s, the crocs are in the water rather than lounging in the sun.
The special treat was a sunset cruise on the lake. The cruise is both informative on the dam and its history, and the wild life now living in and around the dam. One surprise was a flock of magpie geese that had arrived on one of the many islands. We have looked in many places for the shy and elusive rock wallabies. We were in luck with one at close range and seeing several others popping off the rock face into the rock wall caves they call home. The one that was close was happy to eat a little food (pellets) from the skipper.
The cruise included the opportunity for those willing to swim in the lake - about 26 Deg C, and 20 - 30 meters deep. A couple (us) didn't take the opportunity, but most did.
Another surprise out on the lake. We had moved out from the islands close to the dam, and suddenly
School group
Abseiling and canoeing on the lake. everyone's mobile phone came to life. There is a mobile phone service at the argyle Diamond Mine, and as there is no obstruction, the signal carries well across the lake.
The lake was pretty calm and very peaceful - could have stayed all night with the cooler air. Plenty of opportunities for sunset pictures etc. Not the best night sky but a very nice evening.
One of the great features of the park is the swimming pool. It is one of those infinity pools, but so well positioned that the water blends with the lake and reflections at sunset. A good spot to cool off at the end of the day. Actually, more people were taking photos than swimming, but this time we both were brave and enjoyed the view and refreshment.
Mary and David decided to stay on a day longer than us, and we expect them to get to Katherine Friday or Saturday. With the hot driving, I suspect Saturday or Sunday.
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Mum & Dad
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Great shots again.
The lake looked inviting and a good cool off place. enjoyed the comments