We have just had two very relaxing days at Lake Argyle.   It really is a very special part of Western Australia and of course it is the last place we will visit, before crossing the border into the Northern Territory.  The turn off into Lake Argyle is only a few kilometres from the border.

We left the caravan park at Kununurra by 8.15am on Wednesday the 18^th July, to be sure that we got a powered site at Lake Argyle.  When we did the 55km Ord River Cruise from Lake Argyle last Sunday, the park was super busy and the bus driver said “That you had to be early to get a powered site”.  I did ring to make sure we would be able to get in, because Peter was far from pleased with the thought of driving over what is a very rough road at the moment, to be turned away.  The lady said “They do not turn anyone away.  At worse we would end up with an unpowered site and the earlier you could get here the better”.  Check out time is 10.00am.  We passed about 15 vans going out, so we figured we had a good chance of getting a bay.  The staff at the resort is super-efficient when booking in.  Guys meet you out the front and decide what bay you will be allocated.  They give you a small piece of paper to then go and pay.  When you come back they lead the way on a bike, to where they wish you to park.  We were in a drive through site.  Too hard to get us all together, but that is not necessary.  When travelling in a group, it doesn’t hurt to have a bit of space from time to time! 

This caravan park was the camp site for the construction crew when the dam wall was constructed. The restaurant and administration area of the resort is the original kitchen and dining area, with a few improvements over the years.  I tried to find out how long the Lake Argyle Resort has been operating, but to no avail.  I suspect it started out small, soon after the wall was completed and it has grown to what it is today.  If you are staying in one of the cabins on the edge of the lake, what a view to wake up to each day!  And it is interesting to note, that if the wall had been put where it was originally intended, the beautiful 'Pannikin Bay' would not be there and provide the magnificent backdrop to everything at the resort.

We had booked a Lake Argyle Cruise with Greg Smith, who has been operating tours on Lake Argyle for over 20 years.  When we visited Kununurra in 2011 we did a cruise with Triple J Tours and it included a tour on the lake.  It wasn’t for very long and we were taken out to the spot where the Durack homestead had once stood and told the Durack story.  Later we were taken to the restored homestead.  And of course we cruised close to the amazing rock wall that contains the Ord River, creating this amazing lake.  When I look back at my photos I can now understand why the tourist operators are referring to 2011 being the highest flood level.  I have also found a photo of the water flowing down Spillway Creek in 2011 and what a difference there is in 2018.  But Kevin the bus driver on Sunday did say that Kununarra had only half their average rainfall last wet season.  400 mls instead of 800mls.  The highest dam level was on the 7th April 2011.

During the cruise we were given lots of statistics, but one can cheat a bit with the help of Mr Google so...........'Did you know these statistics for the dam?   At normal full supply level the area of the lake formed by the Ord Dam is 980 square kilometres and impounds 10.7 million mega litres (8.6 million acre feet) of water, over 18 times the volume of water contained in Sydney Harbour! If the lake ever does flood to its maximum capacity then the volume will more than triple – Sydney Harbour could be filled more than 70 times. The length of the crest of the dam is 335 metres and the height of the wall from the river bed is 98.5 metres, The width of the wall and the base is 300 metres and is tapered to the top.  The wall of the dam is completely of rock and the cost to build the wall was 22 million dollars.  It was officially opened in 1972 and Lake Argyle was filled to storage volume by January 1974.  The total length of the Ord River is 650 kms and the catchment area for Lake Argyle is 46,200 square kms.  The Ord River Dam post office opened on 1 March 1969 and closed on 15 November 1971, demonstrating the approximate duration of the construction camp. In 1996, the spillway wall was raised by 6 metres (20 ft), which doubled the dam's capacity.

We set off in the newest boat of the Greg Smith operation and after finding one rock wallaby for Greg to throw a few pellets, we went back in to the boat harbour.  This boat had gear box trouble.  His staff was there to get us under way as quickly as possible.  Fortunately the ‘Silver Cobbler’ had enough fuel for the six hour cruise! 

Lunch was rolls and wraps that had been made by subway in Kununurra one would presume.  When we were getting on the boat or transferring Di and Bob Bee said “Hello”.  What a surprise.  They have been travelling north for five weeks and are only going as far as Kununurra.  They will be four weeks making their way back to Geraldton.

Well we cruised and cruised on this tourist trip.  A lady that worked in reception at the Lake View Kununarra CP had told us the cruise was amazing and if we had time we should do it.  Well maybe on a clear day (there was a lot of smoke haze) and without the change of boats, we would have rated it more highly.  One thing is for sure Peter has never done that many kilometres on a boat without throwing a line over the side!  Particularly when there is 26 species of fish in the lake!

We travelled to what was the locals ‘Barbecue Islands’ to feed some fish.  There were some barbecues on these islands, but they have been lost to monsoonal weather and haven’t been replaced.  The ‘Snooty Grunters’ that spurted up the stream of water if you held the piece of bread at boat level, saw a few tourists get wet. 

After our visit to ‘Barbecue Island’ the long cruise began.  On and on we went over dead flat glassy water and later we were told we had travelled pretty much down the west side of the lake.  We went past the 'Ten Kilometre Buoy' for the famous swim on the Lake in may and right down to the pumping barge for Argyle Diamonds.  These days the only water pumped from the lake by the mine is for human consumption.  It is proposed the Argyle Diamond Mine will close in 2020.  This was where we went bird watching.  If I had taken my zoom lens, I would have got some great photos.  But with a bit of cropping some are not too bad.  We will have to wait until we get home and study a bird book before we can name them.  I got a pretty good photo of the kite that swooped on the fish Greg put in the water.  

We came back and fed the melon skins to wallabies on an island and then went around the corner to watch the sun set on the rock face.  It was stunning and a photographer’s delight!  And a few of us did get in the water.  Drinking champagne in the water with a noodle is not that easy, but eating nibbles from the floating tray was even harder!  Really glad we did get into the water and thank you to our travelling partners who did their best to operate my camera and get some snaps.  Thanks also to Di Bee who was the encourager to get Peter and I into the water.  And then John followed.   The water wasn’t that cold.  Greg said it would be about 23 degrees.  Have to say that for me it was the best part of the cruise. 

It was dark when we got back to the caravan just after 6.00pm.  But then sunset was 5.10pm.  It gets dark early up here!  The cost was $155 at senior’s rate and we were out there for six hours, so I guess at $25 an hour, the price wasn’t too bad!

Thursday was a cruisy day, but a different cruisy!  We did some washing, defrosted the fridge and thanks to Margaret I had a haircut.  We went to the ‘Infinity Pool’ and had a swim at 2.00pm.  It was quite cold when you got in the water, but it was nice after a short while.  What a special pool it is and if they had put the wall where it was originally intended there would not be this backdrop.  It certainly is stunning.  The pool is 35 metres of infinity wet edge, with a spa, and some of the most breathtaking scenery in Australia!!

Then to finish off our day, we went down to the lawn area in front of the’ Infinity Pool’ for drinks and nibbles and to enjoy the Lake Argyle Muso Steve Case.  His music was okay, Terry Bennetts at Eighty Mile was better, but with such a back drop any muso was going to be enjoyed.

Once they get mobile reception and WiFi out here it will be perfect, but two days without a mobile phone and no internet is long enough.  Now to see if Pete can catch himself a barra in the Northern Territory, sometime during the two nights at Timber Creek.