Friday was a quieter day, a day of catching up on washing, shopping etc., and looking around Kununurra.
6 loads of washing later, well, 2 were on Thursday evening, and we were sorted. A bit of house work, then a drive around town. Fill a gas bottle, ($32) and a few odds and bobs from the hardware store and supermarket.
Kununurra services quite a large area. It was developed purely for the Dam construction (1963) which allowed for permanent irrigation water supplies to a wide region. There has since been a huge agricultural industry taking advantage of the limitless supply of water. A shame some of it can’t be piped to the drought stricken areas. Many crops/vegetables/fruit have been tried over the years, with moderate success, but some very successfully (water melon, maize, pumpkin, soya beans, sandlewood, chia seeds, to name a few). It also services a big tourist market, with people using it as a stopover before or after doing the Gibb River Road, or like us, heading to or from Broome. It also services a mining community, Arglye Diamond Mine (which closes in 2020). There are plenty of mechanical/engineering services to cater for all the above. 2 supermarkets, Coles and IGA, 2 bottle shops, 3 camping shops, 5 caravan parks, 2 diamond shops, an airport that had 5 small jets sitting there this morning, a hospital and numerous other shops. So a pretty big town on the Outback scale.
Unfortunately, the emergency services and hospital got a run on Friday night as there was a bad accident on the Gibb River Road, about 180km from Kununurra. A vehicle rolled late in the evening, killing 2 occupants and injuring another critically. 3 others uninsured. The remoteness made it difficult to get services there quickly. A doctor was staying at a nearby (a relative term) station who was able to render assistance until services arrived. A reminder of the need to take care in the outback and appreciate the hardships people endure living up here.
We drove out to Ivanhoe Crossing, which used to be the access to Wyndham (the most northern WA town). It is quite a large river crossing, but a moderate amount of water flowing at this time of the year. It is a controlled flow from the diversion dam as some is diverted into the irrigation channel (about 10%). We didn’t drive over, we had no need to. Happy to watch others.
A view from Kelly Knob lookout over Kununurra showed a lush environment. With unlimited water, there is greenery everywhere. A nice sight after plenty of dust.
Our caravan park is on the edge of Lake Kununurra, a very pretty spot. We have one of 6 “premium” sites, on grass, overlooking the lake. In the spot next to us, are another Bendigo couple. Shelley and Chris, their daughter works at McIvor Rd Chiropractic Clinic with you. At night, if you shine your torch into the shallow water, you can see the eyes of freshwater crocs. They are harmless to large things, (unlike the Salties), but they might give a nasty nip if aggravated. They are a timid species!
Yesterday, Saturday, we spent a day on the water. First up was a cruise from Kununurra up the Ord River to the Dam wall. It was 55km. The boat was very comfortable, powered by 3 very large outboard motors. Our driver was great, explaining how the river sytem works, the ecosystem, the Dam wall construction, the diversion wall construction, the wild life, and a very fast boat at times. We pulled into the bank along the river to our lunch stop. The driver pulled out a great spread for a self serve lunch. Back on the river, heading up to the dam. At times, the water was moving swiftly as we got closer to the dam outlet. It actually rises about 10m, so that made it an exciting ride. At times, the driver let the tail slide out. I think he would have liked driving on the Shotover River in Queenstown NZ. It was a fantastic cruise.
Once at the Dam wall, it was off the boat, onto a bus for a drive across the dam wall. The Ord River is on one side, Lake Argyle on the other. The lake capacity is about the equivalent of 19 Sydney Harbours. That’s a lot of water! All held back by quite a small wall. The dam wall was constructed with clay soil and rock, all collected within 1 km. This is great engineering. The afternoon was spent cruising on Lake Argyle to watch the sun set. Beautiful. A bus ride back to Kununurra made for a full day.
Time to move West to Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles). We arrived by lunchtime and spent a leisurely afternoon. We need that every now and then. Besides, there is nothing here apart from access to the National Park. It is also a working station, Mabel Downs. This park is only 1 km of dirt, off the highway. A limited number of powered sites (we have one). 12 out of 70). Generators power this park. You have to be careful not to draw too much power at once. The AC and the kettle together is too much, and trips the switch. The park has a great communal area around a fire pit, chairs for about 40. Meals are available too. Not bad for the outback.
6.30 departure from the park on the off road bus, heading out to the NP. It is 55km of rough road, with a couple of small water crossings, taking about 2 hours. Once out there, it was worth it. The Bungle Bungles are stunning, everywhere you look are domes with pancake-like layers. Dry rivers, chasms, gorges, a bit of everything. About 5 km of walking, over some rough terrain, but relatively easy. Just fantastic scenery. The drive home was not quite as enjoyable. Being tired, it did seem a much longer drive back, than this morning. Perhaps Trevor, our driver was in a hurry. Exhausting and rough! But fantastic. Back buy sunset. Enough time to have a shower and a quiet drink before dinner, prepared by the local chef. A lovely way to finish the day.
With limited reception, it is just taking ages to load photos to the blog. I can get them up easily on Facebook, so have a look there. Sorry, that’s the best I can do at this stage.
At Fitzroy Crossing for an overnighter in a lovely caravan park. The township hasn’t got too much going for it, but this park is like an oasis in the desert. Off to Derby tomorrow for a couple of nights there.
Bye for now.
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