Day 55 Wyndham to Kunnunurra

 So now we move on to Kunnunurra for 5 nights and further exploration of the Kimberley. K was only gazetted as a town in 1961 and was originally spelt with a C but the post office kept getting it mixed up with Cunnamulla so hence the change. It was also the beginning of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme which had its trials and tribulations but has certainly found its mojo in the last 50 years. We are staying at the Lakeside Discovery Caravan Park which is a bit out of town, Great spot right on Lake Kunnunurra and as I booked so early we have a site on the very front looking at the lake . 

Still lots of fresh water crocodiles in the water but there are gates which control the water flow downstream and west of those gates , it is all salt water crocs.  We did have the opportunity to meet George , a local celebrity who comes to a particular spot at the park every dusk to see if he might score anything. Also had another smaller one come up and sit beside the BBQ area around the same time.

George

We have a couple of bucket list things to tick off while we are here so the first 2 days were very busy, 

The first was the cruise up the Ord River - picked up by boat from the park and headed up the lake to the dam wall of Lake Argyle - about 55kms. Glen our skipper was very informative and we learnt a lot about the local fauna and flora and the history of the Ord River. Enjoyed a nice lunch and then up to the dam wall to check out the 66,000l/sec that is flowing through the hydro plant to generate power for the whole town. Prior to the hydro plant being built, Kunnunurra used to use 1 million litres of diesel a week to generate its power. They dropped us off and then on to a bus to return. On the way , we dropped into Argyle Downs Homestead to check out the history of the Durack family, The Duracks were the original cattle pioneers of the area and came to the area in the late 1800's , They completed the biggest cattle drive from Cooper Creek in QLD with 7000 cattle, 200 horses , the family and 20 men. They lost about half of them on a 8 month journey that took 2 1/2 years to complete. They established a dynasty that became Argyle Downs. When the Ord River was dammed . Argyle Downs went under water. The were plans to relocate all of the historical buildings when the Ord River was dammed but the water rose so fast they only had time to dismantle the original sandstone homestead and move it to higher ground. All of the rest went underwater but there is an opportunity to dive on those buildings towards the end of the dry.

The damming has created a whole new ecosystem within the area that continues to be studied .

Next was the Bungle Bungles ( Pernunululu) . We looked at our options to travel and decided that a flight from Kunnunurra was our choice. what a great it was . Yes we could have driven and camped and seen a few more gorges but flying over the Bungles is something special. On our way down , we flew over the crops and lake Argyle. Landed , easy walk into Cathedral Gorge , lunch and then a flight back . Unusually there has been storms floating around and had the good luck to see one over Lake Argyle with a rainbow . there Its so hard to describe how amazing this place is . It was very hot and humid when we were there - apparently there was 100 mm of rain that night - how unusual!

Jethro - our local guide explaining the rock art

Cathedral Gorge - look close to see the people at the edge of the pool

Argyle Diamond Mine ( decommissioned)

That's our park down there

After 2 full on days , it was nice to back off a bit so went for a drive to check out the town, Visited the Hoochery which is the local distillery producing  rums, whiskey and gin. Had  a couple of tasting paddles and a Ploughman's Lunch- yum. The Sandalwood shop was next . Sandalwood is a big crop here but they have to be patient - it takes 15 years for the plants to reach maturity.  Other crops included corn and lots of mango trees. Russ picked up some local Mango jam to try. 

Headed out to Ivanhoe Crossing - a big water crossing out of town where all the salt water croc's are supposed to hang around. Russ did try his luck fishing but that Barra is still eluding him. 

Kunnunurra is a very busy tourist town and we are seeing an increase in the number of interstate travelers as we head closer to the Northern Territory .  We will move on to Lake Argyle for a couple of days from here . 

Funny what you find in the IGA