East Kimberley

September 2021

Sunset from Kelly's Knob lookout - Kununurra

Ah Kununurra, what a welcoming place this was. The day we arrived the three of us were so irritated with each other it was like we had just been spat out of a pressure cooker. Mali was acting up and Craig and I were growling at each other. We figured this was completely normal when living in a large tin can for 7 months. We decided to spend a week here and really loved this attractive little town (population 6000). Firstly, I disappeared to the local pool for some laps and some space, whilst Craig and Mali went shopping for some camping gear and food. Craig went fishing later that day and brought back a Sooty Grunter –which made his day.

We were all in sync again and enjoyed the evening by the lake. Kununurra is the gateway to the East Kimberley region -one of the most remote places in Australia - with spectacular escarpment country, waterfalls, rivers, gorges, and pristine coastline. The area offers so many adventures from scenic flights over the Bungle Bungles and Mitchell Falls, sunset cruises, kayaking adventures, fishing tours or simply relaxing by Lake Argyle or Lake Kununurra. We did a bit of both.

The town was created in 1960 to service the Ord River Scheme. The Ord River was dammed in 1972 to form Lake Argyle –the largest man-made lake in Australia (1000km2) – which is now a wetland of international significance as it supports a third of Australia’s bird species. Once a habitat that was subject to the cycles of the wet and dry seasons, now this massive expanse of permanent freshwater is available all year round attracting much wildlife and allowing irrigation in Kununurra to support many crops including chickpeas, melons, mangoes, bananas, citrus, chia, and sandalwood. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? They were a clever bunch but, here is the clincher, not one indigenous community was consulted before the damming took place and much of their land is now underwater. Another example of the ignorance of the early pioneers.

We stayed at Kimberlyland Waterfront Holiday Park and enjoyed early morning views of the lakefront, stunning evening sunrises, a plethora of birds and often a sun-baking freshwater crocodile. The grassy lakefront was a popular spot for morning yoga and evening happy hour. This is easily one of the most picturesque caravan parks we have stayed in. The Celebrity Tree Park next door was lovely and skirted Lily Creek Lagoon. I walked here many mornings and was surprised at the wildlife I saw and how ‘green’ Kununurra is – thanks to the irrigation water.

We crossed the Ivanhoe Crossing several times, which is basically a concrete causeway built over the mighty Ord River, and Mali loved hanging her head out the window. Given it is a popular spot to snag a Barramundi, Craig gave it a shot. There would be a photo of it here if he caught one. Better luck next time.

We visited the Sandalwood Shop and I treated myself to some lovely fragrant products – I absolutely love Sandalwood. Then we popped into the Hoochery Distillery for some rum (Craig was not impressed–nothing beats Bundaberg Rum for this Queenslander).

We visited Mirima National Park (2km from town) early one morning to avoid the heat of the day. It is known as the ‘Mini Bungle Bungles’ (the real Bungle Bungles being about 250km south-west) as the rock formations are very similar. The rocks were formed from sediments deposited by creeks and wind-blown sand about 300 million years ago. The rocks are protected by a thin layer of black-grey algae and lichens that resist the weathering of the fragile orange sandstone by the rains of the tropical wet. We did a few of the short walks, one which gave us a lovely view of the top of the rock formations. Mali spotted a Short-eared Wallaby in the distance bouncing around the tops of the large, exposed rocks.I thought she was joking untilI also saw them in the distance. Mali has quite a knack at spotting wildlife now. She hears rustling in the bushes and the next thing she has spotted a goanna! I must admit, as a Wildlife Biologist, I am a proud Mum. Another short walk along the ‘Looking at Plants’ trail (someone had no imagination) was a wonderful exploration into bush-tucker. We learnt about the Kapok tree with its woody capsules and seeds inside which are surrounded by fluffy, ‘cottony’ threads. These are used to make mattresses and bedding. It is also a ‘calendar’ plant of the Jawoyn people-flowering indicates when freshwater crocodiles are laying eggs and the time for collecting them. I am really enjoying the indigenous knowledge we are accumulating on the way.

Mirima National Park

Kelly’s Knob lookout (top photo) delivered a spectacular sunset. Again, only 2km from town, the views of Kununurra from here were awesome. Craig and I took Mali to the fantastic local pool, which had a water slide and splash pool, 3 days in a row. I think it was her highlight. I’ll admit I quite enjoyed it too – anything to stay cool up here.

I also started my Meditation Teacher Training course whilst we were here and spent 2 days learning online with a dozen other keen meditators. Finding a quiet space was not easy. The local Library allowed me to book a room for Saturday and Craig & Mali kindly vacated the caravan on Sunday. I have 3 more days of online training to go so we will need to ensure we land somewhere with good internet service (something that is becoming less and less available in remote parts of WA). I am really enjoying the course and I am currently 17 days into a 30-day meditation challenge. Some of the locations I have been meditating have been so stunning and so conducive to practice. I am noticing an incredible difference within myself including more peace and calm within. I am so much more relaxed, and I experience more regular short moments of open awareness. The benefits are keeping me motivated and focused.

After a wonderful week we back tracked 70km to visit Lake Argyle before starting our huge leg west to Broome. We had heard how lovely it was. To be honest, the infinity pool is what attracted me but, it had oodles more to offer. The sunset cruise with Lake Argyle Tour and Boat Cruises was a real highlight for us. We were informed about the natural history and development of the lake and spotted loads of wildlife. To top it off we enjoyed a swim in the lake, floating on noodles, with champagne and beer. Mali was asking from the time we left the boat ramp ‘when are we going swimming?’. Hours later she was leaping off the side of the boat into the water whilst Craig I soaked in the freshwater with our sunset beverages. Two hundred and fifty dollars well spent!

I managed to squeeze in an early morning mountain bike ride around the Rotary Lake Argyle Mountain Bike loop (~8km including the link track). The views were breathtaking! The track circuited the Lake Argyle Historic Homestead and followed several ridges on the edge of the lake. It got hot pretty quickly on the rocky slopes and there were a few challenging sections but, much like riding in Nitmiluk Gorge, I spent a large portion of the loop taking photos. Therefore, it took me a good 2 hours to do the 8km, but it felt so good to be back on the bike after 5 weeks.

Rotary Lake Argyle Mountain Bike Loop

We left Lake Argyle at 6am to head as far west as we could. We made it 800km (9 hours driving) to Lake Ellendale Station, just 3 hours east of Broome. This free campsite was by a small billabong with spectacular stargazing opportunities. We sat outside for hours watching shooting stars and constellations. The next morning, I spotted my first flock of both Cockatiels and Budgerigars. What a treat!! So far Western is impressing us but we had no idea how spectacular Broome and its beaches would be.

Here are a few more pictures I just had to share.....

Lake Argyle

Infinity Pool at Lake Argyle Caravan Park

Magical Lake Argyle

See you in Broome!