From: Lake Argyle, NE Kimberley
To: Kununurra, NE Kimberley
Distance: 70 km
Time: 40 minutes
Author: Mrs A
We had a leisurely start to the day before packing up and heading off, travelling a short distance to the nearby town of Kununurra. We set up our apartment on the shores of the lake, admiring our incredible view.
We then jumped on our bikes and cycled a couple of kilometres into town – we had to purchase some fresh fruit and vegetables to replace those we abandoned at the border, and buy a Western Australian national parks pass – Mr A was delighted to find he got $30 off for being a senior, making it just $70 – bargain!
We returned to camp and another lovely Mark, one of the campsite managers, came over and helped us to switch our filter on the van – we now have full running water – enough for lovely hot showers and a couple of clothes washes in our 2kg machine! Hopefully he can help fix the new one when that arrives next week…
We decided to take our Packrafts out on the lake to check they were not indeed leaking. It was a stunning afternoon on the water, and we proved they were air tight and it was probably user error causing the issues yesterday. Such a relief. We enjoyed a fantastic sunset, followed by a spectacular full moon rising – just perfect!
This evening we ate at a local restaurant – fantastic quality food and wine in an old Pumphouse – originally built on the banks of the Ord River to help irrigate the local area for tropical crops. Crops nowadays are mostly cotton and chia seed, which is sent predominantly to China (a Chinese owned farm). The other main business here is diamond mining. Look up the Pink Argyle Diamonds – very rare and very special…
This is a great location and one we wish we could spend more in. We head off tomorrow to the Bungle Bungle range (Purnalulu National Park) for three nights, before returning back here mid next week.
At night shine a torch over the lake .you will usually see some croc eyes!!
Also worth going down the track and checking out El Questro…
Loving your posts.
XX R & R
Ah yes. Saw fish but not crocs. El Questro next week. We are driving the Gibb River Road 🙂 xx. Loving your comments!
Wow! Gorgeous photo of the moon rising over the lake!
We were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time 🙂
Hello! Sorry I’m not sure if this comment will be seen as I know this blog post is a few years old. Just hoping to learn more about your experience packrafting on Lake Argyle? Have heard that packrafting on more open bodies of water like lakes are quite tricky so hoping to hear about your time there!
Hi Dan! It was our first ever go at packrafting, so quite interesting. Not too hard there – you have to just watch for wind. We have also pack rafted on the ocean in bays and up rivers. The wind is the most challenging. We now have an inflatable double kayak which can cope in most weathers.