NITMILUK NATIONAL PARK

17^th August, 2012

Less than an hour’s drive east of Kununurra is the border between West Australia and the Northern Territory.

Crossing the border

There are no quarantine regulations heading east so all the fruit and veggies we stocked up on in Kununurra are safe.  We continued east all day and stopped for the night in a rest area and by 10am were rolling into the town of Katherine.  It has been 25 years since we were last in the Northern Territory and things have definitely changed in town.  There were only a few buildings along the main street then with a park where the local aboriginals were hanging out.  The park is still there but a full-on Saturday market was taking place and the main street sported both a Coles and Woolworths supermarket along with a variety of other shops and takeaways.  And you just know that a town has hit a certain benchmark when you see a McDonalds around the corner.  We stop for fuel and then head east for 30 kms to Nitmiluk National Park.  Here the spectacular Katherine Gorge forms the backbone of the 2920 sq km National Park.  A series of 13 deep sandstone gorges have been carved out by the Katherine River on its journey to the Timor Sea.  We pull into the Visitor Centre (which wasn’t here 25 years ago) and book a 1pm cruise up the gorge.  On Australia Day in 1998 the raging floodwaters of the Katherine River inundated the town up to a height of 2 metres and saltwater crocodiles cruised up and down the main street.  The camping ground that used to be further up the river in the National Park was virtually swept away so it was relocated to higher ground up near the visitor centre.   At 1pm the boat arrives to take us on our tour up the gorge.

Our tour boat arrives

As we head up the gorge a croc trap comes into view. 

Croc trap in Katherine Gorge

The rangers do a clean-up of any saltwater crocodiles that have managed to swim up the river in the wet and keep the cage handy in case any strays wander in.  The ‘salties’ they catch are taken to the crocodile farm near Darwin.  Of course there are lots of freshwater crocodiles in the river but we keep getting reassured by rangers and tour guides that ‘freshies’ don’t like us humans.  Yeah … we know that but has anyone told the ‘freshies’?  We motor on up the river through the first gorge

Heading up the first gorge

until we come to a rock barricade.  From here we have to hop off the boat and walk a few hundred metres to the second gorge where another boat awaits.  Twenty five years ago we (us and our 14 year old daughter Tina and 13 year old son Trent) clambered over all the rocks to get to the next gorge.  This time it was much easier with concrete pathways and boardwalks making the transition from boat to boat much easier.

Boardwalk in Katherine Gorge

The thousands of years old aboriginal paintings are still visible high up on a cliff face.

Aboriginal paintings in Katherine Gorge

We were wondering how on earth the artists managed to do their paintings as it was a sheer cliff face with no ledges to support an ant let alone a human being.  Then it was explained to us that the rocks on which the artists had stood to do their paintings had long since eroded away and crashed to the gorge floor.  This makes a lot more sense than our theory which sort of had the artists balancing on stilts.  The view back down the gorge was just as spectacular

View down the river from the second gorge

as the view up the gorge.

View of the second gorge

The first bend in the second gorge brought us past Jedda’s Rock or Jedda’s Leap.

Jedda's Rock

In the 1950’s the first Australian film starring aboriginals in lead roles was produced.  The film was called Jedda and is now an Australian classic.  The boat continued up the gorge

The sandstone cliffs of Katherine Gorge

and sandwiched us in between sandstone cliffs.

Cliffs along the second gorge

Of course we just couldn’t leave out a photo of a freshwater crocodile.  This ‘freshie’ was quite fat and around 8 foot long.  It’s amazing how they blend into the landscape.

Can you see the 'freshie'?

It’s not until you get really close that you can see their distinctive markings and toothy grins.

Just sunbaking .....

Then it was time to retrace our steps back down the gorge and enjoy the scenery all over again.

The beauty of Katherine Gorge

It was 3.30pm when we got back to the car park so we decided to head sixty kilometres north and camp at Edith Falls for the night.  The falls are also situated in Nitmiluk National Park and we arrived in time to snaffle up one of the last remaining camp sites.  We took a walk down to the falls and were surprised to see a large gravel sandbar in the pond at the bottom of the falls.

Gravel bar across the pond at Edith Falls

Twenty five years ago this sandbar did not exist but in the ‘wet’ two years ago the water raged over the falls flooding the whole area downstream and when the water level subsided the gravel sandbar had been created.  The falls however have not changed and there were quite a few people braving the icy cold water.

Swimmers at Edith Falls

This time around we didn’t see any ‘freshies’ in the water but the signs still advise one to be careful as this is their pond and their creek.  In the morning we take a stroll down to the falls for one last look before heading further north.

Edith Falls

This has been quite an interesting experience for us – revisiting places we have not visited for quarter of a century.  Have we been disappointed in the changes we have seen?  No – we are not.  Change and growth is inevitable and the control and management of the National Park seems to be headed in the right direction.  May these natural wonders remain as accessible as they are right now so that future generations can enjoy them just as much as we have.

WYNDHAM, KUNUNURRA and LAKE ARGYLE

11^th August, 2012

We’re on the last part of our travels in West Australia.  The road trains are still monstering other road users

There's not much room between the road train and caravan

and oversize loads trundle down the highway.

We're glad that we aren't caught up in the traffic following these two trucks

At Wyndham we are greeted by a twenty metre crocodile.

The welcome crocodile at Wyndham

There are lots of saltwater crocodiles up here and as we browse our way through the local museum there are many stories about crocodile attacks.  There haven’t been any recent attacks but the residents are very aware of the danger in becoming too complacent.  The building vibrates as road trains pass by on their way to the port.

Just some local traffic passing by

A display of glass spearheads catches our eye.

Glass spearhead display

and we are amused to read about how they came into being.  Not so amused were the police, settlers and stockmen who were speared by these weapons. 

The museum is a veritable gem with a comprehensive display on everything relating to the town and port of Wyndham.  We have lunch in the van beside the jetty and keep an eye out for the local resident ‘saltie’ but he obviously had much better things to do than cruise past where we were having lunch.

Wyndham Jetty

We drove up to the Five Rivers Lookout and got a lovely view over Wyndham and the mudflats to the mountain range beyond.

Five Rivers Lookout

It was getting late in the day so we retraced our steps back down the highway trying to find a free camp area that was listed in our camping guide but couldn’t find the track off the highway.  We did however find a road to The Grotto which had a small parking area.  We took a walk along the cliff top to take a look at the grotto viewpoint

Wok takes in the view at the Grotto

and by the time we got back to the parking lot all the visitor cars had left.  Wok found a nice level spot beside the parking area and we set up camp for the night.  Not long after a ‘whiz bang’ arrived and set up opposite us.  It was nice to have company for the night.  In the morning we were up early and on our way – arriving in Kununurra at 9am where we checked into Hidden Valley Caravan Park.  We couldn’t believe our ears when we were told there were no water restrictions and Mitzi and the Van were ecstatic to get rid of all that red dirt and dust.  Once all the chores were out of the way we set about exploring Kununurra.  Of course Robyn couldn’t bypass the Kimberley Diamond retail outlet opposite the supermarket.

There's lots of really expensive diamonds in there

She did however bypass purchasing any diamonds.  She was just happy to window shop and look at the display of ‘pink diamonds’ which the Argyle Diamond Mine is famous for.  Along with the pink diamond they also have other colours – yellow, champagne and white.  The occasional rare blue and green diamonds have also been found at the mine.  Prices ranged from $1,800 to $290,000 but these paled into insignificance with one diamond having been sold for fourteen million dollars.  We were pleased to get out of there with wallets still intact.

The reason why Kununurra has no water restrictions is because of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme.  Back in the 1960’s a Diversion Dam was built across the Ord River forming Lake Kununurra.  Then from 1969 to 1972 a larger dam was built 55 kilometres upstream from the diversion dam forming Lake Argyle.  Lake Argyle is massive and in the dry season holds enough water to fill Sydney Harbour 21 times.  In the wet season the lake is capable of holding 44 Sydney Harbours and this happened during the 2010/2011 wet season.  It’s an unbelievable amount of water.  Just about anything can be grown in the fertile black soil and many farmers are now growing Indian Sandalwood with projected rich profits.  We take a drive out into the irrigation area and pass many sandalwood orchards along the way.

The sandalwood trees are the small green shrubs

Indian sandalwood is a parasitic plant and needs host trees to support its growth.  Perfume companies use the oil from the sandalwood as a base for all their products and we stop in at the Sandalwood Factory for a look see.  There are lots of products for us to try – perfumes, creams, soap etc.  Apparently when the wood burns it also helps to keep mozzies and bugs away – much like citronella.

Sandalwood also makes a nice decorative piece

Next door to the sandalwood factory is The Hoochery – a rum distillery.  So that was out next port of call and Wok enjoyed a tasting of the rums on offer. 

Wok enjoying the rum tasting.  Do you like the painting over the bar?
It's called Kimberley Sirens.

With Robyn now driving Mitzi we made our way to Stonecraft where we watched Colin grinding Zebra Stone into different shapes and objects. 

Colin and Wok discuss the ins and outs of Zebra Stone

Zebra Stone is 600 million years old and is only found in one place near the southern end of Lake Argyle.  With its black and white stripes it certainly is a unique rock.  Before heading back to the campground we stopped to have a look at Ivanhoe Crossing.

Ivanhoe Crossing

The crossing has been closed for two years but some keen fishermen are not averse to using it as a place to throw a line in looking for a barramundi. 

'Saltie' bait

They must be really keen for a feed of barramundi as ‘salties’ inhabit this stretch of the river.  We didn’t hang around to see if the fishermen had any luck as we wanted an early night.  In the morning we were up bright and early and by 8am we were waiting at the entrance to the caravan park to be picked up by a tour bus.  We had booked a full day tour which will take in a cruise on Lake Argyle, a visit to the Durack Homestead and a boat ride from Lake Argyle down the Ord River to the Diversion Dam.  It’s a seventy kilometre ride in the bus to Lake Argyle and Jeff our bus/boat driver fills us in on lots of interesting facts along the way.  We stop at the lookout over the dam for our first view of the lake.

Dam at Lake Argyle

Then it is time to board the boat for our lake cruise.

Our cruise boat will be ready once these passengers disembark

We head out around the point near the dam

Heading out onto Lake Argyle

and on the opposite bank come across our first freshwater crocodile.

Lake Argyle freshwater croc

At the last count there were around 35,000 ‘freshies’ in Lake Argyle and we had always thought that ‘freshies’ only grow to around 7 feet in length.  Apparently we were mistaken.  If ‘freshies’ have a large enough body of water with an ample supply of food they can get much larger and here in Lake Argyle they are thriving.  So how big we hear you ask?  Well how does 10 to 11 feet sound?  To say we have no inclination to go for a swim in Lake Argyle is an understatement.  We see many freshwater crocs along the banks as we cruise past but this ‘freshie’ was really big – about 9 foot long and very fat. 

Come on in - the water's fine!

Yep!  No quick dips in Lake Argyle for us.  Of course there is other wildlife around.  Plenty of birds and rock wallabies.

Rock wallabies are sooo cute!

We continue heading south on the lake until we are about a third of the way down.

The Argyle Diamond Mine is in the distance - far left corner

Then the boat does a big loop and heads back up the lake.  On the way back we rendezvous with a sea plane

Here comes the sea plane

and pick up a couple of extra passengers.  This is the first time in fifteen years our boat driver has been asked to rendezvous with the sea plane and he is very excited at the break in his routine.

Our boat driver hurries to greet his new passengers

Our boat driver wastes no time in getting the boat up and going again and back to shore.

Making waves on Lake Argyle

Then it was a side trip to the Durack Homestead.

Durack Homestead

The Durack’s are part of Australian folklore.  Their estimated six month cattle drive from Victoria to the Kimberley’s turned into an epic two years four month journey.  With 7,500 head of cattle they battled their way across an unforgiving land to make their home where Lake Argyle is now situated.  The homestead was saved from the waters of Lake Argyle and moved to where it now stands.  It’s a lovely home with thick rock walls, high ceilings and verandahs on all sides.  The bus takes us back to the hotel on Lake Argyle where we sit in the shade and have a picnic lunch.  There is a boab tree in the grounds which still has all its leaves.

Boab Tree in leaf

Boabs are semi-deciduous and if there is enough water around they do not drop their leaves.  With hoses spraying water all around to keep the grass alive this boab is getting plenty of water.  We take a walk up to the infinity pool for a photo op of the pool overlooking the lake.

Infinity Pool overlooking Lake Argyle

The water in the pool looked inviting but it was freezing.  No wonder no-one was in swimming.  Then it was back on the bus for a quick trip down to the bottom of the dam

The Ord River at the base of the dam

where we met up with our river boat.

Our river boat awaits

We have 55 kilometres to travel down the Ord River to Kununurra.  The river was lovely and smooth

Scenery along the Ord River

and there were photo ops everywhere with mirror images of cliffs and trees.

Mirror images along the Ord River

There are approximately 16,000 freshwater crocs living along the river between the two dams and this little baby croc was trying to hide in the reeds beside the bank.

Peek a boo - baby croc

The sun was starting to get low on the horizon but we still had time for some more mirror reflections

Mirror reflections on the Ord River

before watching the sunset.

Sunset on the Ord River

By the time we arrived back at the caravan park it was after 6 pm.  We were exhausted!  Who could have imagined that climbing in and out of boats and buses could be so tiring.  The tour was excellent and we learned things about the lake, river and land that we would never have known.  This part of West Australia has been a refreshing surprise!