Lake Argyle

In 1970 the Ord River was dammed to form Lake Argyle which is a massive body of water estimated to equate to the volume of 20 Sydney Harbours. The dam water is used for irrigation downstream in and around Kununurra. The infrastructure built to house the workers who constructed the dam is now used by the Lake Argyle Resort which is where we have stayed for two nights.

 

The term "resort" seems to have a fluid definition but here there is a licensed restaurant, expensive fuel, boat and helicopter tours (for a fee), and an infinity pool. The pool is located above the lake and positioned so that the pool water and the lake water can appear to be the one body of water. It is a lovely pool and we can admire the view from the cool water.

 

I took a 2 hour breakfast boat tour which was informative and enjoyable, particularly as there was no wind so the trip was in calm water. At the boat ramp there were hundreds of fish visible in the crystal clear water. Later we took the dogs to the boat ramp so they could have a swim.

 

Busloads of tourists come through the park each day and there must be more than 200 caravan and camping sites. Fortunately we arrived early enough to get a powered site. The main drawback here is the lack of telephone and internet service. The park provides WIFI for a couple of hours in the afternoons, but given the number of people here every dry season it is outrageous there is no telephone/internet communications tower, particularly as Kununurra is only 70kms away.

 

Tomorrow we head for Katherine but we may not get that far depending what time we get away in the morning and the number of stops we need to have. Dog number one seems more willing to get into the Jeep now we are in areas where the temperature is 35 degrees plus. I cool down the Jeep and she has happily hopped in. Hopefully she will do the same tomorrow when the van is attached.