Day 37
Thursday
9 August
Lake Argyle – Kununurra
The piercing, golden light penetrated our bedroom roof vent, beckoning me and I couldn’t resist. I left Paul snuggled up in bed, grabbed my camera and wandered down to the pool area, where I could watch the landscape come alive. There were a few others out doing the same thing, but for the most part the park was as quiet and still as the surroundings.
After taking the photos, I was happy to just sit on a bench and soak up the energy. It was just so peaceful and I was glad that I had made the effort to be a part of it. A cool breeze came in at 6.30am and that was my cue to head back to the van, the pool ripping from its touch.
I returned to the warmth of the bed and read my book for an hour, but being horizontal soon became a chore, so I got up and went off for a shower. When I returned, Paul was up getting brecky organised. We ate and then he went for a shower. I went through the photos I had taken and when Paul was back, we packed up our van and shifted it across a metre, so we weren’t encroaching on the bay next to us.
I packed up the car with all we needed and by 9.15am we were ready to leave and head on into Kununurra. Our first stop was Kelly’s Knob, a rocky lookout that surveyed the town. We climbed up through the boulders and make shift steps to the top, enjoying the view it gave. Sadly, we were also madly on our phones while the signal was good.
After the lookout, we navigated out to the local Hoochery to try out the selection of rum and liqueurs on offer. The place was busy, as they were about to start a tour, but once they passed out the back door, we were left in relative peace. We ordered a paddle of 4 rums and a paddle of the 3 liqueurs and found a seat to park ourselves. The 4 rums were eye watering, nose hair burning and breath taking. With each new sip, I was pulling all sorts of hideous faces. I guess I am not a rum drinker. However, the mango, chocolate coffee and aniseed liqueurs were a winner.
To put out the fire in the throat, we ordered a hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate, rum cake before deciding on what products we were going to take away with us. With all our money well and truly spent, we returned to the car and the road, driving through the Ord River farming district, where corn and sandalwood appeared to be in abundance.
Our next stop was the Ivanhoe Crossing. We found a place to pull over and get out and admire the rush of water that was pushing through the small holes and spilling over the road. We watched a few vehicles cross over, some doing an about face when they reached the other side and making the return journey. Paul was looking for fishing opportunities, but with the water gushing and a sign saying no fishing from the crossing, there was little chance. I was looking for crocs, but saw none. We walked into the bush seeing if there was another access point to a quieter section, but this proved fruitless also.
We returned to the car deciding to head on to the diversion dam and the lions park for lunch. We didn’t get there straight away, as we diverted to the Kimberley Ornamental Stonecraft to check out the zebra rock. We did a browse of the shop, admiring the stone jewellery pendants and the gorgeous wine racks. After buying a couple of pieces, we also wandered out to the workshop to talk to one of the workers and to pick up another piece that I can work on and finish myself.
We continued our journey, this time arriving at the Lions Park at the base of the diversion dam. We found a shady spot by the water, set up our chairs and had our lunch. Paul also pulled out the fishing rod, flicking the lure around, but nothing was interested.
We packed up our things and made our way to the top of the dam and the swim beach, there were plenty here enjoying the sun. We watched a sea plane taxi around before taking off and I checked out a small finch preening itself, after taking a bath. We didn’t hang around for long, opting to return to the town centre, so Paul could ask after a friend at the cop shop, unfortunately they hadn’t heard of who we were looking for.
Paul rang Jaden, while we still had cover, stopped in at the camping store for insider fishing info and bait and then picked up some beers, before we began the journey home. All day I had been using my net cover to begin the catch up of blog, Instagram and Facebook. I got a few bits done, but nothing substantial.
We drover the 32km out of town, challenging ourselves to read all of the community names, but zipping past the signs and trying to read 15 letter words was near impossible. We drove the extra 4km to the NT border and took a photo. I stepped over the state line, before we turned back and made our way back to Lake Argyle.
We arrived home at 330pm, hot and thirsty. I was straight into the bathers and we wandered down to the pool for a quick and brisk dip. There weren’t as many around this afternoon. We returned to the van and I sat outside, enjoying a drink and nibbles as I went through the photos and we listened to Steve play his tunes.
At 5pm, I grabbed my tripod and camera and returned to the pool to take some sunset pics. The pool was empty now so my view was uninterrupted. There were plenty of other people also taking the opportunity to capture the Kimberley sunset.
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