In and around (and above) Kununurra

Kununurra is only 35km over the WA border - and it was a bonus to put the clock back 1.5 hours, which meant we arrived about 11am, thinking we'd have plenty of time to check out different caravan parks before choosing the best one for our four night stay. Turned out not to be quite that simple, because you can't really drive through them to have a good look and you don't know how many sites are available, so you don't like to turn away and try somewhere else, in case you end up back where you started and with fewer sites to choose from! So we pretty much went for the first one we liked the look of, although the site they had left for us wasn't that great. As usual Andrew did an amazing job of backing the van into a tricky spot and making it look easy. We spent the afternoon setting up, checking out the pool and planning our three days - including booking our (very exciting) scenic flight over the Bungle Bungle ranges and Lake Argyle. Yep - just take the $1000 off the credit card thank you very much!

We booked the flight for the next afternoon (I thought it would be best to do it early, as Andrew probably wouldn't sleep until it was over) so we just checked out a few local places in the morning - in particular the local Mirima National Park, where they have what they call the "mini Bungle Bungles" - the same sort of rock formations but smaller. We also checked out a couple of "zebra rock" galleries that produce jewellery, ornaments etc out of this naturally occurring striped rock that is only found in one particular spot near Kununurra (and is about 600 million years old). It was really interesting to see the massive Ord irrigation area around the town - huge acreages of crops reminiscent of the Riverland but with irrigation channels running alongside. The whole massive Lake Argyle has been created to service this irrigation area and its crops. And if I had sat and guessed for a week, I don't think I would ever have come up with the number one crop in Kununurra: sandalwood! Indian sandalwood grown for the oil. And does anyone know what the number two crop is? Not mangoes or pawpaws............ Baker's Delight is a clue.

Our plane was a 7-seater, so just two other passengers plus our family. Andrew got to sit up front next to the pilot (I was very jealous). It was extremely noisy in the plane, so you couldn't have a conversation, but we had a commentary from the pilot as well as pre-recorded information via our headphones, which was very interesting, although after every little section I found I had a question, which I couldn't ask! We flew over Kununurra, the Ord river, Lake Argyle, a very remote cattle station called Texas Downs, which is 25km on a dirt track from the main road (which is still dirt) and in the wet season can be completely cut off for months; and finally reached the Bungle Bungle range - or to give it its traditional name: Purnululu. The "beehive"-shaped domes with their classic stripes are quite extraordinary. The shapes are a result of sediment moving over a few hundred kilometres and being shaped by wind and water, and the stripes are cyanobacteria, which is basically holding the sandstone together. Much to Andrew's disappointment, we had concluded that we would not be able to visit the Bungle Bungle at ground level because of the amount of four-wheel driving and time involved, so this flight was our entire experience of the place - which was certainly as amazing as we had expected it to be. The flight was great for giving us a perspective of its extent as well, and how it fits into the surrounding landscape. It was also good for giving an understanding of how Lake Argyle was formed; some genius worked out this narrow little spot in the river where they simply built a wall, and the river spread out across the landscape behind the wall, covering lots of low peaks and hills, leaving some of them sticking out as islands. Seeing the tiny wall from the air, it is very hard to believe that this could hold back all that water, and so radically change the course of the rivers. Very impressive! We also flew over the Argyle Diamond Mine - which has made its own massive impression on the landscape, too. I can see why plenty of people argue against mining in our national parks - it's certainly not a good look!

The girls were a bit airsick, but overall the experience was positive and very memorable. The next day we thought we'd venture out along the beginning of the Gibb River Road and into the famous El Questro wilderness park (which started out as a cattle station, until the owners worked out that they could make much more money from tourism!). I have to confess here - I don't see the attraction of the Gibb River Road. No matter what wonderful things you can find along it, or any other dirt road, just can't make up for the horrible jarring and noise of driving over the stones and corrugations. Anyway, we made it to El Questro with only about an hour of this, and were rewarded with some lovely natural hot springs - warm enough to persuade even Kendall to get wet! We then went up to the station and decided to hire a boat and take ourselves through one of the gorges. This was just beautiful, but took up most of the afternoon, so we didn't end up with time to visit any of the other - more high profile - visitor spots within the park. After the long drive back on the dirt, I think we were all a bit fed up and less than enamoured with the great El Questro - although this was probably unfair, and looking back at my photos, the scenery on the gorge boat ride was just glorious.

On our third day we went to Lake Argyle itself and drove over the massive dam wall, but there wasn't much else to do there - you couldn't even really swim or walk anywhere near the lake. Really it's just a dam like Happy Valley reservoir - not a tourism or recreational facility at all. Very scenic, though. So we headed back to town and in the afternoon we even had time to try barramundi fishing at "Ivanhoe Crossing" - where the road is a ramp over which water flows. Quite picturesque - but needless to say, no fish!

And that was it for Kununurra. We had to cut it a day short because of our dallying in Timber Creek, but it really didn't matter. We never made it up to Wyndham, but by all accounts we didn't miss much. Kununurra was a nice town, though, with all the modern facilities. It didn't feel nearly as remote as it appears on the map. I should also note that the weather was absolutely perfect - high 20s in the day and cooling off beautifully at night. What more could you ask for?

Captions for pictures

- Sunset over the lagoon at our caravan park

- Tahlia and Kendall reading out one of the interpretive signs at the Mirima National Park (teachers please take note)

- The "mini-Bungle Bungles"

- The girls with our pilot (actually taken after the flight)

- The real Bungle Bungle range seen from the air

- Hot springs at El Questro

- Boat ride through a gorge at El Q (we didn't really need to paddle!)

- Lake Argyle with the massive dam wall in the foreground. It wasn't built from the usual concrete and steel because it was too expensive to cart it in, and is a very cost-effective dam

- Tahlia trying her hand at casting at Ivanhoe Crossing

- The most amazing sunset also at Ivanhoe Crossing. I took about 20 pictures as the sky changed. Just at the top of the ramp is where the cars drive over the crossing.