Lake Argyle

Leaving Kununurra we traveled 35 km east before turning south for another 35 km on our way to spend two days camped at Lake Argyle Resort. Lake Argyle has a surface area of over 1000 square kilometres and its shoreline stretches over 900 kilometres. The park is situated on a cliff top which overlooks the lake. 

Th amenities are old but very clean and there is a beer garden and restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The pool at the resort is a beauty. Its one of those infinity pools with the wet edge where the water continually runs over the sides. We thought Emma Gorge at El Questro was refreshing but this pool certainly takes the cake with the water making the whole body tingle from the cold.

Bats in the surrounding trees kept us awake most of the night and in the morning it took a considerable amount of time to remove the bat droppings from the 4wd. We subsequently moved to a another site and away from any large overhanging trees.

Ros celebrated her birthday here, so it was time for another camp over meal. The heat beads are so easy to use, quicker than coals and IMHO easier to control the heat.

We cooked a loin of pork with sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin and that was accompanied with string beans and apple sauce. Our wine to celebrate her birthday was a Barossa Valley 2011 Holy Trinity Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Kununurra

After leaving El Questro we spent another four days in Kununurra catching up on washing and shopping.

Our air conditioner on the van hasn't been used for months. When we turned it on in Kununurra it would start up as normal then make the most horrible noise after three to four minutes. 

We found a refrigeration company who have a mobile workshop, we arranged for them to come to the caravan park where we were staying. After removing the main cover and motor cover Phil found these wasp nests were causing the problem.

 
While he was onsite we asked him to check our Waeco compressor fridge. 
He found that the fan that cools the compressor wasn't working so he replaced that then he removed most of the Gibb River Road dust and the fridge is now working like it used too.

We also visited Mirima National Park which lies on the outskirts of Kununurra. Some of the structures here reminded us of the Bungle Bungle's. Its only a day use park with walking trails.

Lake Argyle cruise

On one of our days in Kununurra, we enjoyed a sunset cruise on Lake Argyle.

 

We were transported by 4WD bus from our accommodation at 11 am and driven the 70 km to visit the historic Durack Homestead Museum near Lake Argyle.

 

The homestead was originally built in 1894 by the Duracks on Argyle Downs Station. Before Lake Argyle started to fill, it was decided to relocate the homestead so it could be preserved indefinitely. Each section of the house was numbered before dismantling, then stored for several years before being rebuilt in its current location.

 

The tombstones were also removed, but the graves remained in place and now sit about 30 metres below the lake's surface.

Our cruise included a swim before lunch and again just before sunset. The estimated 25,000 freshwater crocodiles in the lake are all located at the southern end. Luckily, they got that right.

Unfortunately, the lovely blue skies that one experiences in this part of the country for most of the year do not lend themselves to great sunset shots.

El Questro Station

The remaining 24 km until we reached the EL Questro turnoff were quite badly corrugated, much like the road has been since leaving the Kalumburu turnoff. The grader was working on the access road into ELQ, and we sat comfortably at 60 km per hour until we crossed the Pentecost River near the station township. 

Distance covered: 50.7 km
 
Elapsed time: 01:35; Moving time: 01:17; Average speed: 39.3 km/h; Maximum speed: 66.6 km/h.

After setting up, we did very little for the rest of the day. The daytime temperatures over the past two weeks have hovered around 38 degrees, and our first night here was a warm 20 degrees, giving us our best sleep in many weeks.
 
After happy hour, they fired up their brand new wood-fired pizza oven, and we were the first paying customers to try it. We ordered a seafood pizza with barramundi, prawns, and calamari, a chicken pizza, and a meat lover's pizza—all of which were delicious and more than enough for four people. The 2012 Pepperjack Shiraz at $65 was more than we would pay for it at home, but we both thoroughly enjoyed it with our meal.

This morning, we explored Saddleback Ridge, Pidgeon Hole, and Branko’s Lookout. The access track to each location was very steep, and it was our first time using low range in our 200 Series, which handled the climbs easily. The platform on Saddleback Ridge offered 360-degree views of the surrounding escarpments and down the Pentecost River, while Pidgeon Hole provided different perspectives of the river. Branko’s Lookout offered a view of where the Chamberlain and Pentecost Rivers merged.

Saddleback Ridge Lookout:

Taken from Branko's Lookout:

Pidgeon Hole Lookout:

The following photos were taken during the helicopter flight over EL Questro. It was an early birthday present for Ros.

The expensive Homestead perched above the Chamberlin River. Prices range from $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 per night. To the left of the picture is Branko's Crossing.

The Durack Tree:

We left early one morning just after 7:30 to drive the 30 km to Emma Gorge, hoping there would be few people there at that time. The 1.6 km walk took us 35 minutes as we clambered over rocks towards the pool at the end. 

Just as we arrived, a couple was leaving, and we had the whole place to ourselves for over 30 minutes while we swam in the refreshingly clear water. The falls were now just a trickle, but I am sure it would be wonderful to see right after the rain. Unfortunately, our cameras could not do justice to the gorge.

On our way back to our campsite, we visited Zebedee Springs and El Questro Gorge. Zebedee Springs are permanent thermal springs along a walking trail 1.5 km from the car park. The springs range between 28 and 32 degrees and flow over small waterfalls into pools surrounded by large boulders. The springs are set amid a forest of Livistona Palms. The age of a Livistona Palm can be roughly estimated by counting its rings and dividing that number by four.

El Questro Gorge is very narrow and follows a spring-fed creek with walls covered in palms and ferns. We only attempted the first half of the walk into the gorge. At this point, the gorge is blocked by a large boulder with a small waterfall plunging into a beautiful, clear pool. Once you have climbed over the large boulder, the walk to the end of the gorge takes another hour and is extremely difficult. The water here was very refreshing, to say the least, and we stayed for half an hour before returning to the car. 

EL Questro Wilderness Park is an incredible destination with plenty to see and do. The estate spans one million acres of ranges, rain-forests, gorges, waterfalls, and wildlife. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here.