With a few things to do before we go on our cruise , we thought we'd better get organised - need fuel , need food , need to wash the ute , need to load the bikes & kayak , need , want , need , want - didn't do to badly , got everything done except for loading the kayak !!
We head to the entrance of the park to be picked up at 10:30 for our cruise on Lake Argyle , this is one of the cheaper options - normally $120 - if you stay at Ivanhoe Caravan Park , you get it for $100 each !!
We jump in the 4WD truck / bus , head down to another park to pick up 4 more passengers and away we go - there are only 4 couples , one lady who works on the boat usually and our bus driver David . This is a good number for us , not too many , groups can be up to 30 people !!!
The drive out to the dam is 70 klms , and takes about an hour , there is a visit to the Durack Family Homestead . They were the property owners , for over 100 years , and their house was pulled down stone by stone , and rebuilt up on dry ground . The original site is about 20m below the water line .
The doors & hallway run perpendicular to each other , so they can catch the breeze whichever way it comes .
There is a piece of zebra rock on display . There is a mine where they dig it out , on the eastern end of the lake .
The green spinifex and red rock is a great combination .
Back in the bus and off to the dam , we cross over the spillway creek and then get our first view of the lake . The rock formations here are remarkable , one section had uprisings of quartzite , that resembled the Great Wall Of China . The ridge lines leading up to the top of one hill , all had a wall of rock on top of the ridges leading to the peak .
The bus took us over the dam wall , very small in the scheme of things - 350m long , and not excessively high either , but the amount of water it holds back is mind blowing - 17 times the size of Sydney Harbour , and is in fact an inland sea .
After seeing the hydro plant - which supplies Wyndham , Kununurra and the Argyle Diamond Mine with electricity - we head to the catamaran , and jump on board .
It was shoes off as you got on board , and that's the way it stayed until we got off . After a safety discussion , we were free to wander the cat , there are 6 rooms with ensuites below deck , a large kitchen / dining area and a covered outdoor lounge .
The dam surrounds are something that we didn't expect , rugged mountains in most directions !! It is a little smokey today so long distance was very hazy .
Just so you know we are still here , here's a random photo of us not really enjoying ourselves !!
I will let the photos do the talking .
The cruise includes lunch , afternoon tea , tea & coffee & water , and also sunset , before taking us back home . You can also take your own alcohol , they provide an esky and ice !!
The cruise took us around a lot of the lake , but when we looked at the chart , we will only have been on about 25% of it . You couldn't see one side of the lake , you would swear you were out at sea . The lake is HUGE !!!
The afternoon slipped away and we found ourselves watching the sun slowly go down behind the mountains .
Today has been arguably the most restful day we have had , extremely enjoyable .
If you get up here , treat yourself to this cruise , absolutely bloody awesome !!!!!
That's it for today , here's your map link :-https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z1G8gwwxwyYo.kSTxoS_m0XbE&usp=sharing
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