3 April 2013 - Hidden Valley Caravan Park, Kunanurra, Western Australia

The local domestic roosters woke the other avian life in Timber Creek this morning, all of which I heard as I lay in bed. We were up and on the road before 8.30 am, the skies overcast but an otherwise fine day.

Just out of Timber Creek we noted a huge bridge spanning the Victoria River the road unmarked on any of our maps. We pulled into a parking area and saw the warnings about trespassing. It leads across into the Bradshaw Field Training Area for the military. There were a couple of other travellers there and I remarked that we could not find the bridge on our map; one of the chaps told me that Defence liked to keep things secret. 

We continued across lush savannah land, now well populated by weird and wonderfully shaped boab trees although there were some perfectly boab-like that invited depiction by Fiona Hall. The subject of her work done in sardine cans is normally x-rated but has wonderfully sculptured plants and trees spouting from the top of each can, all worked in tin. These boab sculptures, if attempted, could be for more general viewing. But I am letting my imagination run away with me. Boabs do that.

However halfway to the border, the road passed across the floodplains of the Barnes Rivers, both East and West, and the boabs were no more, While they are capable of holding water in their bulbous trunks, they do not like to live in swampy ground. And then the landscape changed again to great mesa rocky outcrops and the boabs were back. This Victoria Highway is indeed a stunning road to travel. The birdlife was fabulous; red tailed black cockatoos, brolgas, egrets, peace doves, white sea eagles, lorikeets, falcons, rainbow bee-eaters and so many more.

The Western Australian border sits about 230 kilometres to the west of Timber Creek; we were there mid-morning new time. Yes, we have changed time zones yet again, this time gaining an hour and a half, which will make this day, Wednesday 3 April a day of twenty five and a half hours.

At the border we were greeted by a very business-like quarantine officer, sporting leather boots and no sense of humour at all. She went through our land cruiser and caravan searching for forbidden fruits, vegetables and other contraband. We declared that which we had not been able to consume in the Northern Territory; one apple, three onions, four carrots and one tomato. Because there were no other travellers to be searched, she suggested we top, tail and peel the carrots and onions so that we could keep those. She would take the discarded scraps and the apple and tomato. She also insisted she take the cardboard box we have been keeping our onions in; I was very annoyed about that because it was solid packing fitting neatly in my vegetable cupboard. I suggested we just remove the paper bag from the base of the box, but no, she wanted the whole box. Now I will have to find another to fill that exact same gap. After a thorough going over, she let us move on.  

Just a few kilometres over the border we turned south toward Lake Argyle. This is Australia’s largest artificial lake by volume, part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme which we intend to explore while we are in the area. Thirty four kilometres through a stunning landscape of high red and purple escarpments, none of these sporting water falls as those of yesterday, but nonetheless very impressive. The lush green trees standing in cream coloured grasslands backed by this amazing rocky backdrop were very reminiscent of Albert Namatjira’s landscapes and those of other Hermannsburg artists. When you see those paintings out of context, it easy to think that the pastels, the purples, and pinks, and creams are only an artist’s interpretation of the landscape. But here, especially in the eastern Kimberleys, they are a correct portrayal of what the eye sees.

View over Lake Argyle

We arrived at Lake Argyle, or rather, at the Resort, because that is all there is there apart from the dam wall and the museum at the old Durack homestead back up the road. The office at the resort handles accommodation at the caravan park, the cabins, the lodge, cruises on the lake, meals in the lodge, provisions in the store and fuel at the pump. We had been so impressed with the beauty of the place that we could have been convinced to stay, however on application, we learned that we could indeed do so at $15 per person plus another $7.50 for power. We decided that was not the deal to convince us to change our plans. We wandered up to the water tank from where we had excellent views over the dam and the lake, or rather that small piece of the lake visible from this one point of access. The map on the sign at the lookout showed us that there was so much more to see of the lake and that to do so, one should really take a tour, preferably by air or otherwise by boat. Full enjoyment and appreciation of Lake Argyle is an expensive business and we were not receptive today.

We returned along that wonderful road which incidentally was under water in a couple of spots, but still very passable, regained the Victoria Highway and pressed on to Kununurra a further thirty kilometres westward.

Arriving in this modern town of Kununurra at just 47 metres ASL and with a population of about 6,000, we headed for the Information Centre. Here we gathered an armful of pamphlets, a town map and a comprehensive list of caravan parks. There were two belonging to loyalty groups we belong to, however the Hidden Valley Caravan Park was listed offering a powered site for just $27 a night, less than the discounted prices would be elsewhere. The list was headed “Accommodation Guide Dry Season 2013 – prices valid from 1 April to 31 October 2013”; now is that the right reference for us to use? I would say so, as did the very pleasant young man behind the counter at the Centre. However on checking into this caravan park, we were asked for $34 per night. No amount of discussion or rational argument would change the manager’s demand and we considered leaving and going elsewhere. However Chris suggested that a Senior’s discount might be available and so face was saved for all and we have ended up paying $30 per night.

"Namatjira" colours en route

No sooner had we made our way to the site suggested, which was found to be already occupied, and then another selected satisfactorily, that the rain began and has continued ever since. Chris is most upset that we cannot receive his preferred TV channels: ABC and SBS. He is sure that it is This Camp not Kununurra; it is the trees and the rocky outcrops behind us. We had been stripped of our fresh fruit and vegetables however I could see that Chris was in no mood to venture back into the town to shop. We made do with bacon, eggs and beans for dinner.

We were keen to explore the famous Bungle Bungles from here however we have been informed that the track into the Purnululu National Park is currently closed, possibly opening next Monday if weather allows, and I have to say, it does not look very promising. To have come this far and not see these amazing land formations would be a shame. We may have to resort to a flight over the Park, however Chris reckons that’s not seeing them properly; one has to get in amongst it all. Perhaps he is right. In any case it would seem that we will have to hang about for more than the three days we have booked and play matters by ear.

We are also parked up adjacent to the camp kitchen and it would seem that there are a large number of backpackers in residence here for the harvesting, but idle for now because of the weather. They are a happy bunch, sociable with each other and enjoying a bit of the old weed. We might just get high from the drifting smoke?