Lake Argyle

We arrived at Lake Argyle Resort not expecting to get into a decent site, but we lucked out for the last two powered sites - with "uninterrupted views"!  It was so lovely we extended our stay by one extra night.

Lake Argyle and the Durack Family Homestead


The bridge leading into Lake Argyle affords a magnificent sight of the Ord River spillway.  No crocs to be seen.









The infinity pool is a real treat - and everyone strikes a pose at the edge of the pool where it looks like you're swimming into Lake Argyle.  We took a tour of the Lake which included morning tea and lunch and some of us enjoyed searching for pieces of ochre the aboriginals use for body painting ...

All aboard ready for the trip

A rock wallaby looking for some food

Found some!
... and some of us enjoyed a swim in the Lake!

A glorious swim in Lake Argyle
On our tour, we heard that despite the heavy rainfall during the "wet", the "dry season" reduced the Ord from a fast flowing river to a series of waterholes. The rich alluvial plains of the lower reaches of the Ord River have lured pastoralists and farmers to the East Kimberley.  But without being able to harness the waters there was no chance the area could sustain an agricultural industry.  The only way they could transform the semi-desert cattle country to a luscious agricultural area would be to develop a vast dam on the Ord River.

Once the dam was made, 2,500 gigalitres of water that flowed into the ocean each day during the wet season could be captured, and that was enough water to supply Perth for ten years.  An experimental farm was established and crop trails  of tobacco, rice, cotton, safflower, linseed, sugar cane, melons, tomatoes, cabbages, cauliflower, beans, potatoes, maize and millet all grew well.  So in 1959 work started on the massive Ord River Irrigation Scheme.

Today's crops include melons, pumpkins, bananas, mangoes, cotton, sugar cane and sandalwood, however, the latest news (Friday 28 July 2017), is that the scheme hasn't been very successful.  Two billion dollars of private and public money has been spent trying to create this food bowl in the East Kimberley with only 260 ongoing jobs which equals a cost of $5 million per job!







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