Fri 22nd August – Day 104: Kununurra – Ord River, Macca’s Barra Camp

Pete went fishing with Macca on his Ord River Tour – his story to follow…95cm is all I can say!
Depart Kununurra : 5.45 am
Return Kununurra : late afternoon/evening
After being collected from your accommodation in Kununurra, you will be taken on a 45 minute drive through the Ord irrigation area and down onto Carlton Hill Station to Macka's Barra Camp.
Tea and coffee is served prior to boarding the boats with full amenities available at the camp. A full day is then spent fishing the Lower Ord River tidal reaches travelling up to 100kms on the water to fish for that big barra! Enjoy a variety of fishing options and be amazed by the diverse bird and wildlife with something new around every corner. Experience a scenic tour like no other!

I decided that if Pete was away, we had better do something equally interesting or the kids would cry boredom so Triple J tours seemed to hold the answer -
They had a half day trip taking a bus to Lake Argyle, then a return Boat Cruise
along the Ord River. With an 11:30 pickup, I convinced the kids to do a couple of hours schoolwork before we left – bribery is everything.
The we took a 70km bus jourtney to Lake Argyle – with commentary the entire way – I don’t think the driver drew a breath!
The waters of Lake Argyle now cover the old Durack Station but the homestead with its historical significance was removed and reassembled using the original stones nearby and is now a fascinating pioneer museum acknowledging the early cattle pioneers, particularly the Durack family who established the original homestead. The kids loved seeing the resident bower bird and his bower near the old tank stand.
After this it was on to view the lake from a scenic lookout. The major dam of the Ord Irrigation project is now classified as an inland sea, 23 times the size of Sydney Harbour, we went WOW!
Then it was onto the 300hp twin engine craft for a high speed 55km boat cruise to Kununurra along the Ord River. Luckily the driver made plenty of stops along the way to answer questions and view Crocs, Darters, Cormorants, Sea Eagles, cleanskin wild cattle and many other interests.
I found out today that scientists believe the entire Kimberley area was originally part of Africa (near Madagascar), which joined Australia, thus bringing the Boab and also the Diamonds (those at the Argyle Diamond Mine are very similar to those found in Sth Africa). The aboriginals found it a very useful tree, eating the young leaves, stripping the bark for rope, extracting quinine from the bark and using the seeds and leaf for medical purposes. The pit of the wood beneath the bark contains a clear drinkable liquid and the pollen produces a glue-like gum. And to top it all off the trees are really magnificent to look at. During the dry many lose their leaves to conserve water but the fat bulbous trunks are unmistakable and they grow to considerable size with a few known trees over 1500 years old!
A stop for afternoon tea (pumpkin scones with jam and tea) at riverside camp was quickly compared to the Adelaide River cruise and found to be “more modern but without the character of Harry’s camp”.
We arrived back to town just on sunset and watched thousands of bats take to the night sky, skimming Lake Kununurra to get a drink and hopefully avoid the freshwater crocs lurking below waiting for an easy meal. The bus-ride back to camp was full of anticipation of ‘what daddy had caught’ and soon the entire bus thought it was coming to our place for Barramundi (thank god I made spaghetti!). Once home we awaited Pete’s return.
Ivanhoe Big 4 Park (powered $39/night)