Monday July 4th 2011 Lake Argyle

I rarely get up at 6:00 a.m. but I did this morning! We took our time then headed off for a drive around the lake area. There are several look-outs that provide spectacular views of the lake. We were lucky to see a sea-plane take off just after we arrived.

It would be very cool to check out this lake and the Kimberley from the air. Robert's heard a few horror stories about the plane trips; one woman got out of the plan, went back to her caravan at 3:30 p.m. and was so ill that she didn’t get up until 7:00 a.m. the next day. Another woman got into the plane then decided she couldn't do it; she received her money back.  We'd also heard from several people that the lake cruise was pretty boring so we decided that we’d give it a miss.

This lake is massive; it goes on forever. Still not at capacity, it's mind-boggling to imagine the amount of water needed to fill it. The dam is made up of various types and sizes of rocks with an impervious clay layer that stops water from escaping.

At the bottom of the dam wall, there is a pumping station and the water flows down a valley surrounded by steep cliffs. A man was fishing on the edge of the water and Robert loves talking to anyone fishing. After 10 minutes or so, he signalled for me to come down. The scraps from the fish that had just been caught and cleaned were tossed into the water and a freshie had taken the opportunity for an easy feed and surfaced a few metres from where the man had been fishing.

freshie close to shore

I don't care if they are fresh or salt water crocs – they frighten the crap out of me and I wouldn't consider going close to the edge of the water. Bobby (croc expert extraordinaire) chose to ignore a sign about crocodile danger and checked out the spillway earlier in the day. I stayed in the car and filmed his stupidity for the record.

Lunch was in a pretty park near the pumping station with lots of shade and plenty of water sprinklers keeping everything green.

Reading and a nap took up the rest of the day. After a roast dinner (delish), we watched 'Hotel Rwanda’. This has to be a rare occasion where Robert has watched a film with me. ‘Brokeback Mountain tomorrow night maybe. 

Off to Kununurra tomorrow to check out accommodation and some sights. Lake Argyle is lovely but 3 nights is enough here.

Happy Birthday to my pacemaker – 5 years old and a bit more to go before I need a replacement according to my last tune-up and service.

Happy Anniversary to Peter and Yvonne.

Happy Birthday to John Gaylard for 2^nd July. Better late than never.