Distance Travelled 388 kms
Distance to Date 10180 kms
Left Turkey Creek RH with out having breakfast because of our bad experience the night before. We planned to stop at Doon Doon RH 90kms up the road. The RH was run by an amiable Dutchman who provided an excellent brekky. He also checked the weather radar for rain and told us it was all clear.
The countryside was dramatic with red cliffs and wide valleys made the more so by the early morning light. These were all part of the same Devonian Reef that we had seen so many times. We decided to go to Wyndham to see the Cambridge Gulf from a high point called Five Rivers Lookout. It was worth the trip. 
We could see The Ord, King, Pentecost, Durack and Forest Rivers drain into a wide estuary 50kms wide.
We could see The Ord, King, Pentecost, Durack and Forest Rivers drain into a wide estuary 50kms wide. We met some of the participents in the GRR bike ride at the junction with the Northern Hwy. They told us that all the rivers were up especially the Durack River at about waist high. They saw a motorcyclist fall into it, probably the one we saw in Broome. 
We took a photo of the sign so we had one at each end of the GRR.
We took a photo of the sign so we had one at each end of the GRR. We headed on to Kununurra and from there to Lake Argyle Tourist Village. This turned out to be a rather down at heal place probably based on the construction camp built for the construction of the Ord River dam. We were just in time for a sunset cruise on the lake. We had a perfect evening for the cruise and saw lots of animals including 
a huge freshwater crocodile basking the sun that was at least 3m long. The boat master was very familiar with the wildlife on the lake. He took us to see some Rock Wallabies that were sheltering in a cave and by whistling he enticed them to come out. Colin had a dip in the lake but found that the boat was drifting away a bit faster than he was comfortable with and had to make big effort to catch up.
a huge freshwater crocodile basking the sun that was at least 3m long. The boat master was very familiar with the wildlife on the lake. He took us to see some Rock Wallabies that were sheltering in a cave and by whistling he enticed them to come out. Colin had a dip in the lake but found that the boat was drifting away a bit faster than he was comfortable with and had to make big effort to catch up.Lake Argyle is a huge body of water many times the size of Sydney Harbour. It was built to provide irrigation water for cotton and rice farms around Kununurra, but these failed. A 15 MW hydro generator was installed to provide power for the Argyle Diamond Mine and the local towns. The irrigation scheme was changed and now the main crop is sandalwood for the Indian market with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
The Durack family (of which Luke Durack is a great grandson) established the Argyle Downs station in the later 19th century in the Ord River valley after a heroic cattle drive from Queensland. Although they sold out in the 1950's their homestead was removed stone by stone when the lake was dammed. Unfortunately the lake filled faster than anticipated and they only had time to move the main house.
We had a snorer in the cabin beside us but it didn't stop Alan and Colin from sleeping soundly. We cross into NT tomorrow and have to put the clock forward 1 1/2 hours.
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