Lake Argyle

We left Waterloo Station and retraced our steps towards Kununurra.  As we pulled onto the main road, we passed a couple of Waterloo Road Trains on their way to the station laden with 250 weaners (each) from Queensland.  We pulled well off the road to let them pass.

Waterloo Road Train

We had decided to return to Lake Argyle for a couple of nights to spend some more time in this beautiful place before resuming our journey southwards.  We also had my parents join us for our first night.  

Their journey to Waterloo had been eventful to say the least.  After hatching their scheme to surprise us a couple of months earlier, they had quietly made their way across the country with every intention of meeting us at the Station.  Their car broke down in Blinman National Park, half way between Mount Isa and Darwin.  Unable to be repaired by the local mechanics, it was towed to Darwin.  Whilst on their way to Darwin, the towbar on the tow truck failed, sending their camper trailer into the scrub where it ended up on its side, narrowly missing a tree, and thankfully any oncoming traffic.  They had spent a week in Darwin with the dealer unable to make any progress on getting their car going again, so had hired a car to come down and meet us at Waterloo.  They were anxious to get back to Darwin, or at least to get back in phone range in order to come up with a semblance of  a way forward, but also wanted to spend an evening with us camping.

With all their camping gear still in their camper trailer, currently in a workshop in Darwin, my parents weren't sure we could accommodate them.  They shouldn't have worried.  In no time at all we had Matilda opened up, our tent errected and bedding arranged.  The boys had decided to sleep a night under the stars in their swag.  With a kitchen in both the car and the camper we were well equiped with duplicate plates and cutlery in both.  We soon were well fed and watered and enjoyed a great evening catching up.

Campsite for six!

The Lake Argyle campground is at the site of the construction camp for the Ord River Dam.  One of its best features is its incredible infinity pool.  We enjoyed the afternoon splashing about in the chilly waters overlooking Lake Argyle.

Pool with an amazing view

Kids loved the pool.

The following morning my parents bade us farewell and commenced their return to Darwin.  We caught up on a bit of school work, before going for a bit of an explore around the Lake.  Our first stop was the old Argyle Downs Homestead.

The Little Fisherman takes a break at the Argyle Homestead.

Having read the story of the Durack family as a young fella (Kings In Grass Castles by Mary Durack) I was familiar with the basic story of their family.  Their story started in the Goulburn area, before they moved to Queensland and then on to the Kimberley.  Over a period of two and a half years they moved their cattle across the top end.  From a starting herd of around 7 000 cattle, nearly 5 000 perished on the journey.  Argyle Downs became their main cattle station in the district, however was largely inundated when the Ord River Dam was constructed.  The homestead was disassembled and rebuilt in its present location in order to preserve its heritage.

The Argyle Homestead

Pannikin Lookout provided a fantastic vista, and we looked down and saw some large freshwater crocodiles sunning themselves on the bank. 

 Pannikin Lookout

Rocky takes in the view

We spent the afternoon giving Rocky a mid trip wash.  The grass under our site not only benefited from the water we used to wash the car, but as an added bonus was top dressed as well!  The boys loved clambering all over the car giving it a thorough wash - although on reflection we have a lot more 'pin striping' than I realised.  We left home without a dint in the panels either...   Perhaps we won't give Rocky another wash for a while!

The dam was the brainchild of Kimberly Durack, who invisionged an irrigation scheme that would be the new food bowl of Australia.  50 years after the dam was built and his vision has not been fully realised.  About half of the area under irrigation is planted out to the Indian Sandalwood tree, prized for its fragrant timber and insence.

Lake Argyle is the largest freshwater reservior in the Southern Hemisphere, holding back around 20 Sydney Harbours worth of water.  For such a huge body of water, the dam wall is remarkably nondescript.  Some 350 metres long, the dam wall has a core of clay to compensate for a fault line running along its length.  If it were to fail, the water would take four years to drain from the lake - an amazing amount of time.

We wandered down to the dam wall to take some photos at sunset.  It was simply beautiful.  Sausages sandwichs kept the little ones happy whilst Mum snapped away, trying to capture the perfect shot.

I'll have a table with a view please

Dam Wall at sunset

Lake Argyle had been a wonderful place to relax for a couple of nights and get things in order before hitting the road again.  Our next destination was almost unheard of until a TV crew filmed its unusual formations in the early 1980's and introduced the world to a stunning landscape.  We were heading to an old river bed, like no other in the world.