Kununurra

Today we spent touring around Kununurra after getting up so early! Once the sun rises at 5.30am (now that we are 2hrs behind Melbourne time) it does get you up early and it’s dark by 5pm. First stop was Celebrity Tree Park where plaques were placed around the park in front of trees the celebrity had planted. They included John Farnham, Ernie Dingo, John Williamson, Peter Brock, Kate Cebrano & Rob Hirst (Midnight Oils drummer). There were also plenty of Politian’s names, but they are boring, so not mentioned here.

Next up was Ivanhoe Crossing – too much water to cross. The kids saw some shoes at the crossing entrance and were a little worried about where the person was who owns them. “Has a crocodile got him?” asked Matt.

A little climb up to Kelly’s Knob gave you an excellent view of the township of Kununurra, the Ord Valley and the Lake.

It was then on to Mirima National Park (Hidden Valley) where just Darren & the kids climbed to the top. Michelle was too engrossed in her book “Fifty Shades of Grey” and could not put it down. We were rewarded with some great views of sandstone ranges, cliffs and the valley. Apparently they are similar to the Bungle Bungle.

With a 70km drive we reached the Ord River Dam and Lake Argyle. It is Australia’s largest fresh water lake. The comment of the day came from Matt again after I just told him that a nearby plaque was put here when I was 3 years old opening the construction of the Dam Wall. Misunderstanding the word plaque, Matt said to Hayley & Amy that “This was the park that Dad played at when he was three”. Great interpretation Matt!

Ord River downstream of Dam Wall

Finally we got our car a little muddy with a 4WD track to Dead Horse Springs. I should have removed the tow bar as the water holes were a little deeper than they looked with some nice bottoming out. The kids loved it just the same and wanted to see the mud on the car. This was the only place that we visited all day where the kids could rememeber the name.

Dead Horse Springs