Kununurra- an unexpected delight

Kununurra, WA

Thursday 24^th – Tuesday 29^th August

We hadn’t spent much time at Kununurra on our last trip (2015/16) and had really just used it as a place to fuel and stock up after spending so much time along the Gibb River Road. We weren’t sure what to expect this time as there have been a number of reports in the media about the rising rate of youth crime, with issues similar to Alice Springs occurring. We spoke to a few locals who confirmed this is occurring, but thankfully we were not impacted by this at all and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time. We actually could have spent more time in Kununurra, as there is so much to do outdoors which is what we love. Over the 5 days we were there we:

• Attended the premiere of the ‘The Journey Down’- a light, sound, screen and dance show that revolves around an old bush wreck that has been transformed into a musical instrument. We got to see local indigenous dancers, digeridoo players and local indigenous people telling stories from their childhoods as we listened to the innovative music made on the rusty old car. The show is travelling from Kununurra around to Broome then down the coast to Perth, performing shows along the way before the car will be put on display at the Western Australian Museum. We were so lucky to be in town at the right time and get to see this unique intercultural performance.
• Tasted the exceptional rum, whiskey and gin at the Hoochery Distillery- the oldest continuously running legal distillery in WA.
• Learnt about the thriving local sandalwood industry at the Kununurra Sandalwood Factory, an incredible smelling place full of goods made with the oil from this remarkable wood.
• Did an early morning walk through the Mirima National Park – we were staying just near the park so could take a short cut through the rocks just behind camp. The park is often called mini Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) because the layered rock formations are very similar (but a lot smaller) that the rocks at Purnululu.
• Cooled off in the pool and enjoyed the comfort of air-conditioning- it was super hot, about 36 deg each day.
• Did a sunset cruise on the impressively huge Lake Argyle (it is about the size of 21 Sydney Harbours- 908 sq km surface area) where we learnt about the vastness of the manmade lake whilst doing some wildlife spotting. We saw rock wallabies, fish and freshwater crocodiles. We got to feed some Archer Fish- when you hold bread over the side of the boat they shoot water at it (the method they use to kill insects) and watched as the guide fed some catfish. There are heaps of shovel nosed catfish in the lake and these are fished and sold commercially, but their name was changed to silver cobbler as no-one wanted to eat catfish! We saw a few freshwater crocodiles and learnt there are over 25,000 in Lake Argyle. It’s incredible that there are so many as only 50% of them live to the end of their first year and only 1% of them make it to adulthood!!
• Went on a one night canoeing tour down the Ord River – this was by far the highlight of our time in Kununurra. It was such a wonderful experience and I have so many photos that it deserves its own blog post (soon to come 😊).

We all really enjoyed our time in Kununurra and have since spoken about how much fun it would be to live her for a year or so- but not any time soon.

After 3 hours shopping on Tuesday morning we left Kununurra about lunchtime to begin our adventure across the Gibb River Road.

Daniel with his rum and whiskey tasters...

and me with my trifecta of gins- we ended up getting a bottle of their botanicals gin, it was the best gin I have ever tasted (and I have tasted a few!).

The musical car in the 'The Journey Down' cultural performance (it was a bit hard to get any decent photos with the light show)

Our early morning walk through the picturesque Mirima National Park.

One of the many interesting rock formations in Mirima National Park

Looking out onto the vast Lake Argyle from the top of the dam wall- it is such an extraordinary place, the amount of water is just mind blowing.

On the other side of the dam wall is the Lake Argyle hydro power station which powers the whole of Kununurra and surrounding towns.

Feeding the Archer fish off the front of the boat on our cruise around Lake Argyle - they managed to shoot water so high, it was very impressive to watch.

It was so hot, we were desperate to get in!!

What indulgence - bobbing in Lake Argyle on a noddle with a glass of bubbles watching the sun set, bliss.

It was pretty incredible being the only boat we could see as far as we looked, it really made you experience how vast the lake is.

We all enjoyed being back on a boat- Jackson got prime position to enjoy cruising back into the boat ramp.

While I was shopping and packing food for the Gibb River Road, Jackson taught himself to climb this palm tree at camp!