On to Kununurra

On to Kununurra

Tuesday, May 17^th

A beautiful, warm morning and an easy start to the day. A citrus and stone fruit quarantine station is just 60+ km up the road so we juiced our limes and sorted the fruit. The smell of fresh cantaloupe was just superb. 

At Warmun (Turkey Creek), we checked on the availability of helicopter flights over the Bungle Bungles but after a great deal of time the pilot realized that he was too busy to take us out and recommended the road trip instead. It is always difficult to know what is best value for money etc. so we decided to leave the Bungles to another time or check out Kununurra options. While we were in Turkey Creek we rang the Arts Centre to see where the rescued paintings from this flooded community had been stored, only to discover that they were just across the road. Fortunately the store room was open so we enjoyed looking at the brilliant work from this area which was Rover Thomas’s country. A meeting of the women in the community closed the gallery so we spent the next couple of hours waiting for Rosie to tell us when we could see some paintings. We checked online and saw some interesting works but they never look the same as the real canvas. Another hour later we became the excited owners of a Jock Mosquito painting – we wondered whether we bought it just because we loved his name!

The drive into Kununurra took us across some very scenic country with many different ranges on both sides of the road. The Kimberyland Caravan Park had been recommended and it was great as our campsite looked out over the Lily Lagoon, the pool was inviting and amenities spotless.

Kununurra

Wednesday 18^th – Monday 23^rd May

Kununurra was an interesting place, with the Ord River Diversion Dam creating Lake Kununurra and the large expanse of the Lily Lagoon. Further upstream another dam has created Lake Argyle but the wet has filled all storage areas and the water being released has ensured that the Ivanhoe Crossing, downstream from the town, is flooded beyond recognition. Apparently there is a 3m salt water croc living around there too! We watched a 1m snake trying to swim against the current with incredible determination but little progress.

The town , set against the backdrop of The Knob and the Mirima NP hills, was created in the 1960s as a service town for the Ord River Irrigation Scheme, which was set up mainly for growing cotton and some fruit and vegetable crops. The cotton failed in the early 1970s and now a sandalwood industry is being developed and the other crops are being eased out. It is now a town of about 8000 people, the vast majority of whom are Aboriginal although the extra people from Warmun sitting under the trees and in the shopping area added to that impression.

It was the time of the Ord Valley Muster, a 12 day festival centred in Kununurra but incorporating the Gibb Challenge bike race, a rodeo, the Kimberley Moon Music Festival, art shows etc so we chose a good time to be in town. Music Under the Stars in the Mirima NP; the Argyle Diamond Mine tour at which we met Ted Hall, an Aboriginal elder who told us of the history of the relationship between the Argyle Diamond Co and the 3 main Aboriginal groups who hold the land there sacred;, the Saturday markets; the Barramundi Concert - these were all events that we attended during our days in town.  The highlight was our visits to the 4 art galleries where we saw some amazing paintings in ochre. The launch of the Halls Creek Art Centre with an exhibition at the Red Rock Gallery led us to an opening event with only a handful of people and the elderly Aboriginal artists.

Anne & Brian had left a message to say that we could make it into El Questro, so one day we set off form Wyndham, turned onto the Gibb River Road and ended up just 3km short of the station at a river crossing that was too much of a challenge. As there wasn’t phone reception at El Questro we couldn’t call Anne & Brian to come and pick us up L Emma Gorge was a good alternative and the freezing cold water at the base of a 65m slim waterfall was wonderful.

Alexander Forrest must have been an amazing explorer to traverse so much of this vast region. This part of the Kimberley is cattle country still and many of the homesteads were established by the early pioneering families, most notably the Duracks.