LAKE ARGYLE

Playing games in the dirt outside the Durack Homestead, Argyle Station

The reconstructed Durack Homestead

On Lake Argyle aboard the Kimberley Durack

Beth had a drive of the boat

As did Tess.

Ben took it very seriously.

Bridgie thought she WAS the captain.

Father and Son on the Kimberley Durack

What a great adventure for us to remember in our old age.

Sunset over Lake Argyle

All went for a dip with the 35,000 freshwater crocodiles!!!

How's the serenity?!?!?!

DAY 38 – LAKE ARGYLE                                                      Tuesday, 9^th August

We have just spent the most magical day at Lake Argyle.  I have to say, at the outset, that I was a bit non-plussed about Lake Argyle.  I kind of knew where it was (ie. In the middle of nowhere in the bush), and knew that my dear husband had intentions of “seeing” lots of things, but apart from that, I had pretty low expectations …. which is often when you are most surprised.

Lake Argyle is magnificent – and the pictures I have taken just won’t do it justice.  It is HUGE!!  And when I say huge, I mean that, in the wet season, the amount of water rushing through the Ord River could fill Sydney Harbour in 1 hour!!!  Even now, in the dry season, the amount of water gushing over the spillway in four hours, is enough water to supply every single one of us (22million Australians) with our daily water consumption of 300 litres!  Unbelievable! 

This morning we went on a walk (left at 8am – but already soooo hot!) to the revamped Durack Homestead.  The original homestead was flooded when the dam was built in 1973.  The Durack family is such an interesting one and must have had such enormous drive and passion to do what they did.  Aunty Noeleen was telling me she has just finished reading “Kings in Grass Castles” which is the story of their land holdings in Queensland.  “Sons in the Saddle” is the story of their foray into the WA Kimberley region and both were written by Mary Durack, the granddaughter of Patrick Durack who came to Australia from Ireland in 1853.  They ended up with a million acre holding (which is the largest permitted in Australia) and, basically, you cannot see the extent of their property with the naked eye, in spite of being able to see …. forever.

We have just come back from a 3 hour cruise on Lake Argyle which was absolutely spectacular as well as being very informative.  To give you some idea …. at one point, we can see Western Australia but the lake is too vast for us to see the Northern Territory, on the other side of the lake, beyond the curvature of the earth!!  We took a Sunset Cruise which takes you on a great tour of a very small part of the lake (given that it is the biggest freshwater lake in Australia) and show you some of the 35,000 freshwater crocodiles that live there.  It culminates in a pause in the tour where you can get off and swim in the lake whilst having soft music and wine and cheeses!! The sun sets at about 5:15pm here which confuses us a bit – because the sun set at around 7pm the night before.   The sunset and setting is amazing and words cannot describe how beautiful it is – I just wish you could have all been here to share it with us.

The man next to us had been here for two and a half months.  He left today.  I am sure that had nothing to do with our four children.  Actually, we have been receiving such nice comments about our cherubs as we have been cruising around.  (I did say to David that it is unlikely the nasty comments are going to be said to our face …).  Most people are very complimentary and it is so nice for parents to hear that others think their children are well behaved!!

TIMBER CREEK - LAKE ARGYLE

Following in the footsteps of Augustus Gregory, outside Timber Creek NT

The kids with one foot in the NT and one foot in WA!

Made it!!

The most amazing pool in the world, Lake Argyle

Hopefully the kids know how lucky they are to experience this so young!!

What IS over the other side of this wall?

Butter wouldn't melt ...

Lake Argyle at sunset from the pool

David in the pool at sunset - just spectacular.  It was even better in real life!

Ben contemplates ... on the edge of the world.

The girls enjoying each other!!

DAY 37 – TIMBER CREEK TO LAKE ARGYLE                             Monday, 8^th August

Left Timber Creek and went out to see the Gregory Tree which is just off the highway but on 3kms of unsealed corrugated road so we unhitched the caravan and drove in to see the Boab trees.  These are amazing – they just started to appear out of nowhere.  Augustus Gregory inscribed the 2^nd July 1853 into the tree during his expedition there.  Because his boat was partially destroyed at Timber Creek, he spent 9 months at the camp site, milling timber to patch up his boat.  He and his team built vegetable gardens and pens for the sheep.  The tenacity of these explorers just stuns me – as I do what they did, but on sealed roads, with cars with air-conditioning, and caravan parks with electricity and hot water and flushing toilets.  Admittedly, I do have four children …. so we are probably equal in terms of degree of difficulty, now that I think about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After that we drove straight to the border where a very nice, but very efficient, Quarantine Officer took our remaining apple, all our potatoes, sweet potato, onion, honey and, most importantly, Tess’s constant companion since Central Australia – Edwina, her pet Camel Melon.  You would think that some bright spark would have set up a WA fruit and veg stall just down the road, but alas, no.  So we have arrived here at Lake Argyle with only canned vegetables (thank God I bought some of those) and no honey for my crumpets – sacrilege!! 

When we arrived at Lake Argyle “Resort” checked out the “store” where they sell vegetables, one by one, and charge like a wounded bull.  Anyway, we decided to check out the pool because it was just so hot.  I could not believe it when I saw it!  The most stunning pool I have ever seen in my life!  It was an infinity pool looking out over the lake and gorges.  Just superb.  The pictures, I am sure, will not do it justice, but it was just unbelievable.  Even I had to get in!!  Got the most beautiful pictures at sunset too.

Of course the hour and a half time difference really messed me around so I was falling asleep by 8pm.  Which is further complicated by the fact that you are then awake at 5am because that is sunrise.  It does mean that by 9am you are ready for lunch!!

KAKADU - TIMBER CREEK

DAY 36 – KAKADU TO TIMBER CREEK                                     Sunday, 7^th August

Hot!  As I am writing this, I am eating dessert – some hazelnut Cadbury’s chocolate – with a spoon.  Apparently that is how you do it in the north of Australia.  I cannot even put it in the fridge because the fridge isn’t cold enough!!

Just a car driving day today.  Was woken early by the barking owls, as usual, and then drove from Jabiru in Kakadu National Park to Pine Creek and then Katherine where we had lunch, and did some grocery shopping.  Necessary since 2lt of milk at the Jabiru supermarket was $5.60.  So good to see a Woolies!!  From there, we drove into and out of and back into Gregory National Park with enormous escarpments either side of the Victoria Highway which were beautiful. 

We decided to bypass Victoria River Roadhouse and push on to Timber Creek at the suggestion of the Parsons but missed the Crocodile feeding at 5pm by only 20mins.  We did, however, wander down to the bank to be greeted on the other side by a 2-3 metre freshwater croc – quite large for a freshwater – sleeping only 40 or 50 metres from the caravan!!

Big day – very tired.  Off to WA tomorrow!!!  Wow!!  Holiday into next stage.

KAKADU

DAY 35 – KAKADU                                                                     Saturday, 6^th August

Off early this morning for a ranger-guided tour of the woodlands in the Yellow Water region of Kakadu.  It was really interesting and the kids all commented afterwards that if they were ever stuck in the bush, they would not starve to death!  They would know exactly how to get lots of food!!  From there we went on a boardwalk at Yellow Water, near to where the cruises leave, which was absolutely beautiful.  Just the typical Kakadu scene – water lillies on the water, green lush surrounds and a huge crocodile in the water which Ben spotted!  Must have been 4 metres – just cruising up and down the river.  So beautiful to see them completely in their natural habitat.  After lunch we headed to Nourlangie Rock which was absolutely stunning.  Unfortunately, today was the first day Sarah has forgotten her camera (bugger it!).  Particularly on a day when there was so much beautiful scenery!!!  The Billabong around Nourlangie Rock was full of Magpie Geese and Egrets and Cockatoos (and probably the odd crocodile or two!).  But the rock art walk around the rock was just stunning.  We went into an enormous cave that apparently David Attenborough filmed in 1962 and where an archeological dig in 1981 produced a number of artefacts dating back at least 5,000 years, although they believe the Aborigines used the site up to 20,000 years ago.  Standing at one of the lookouts, behind you is Nourlangie Rock and in front of you 15 odd kilometres away is the Arnhem Land escarpment, which is just spectacular. 

I know tourists come here all the time, but as we stood there, listening to the ranger talk with perhaps 20 people (6 of whom were Hansens), it was so easy to think that we were in a group of select people who would stand where we were standing and look out to Arnhem Land.  The Northern Territory has that effect on you – on the one hand of making you believe that you are the only people who have or who will ever walk here. But on the other hand it makes you feel so very small when you think of the 1000 or so generations of Aborigines who have walked over and cared for this country before us, of the many white explorers who have traversed this country that was so different from theirs, and of our children who will hopefully one day bring THEIR children back here.

OK, I MAY have had a glass or two (husband’s note: or 6) with dinner …. Better go and help my husband start to pack up for our trip west tomorrow!

KAKADU

DAY 34 – KAKADU                                                                      Friday, 5^th August

Our FIRST DAY OF DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yay!  Mummy is a little bit excited.  Daddy / Camps Co-Ordinator has been running a tight ship and I am only now really understanding about David needing to “leave nothing undared”, no stone unturned, no final lookout unseen!!  It is exhausting.  But he has been wonderful in showing us all parts of Australia that not every tourist gets to see.  With only three more days left in the Northern Territory, whilst I could never say I have seen it all, I feel like I have given it a good go, and seen more than most would in four weeks.  He is a great tour guide.

Have spent the day wandering around, skyping, writing in the journals and lots of time in the pool.  My husband even washed two sides of the caravan!!!  Can’t do the other side because of annexe and kids doing journals!!  Played some pool and caught up my blogging!!  I realised the difference between our children and us today when I said to Beth that I could stay here for a week and just read and sleep and dip into the pool.  She was horrified.  It would be so boring with nothing to do!  Oh to have nothing to do for a week!!  How good that would be!  It has just been the best day and I could do this for ages!!  But, I am told, my husband has a big day planned for us tomorrow!!

The movie (and free popcorn) poolside tonight was Crocodile Dundee.  What fun for the kids!!  They were so funny to watch, especially at “the naughty bits”!!  It was amazing to see the sights of Ubirr Rock and remind the kids that we were actually there last night!!  They were just so cute!!

Surprisingly enough, there are some drops of rain as we are going to bed tonight – a sound we have not heard for quite some time!!  But going to bed listening to the barking owls talking to one another is just beautiful.  They are amazing and sound just like barking dogs – but quiet ones.  As we came back from Jim Jim Falls yesterday, we were stopped in the middle of the highway by a dingo which was very curious and would not get out of the middle of the road.  The kids are loving seeing so much wildlife.