Day 14 02/06/2013 Dunmarra Roadside Inn to Lake Argyle(WA), via Katherine.
We had a reasonable night. There was a bit of noise when the pub closed, and the road trains were passing through all night. This, of course, is one of the down sides to camping near the road; but sometimes it is unavoidable. As we were packing up, a Greyhound bus, headed for Darwin, pulled in to get fuel and drop off supplies. These buses are sometimes used instead of the postal service. We left before 7.30am. We passed lots of fresh road kill ...most likely courtesy of the road trains.....and saw several birds of prey feasting. For quite a few km we encountered misty conditions, but the low cloud soon cleared to the usual sunny day. The termite mounds along the edges of the road were oddly shaped.....having ball-shaped tops, making them look like heads atop bodies. Someone with a sense of humour, plenty of time and lots of spare clothes,(or more likely several people copying an original idea), had dressed the larger termite mounds in old hats, T-shirts, plastic bags etc.; to make them look like people. We were kept amused for several km as we sped along on the sealed road!
Another thing about travelling on sealed roads is that, (not surprisingly), there is more traffic.....mainly road trains and caravans. The rest areas along our route today were crammed with caravans taking advantage of free camping. We can't really see the appeal of this. The proximity to other campers is worse than in some caravan parks, (without the bonus of power, water and showers), and what's more, there is often little space for through-travellers to stop for a rest break. These areas are designated as 24 hour stops, intended for weary travellers who have been unable to reach their destination by nightfall, or are feeling very tired ; but they are often packed full by 2pm, or even earlier at some more popular stops, (e.g those near a river); and we met someone who told us that they knew of caravanners who spent a week or more in these rest areas, to save the cost of caravan parks! Madness!
We stopped in Katherine to re-fuel and to make some phone calls. Then we turned left to head west on the Victoria Highway to WA. This road passes through some majestic scenery and is not at all a boring drive. However there was much evidence of bush-fire damage which we had not seen when we last drove this road....admittedly quite a few years ago.
As we got closer to WA, we began to see the iconic Boab (Bottle) trees, which are indigenous to the Kimberley region.
Our planned stop for the night did not really appeal to us, (bit of a dust bowl and quite a crowded camp), so we decided to keep going for another two and a half hours or so, to Lake Argyle, a decision helped by the fact that we would gain one and a half hours in time crossing the NT/WA border, and would still have plenty of daylight left.
Although we had to give up some fruit and veggies, ( which we would have consumed tonight if we had stayed in NT), at the quarantine inspection point, the decision to keep going proved to be an excellent one!
We arrived at Lake Argyle Tourist Village at around 3.30pm. The caravan park/campground looked very busy and we decided to take an unpowered site since they are usually not as popular. We asked for a 'quiet' spot and were taken to THE MOST AMAZING camp spot in a location of the park called 'Bedrock'. We are on top of a cliff, overlooking a valley with cliffs on the other side. We have no-one else nearby and a completely uninterrupted view. Fabulous! Booked in for two nights. After setting up we had a relaxing swim in the beautiful infinity pool which overlooks Lake Argyle. Views to die for. Then it was 'sundown happy hour' at the bar and we had a very welcome cold beer as the sun set, turning the cliff faces a beautiful pink. Camp cooking bit the dust tonight as we opted for a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings and dessert for $25 pp. It was delicious! Then it was back to our campsite to stargaze until bedtime.