We stuck to our plan to camp two nights in the Keep River National Park just inside the NT border, and subsequently cross into WA. What we didn’t know was a Covid test and 3 days of self isolation were no longer needed once we were in WA. Nevertheless, we stayed for these three days in the cabin we had already booked for the purpose at Lake Argyle Caravan Park.

Meanwhile, the high daytime temperatures were challenging and we tried our best to be crepuscular, especially at Keep River before we crossed the border. Stalking White-quilled Rock-pigeons kept me busy around the cliffs and Stephanie was avidly reading the very good book “This is Happiness” (Niall Williams), almost oblivious to the heat. Meanwhile, I hadn’t realised it, but an individual rock-pigeon liked to hang out on the rock in the centre of our campground at Goorrandalng. Despite the testing conditions it was rewarding being amongst the extraordinary spinifex “rock-scape” and emerging in the middle of the night to a miraculous dome of stars and cool night-time temperatures.

After confiscation of our last overlooked apple, a few questions and inspection of our G2G online passes, we were waved through the WA border. After the last 4 weeks of not knowing what was to happen, we wondered why it had finally been so simple and felt uneasy about our good fortune while so many people remained in lockdown. My previous two visits to Kununurra had been all too brief and this time was no exception. However, we enjoyed the leafy setting of Ivanhoe cafe for Sunday brunch while Rosella’s battery was recharged at the Kununurra Showgrounds. After a resupply from Coles we went to occupy our expensive cabin at Lake Argyle. 

We hadn’t realised how appealing this expensive episode at the Lake Argyle Caravan Park would be. It’s a place for Kununurra residents to relax and ranks highly amongst caravaners, especially for its swimming pool and in house musician (Steve Close) and a couple of his songs, “Kimberley Casanova”  and “Double Dick Derek”.

The highlights of Lake Argyle for us were a dawn walk on the neighbouring ridge-line, amidst several pairs of courting Spinifex Pigeons, a tinny boat hire to explore part of Lake Argyle, its banks and nearby rugged cliff lines, and being able to plug the car in overnight, albeit on a single phase outlet.

The original Durack Homestead from thehas been reassembled on higher ground after completion of the controversial dam and creation of the Lake in the early 1970s. The homestead portrays a hard life beginning in the 1860s at the far edge of the efforts to colonise the continent. It is hard to reconcile the benefits of that process with what was taken from the original inhabitants. Everywhere you turn in these northern parts there are in

digenous place names, snippets of past foul play and insights into the depth and extent of an ageless culture, coupled with the struggle that continues for people living on the edge on their own homeland. We slip back into the comfort of our air conditioned cabin and the culture of travellers going from place to place, bonding and enjoying the “good life” that comes from being “on the road”.

Photos above are from Keep River NP and those to follow, including the Spinifex Pigeons, are all from the Lake Argyle region.