Easy life amongst the mangroves up a creek somewhere around Tin Can

Livin on the boat in the mangrove swamps

I could do with that one

Huckleberry Finn existence. On the mud-flat at low tide

Idyllic life in the creeks

We have been looking at some of the older houses that have sprung up over time close to the mangroves. Some are full of charm and character. One of these ‘Swamp Shacks’ is shown below.

Swamp shack at the edge of the mangroves

More swamp shack

    Whilst cycling around the area one meets the inevitable flock of Pelicans waiting for a feed when the fishermen return.

Waiting for the fishing boats and a feed

The next thing I have to line up (hope you get the pun), is some fishing. At low tide the mud/sand flats are exposed. So I will get my yabby pump and a bucket to find some bait for a fishing trip.

Mangrove closeup

The next morning I drove the 100 km from Wyndham to Kununarra dodging the large Nickel road trains that transport the ore from the mine in the Kimberley to the Wyndham harbor. The total unit has four wagons filled with more than 40 tons of ore each; a truly daunting sight when it comes thundering towards you. I slowed down every time and pulled off the road. Close to Kununarra  a long bridge fords the Ord river.

I stopped at Kununarra. This is a really pleasant town with lush green vegetation, good roads and services and its own lake, Lake Kununarra. There is much fishing being done as well as boating and water skiing.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Lake+Kununurra,+Kununurra+WA+6743/@-15.808885,128.7047026,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x2c998cab21689ee9:0x52f3228531800e34

Lake Argyle is a further 50 km from Kununarra. I did that in quick time as the road is all bitumen and reached the caravan park in the early afternoon. Lake Argyle has resulted from the damming of the Ord River and was built in the late 1960s. It is more than seven times the size of Sydney harbor up to the Parramatta River. The lake measures something like 45 km by 25 km. This is the largest man-made lake in Australia.

For some interesting links on Lake Argyle, see below.

http://www.lakeargyle.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Argyle

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=lake+argyle&biw=1366&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQsARqFQoTCNuoqOzt9sgCFYfGpgod8dkBeA&dpr=1#imgrc=cJHCTK8jFCAI3M%3Ak

It is a really great park with tall trees offering shady sites. The park has a horizon pool that is situated on a hill overlooking a section of the lake. I enjoyed walking through the park and admiring the wide variety of caravans parked there; all shapes and sizes from camper trailers to massive off road caravans.

You can see forever

My humble tent in the shade

I decided to do the Lake Argyle cruise, an all day cruise, to get to know the history and engineering feat that created this biggest manmade lake in Australia. I purchased a ticket and lined up for the cruise the next morning at the office. We were taken by bus to the boat launch which is some 4 km away.

Our guide introduced himself and helped us board a large catamaran, the ‘Kimberley Durack’. Once the Ord River had been dammed and the project had been completed the lake was allowed to fill up. This process of rising water levels has created more than a 100 islands. Some of them have Euros living on them. They are marsupials like Kangaroos, only smaller. They occur only in the northern regions of Australia.

Miles of water and islands

A Euro trapped on an island

Many islands are occupied by fresh water crocodiles. The islands look magnificent as the sun sets across the water. Some islands have great looking geology. In one instance the island is bespeckled with small lava pipes that look like a bunch of caves in the hillside. Many trees had Hawks, Falcons and other birds of prey sitting in them.

Crocks (Freshies) are everywhere

Lava pipes

In the evening our guide stopped the boat in 30 foot of water so that we might enjoy the sunset and the braver ones were invited to take a swim in the lake (amongst the Freshies).  The water was pleasantly warm. A beer and snacks were also served. We returned to our camp after sunset having enjoyed a day that most of us would never forget.

The hills light up in ocher in the evening sun

The last week at Port Vincent just flew by (23/10-28/10). We spent days relaxing at the water’s edge and watching the tide come in. They have a school program that teaches the children about kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and water skiing. I took the dogs for a walk along the sand-bar at the spring low tide and watched the shells and crabs do their thing. At high tide we had rays come in right up to the stairs to the caravan park.

Sailing

Afternoon smming at Port Vincent

We spent an afternoon going to Stansbury, just down the road, to look at their very long jetty. The real point of interest however turned out to be the red sandstone cliffs close to the coast. They were full of holes that had been worn away by birds of ages past, but were now occupied by flocks of domestic pigeons that had turned feral and making their own way independent of man. Very interesting how quickly this happens! On the other hand we had a repeating ceremony play itself out where feral birds had become reliant on man. Every day the fishermen were gutting their catches at the cleaning station and feeding the pelicans that were loitering around all day long. When the pelicans opened their beaks they revealed a cavity big enough to swallow a baby, including pram. They have a little hole in their thorax through which they make a trumpeting sound; see pics.

Waiting for a meal.

Me please!

The next day our very friendly neighbour asked me to come along fishing on his boat ‘Duifken’ which is Dutch for little dove. We had a great day all around the coast catching squid, whiting and snook. The snook are around 30 to 55 cm in length, give you a good fight and taste great once you have prepared them properly. We had a great day and after a few beers later that evening. I was exhausted from all the fresh air and exercise. The cleaned fish and squid has been cryo-vacked and frozen for an evening meal of Salt & pepper squid, yum.

Duifken