Out of sequence. Lake Argyle
This post is way out of sequence because I had no wi-fi for several days.
So this is Day 9
Lake Argyle is the magnificent result of the damming of the mighty Ord River as part of the Ord River Irrigation scheme. It is Australia’s largest inland lake and also provides electricity for the local region, including Rio Tinto’s Massive Argyle Diamond mine. The mine is due to close next year but has been producing 95% of the worlds pink diamonds. I did offer to buy a ring for Jill at the nearby town of Kununurra. Prices ranged from $15,000 - $950,000. She declined because she didn’t think the pink colour matched her complexion. Phew !!
Despite this area now being home to the largest fresh tropical fruit growing area in Australia thanks to the dam and the huge irrigation area, we didn’t get to see any of the horticulture unfortunately.
The lake is home to a estimated 30,000 fresh water crocodiles, 26 species of fish, and a third of Australia’s bird species.
We watched a very interesting video about the construction of the damn before boarding a large boat for a cruise around the northern part of the lake. We motored for three hours and covered just a tiny part of the lake. Most of the 60 or so on board jumped into the water close to sunset and were served, bubbly, beer or juice from a floating bar. Cool. Back on board liquor flowed and by the time we disembarked in the dark there were a lot of happy people.!
So this is Day 9
Lake Argyle is the magnificent result of the damming of the mighty Ord River as part of the Ord River Irrigation scheme. It is Australia’s largest inland lake and also provides electricity for the local region, including Rio Tinto’s Massive Argyle Diamond mine. The mine is due to close next year but has been producing 95% of the worlds pink diamonds. I did offer to buy a ring for Jill at the nearby town of Kununurra. Prices ranged from $15,000 - $950,000. She declined because she didn’t think the pink colour matched her complexion. Phew !!
Despite this area now being home to the largest fresh tropical fruit growing area in Australia thanks to the dam and the huge irrigation area, we didn’t get to see any of the horticulture unfortunately.
The lake is home to a estimated 30,000 fresh water crocodiles, 26 species of fish, and a third of Australia’s bird species.
We watched a very interesting video about the construction of the damn before boarding a large boat for a cruise around the northern part of the lake. We motored for three hours and covered just a tiny part of the lake. Most of the 60 or so on board jumped into the water close to sunset and were served, bubbly, beer or juice from a floating bar. Cool. Back on board liquor flowed and by the time we disembarked in the dark there were a lot of happy people.!
Comments
Post a Comment