Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 29 - Lake Argyle Day 1

A designated rest day (of sorts) after close to 1,000km in the last 2 days, a tick over 530 yesterday alone. Throw into that a river cruise at Katherine Gorge and a change in time zones and you have a recipe for making one slow down.

So 5.30am (7.30am EST) and its twilight. I decide to get up and see if the sunrises are as spectacular as the last evening sunset. As I head to the spot adjacent to the infinity pool, I disturb a young couple having conjugal relations. They part embarrassed and trying to look like they were doing what I was, the flimsy, flowing dressing gown being her only piece of clothing was a dead giveaway as much as his sheepish grin.

It was, as it was in a way the same as the evening sunset conspired, the direction away from the sun offered the best shots. Yes, there were shots to be had silhouetting the trees against the escarpment as the sun rose behind it, but as the sun lit the rocks to the west the best shots were to be had. I find Forbsy wandering in a similar situation to me – still on home time.  We take and compare shots, with one of his panoramas being the best of the morning, it manages to capture a bit of the redness of the escarpment, while my best is focussed away to the south as the hills began their capture of morning rays.

Breakfast beings a comical comedy of errors, all in the “he had one job, just one job” category. Firstly, Silver Leader pulls out his barbeque and sets it going. He soon wonders why it is not heating. There is a shriek from the van, Rosalie has jumped in the shower to find no hot water. Silver Leader has forgotten to turn the gas water heaters on yesterday – one job – he had one job – then to compound the problem the reason the barbeque is not heating up, the gas has run out. Not a “one job” violation by any means but certainly compounded the first one.

He changes tanks and we are literally cooking with gas again. Rosalie will wait until after breakfast for her shower. Across the lane way we see a camper trying to start his Cruiser, he has jumper leads from his auxiliary battery to his main one and nothing. Silver Leader wanders over with his usual cheerful and helpful attitude, offering the use of his starter kit (he is eager to give a go). Out comes the kit, they attempt to engage it, and nothing. I pipe up and suggest why don’t we jump start it from my Cruiser just in case the problem with one battery has drawn power from both.

We hook my Cruiser up and still nothing. At that point the camper’s wife comes from the van and says “don’t you need these” holding the keys. To take a line from Harry Chapin’s song I Wanna Learn a Love Song from his Verities and Balderdash album – well I guess you know what happened – yes, once the keys were inside the vehicle it started immediately and the camper thanked us very sheepishly for our efforts. One job, he had one job…..

Frivolities over, its time to decide. Decide if we explore or we sit and veg out. Given we are all fed we decide on the former. Silver Leader and Rosalie are charged with exploring the park, Forbsy and I the potential fishing spots, I mean sightseeing vantage points close to the park. I enquire of the park manager who I buttonhole as he wanders around the park and gives me the drum on some of the spots to get great pictures.

We head out towards the dam wall, supposedly a 4km round trip. As soon as we get out the front gate there is easy reason to suspect its not a walking tour although we pass two sightseers walking their dog. Not 500 metres from the gate to the park is a turnoff to the water tower lookout. This provides useful shots of the dam although you can only see around 10% of the actual water impoundment. We see from there a number of other vantage points that may be good for those tourist snaps. 

The next, although not really a vantage spot is a short walk form the road to where an electrical tower holds up power lines emanating from the power station below. The walk is not really for those in Japanese work boots as we are and Forbsy peers at the ground intently trusting there is nothing of the slithering variety we encounter. As we get to the fence protecting us from a deadly fall to the water below a rock wallaby scampers away nimbly negotiating the rock wall. It is out of sight as soon as we see the movement.

The third stop reveals a plaque, unveiled at the time o the commissioning of the dam and the power station. I take a photo of Forbsy pointing towards something in the water as if to say “there’s fish out there cap’n”. Here we can see much further to the north but still only a small percentage of the vast lake, a lake so large its actually designated an inland sea. From here we can see a school of catfish playing against the dam wall – they can stay there, although they do catch quite large specimens here..

We venture further down and onto the track to the northern boat ramp. Its rough gravel but certainly not impassable for the ordinary car. There are plenty of boats moored here and a couple for hire operators setting canoers off on a trip.

Over the dam wall and to the southern boat ramp. This one services the river below the dam. From here we are adjacent to the power plant and the discharge outlets. 42 cubic metres of water per second can be passed through here if they open it up. Even now with only what one might suggest is a trickle, the current is raging. Again on this side the canoe hire operators are at work sending off tourists. One experienced one heads off into the current and is hurled downstream. Another canoe with two, what you would term novices are stuck in the reed immediately. How they are going to cope with the current returning is beyond us.

Just beyond this point there is a lovely park with lots of green grass and picnic areas. There are toilets and very strong fences to keep the people in and the crocodiles out we suspect. Fishing from here would entail abseiling down to the waters edge and macheting through the reed to a weed infested river. Not my cup of tea.

Time to head back. I decide to commentate the drive across the dam wall, all of 50 metres which holds more than 10 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour. At what they determine as full the dam wall has 90 metres of water crushed against it and can extend to 111 metres if needed on flood times before they even think of the water going over the wall. The video lasts 60 seconds and finishes with the words “that’s a shitload of water”.

Back to camp and we report to Silver Leader – nothing to report (meaning fishing is not really an option), sorry ladies, lots of good vantage points for photos, certainly not a walking trip but well worth the drive. This is a lay day so we look to get comfortable and discuss this and that.

Silver Leader has a story of their expedition as well. Evidently, they ran into one of the park staff on their walk when all of a sudden, the sounds of a chainsaw pollutes the air. Immediately off to investigate the ranger finds a camper sawing up one of the logs used to designate van positions and seating. What are you doing he enquires. I am sawing up firewood, I asked someone, and they said it would be alright. Well its not (you idiot) this is a van park not a bush park and those logs are used for the designated purposes. The chainsaw operator, straight faced evidently, askes should he glue or nail them back together.

Silver Leader when telling the story suggests the bloke who told him it was OK to saw up the logs was probably just out of sight with a beer in one hand and popcorn in the other, laughing his head off. The park ranger was not amused and the camper is lucky to still be a visitor in the park.

All this excitement is getting to us. Lunch sets itself upon us. I dole up some Jatz with smoked Trout and Bocconcini, Forbsy some corn chips with chicken and refried means, sour cream and cheese, while Rosalie throws in an antipasto bowl and we tuck in. Robyn who has been working all morning takes a break and joins us.

I mistakenly I show Robyn a crack in my heel suffered on the exploratory goings on this morning which is 1 centre metre long, that with the stone cut on the other side of the same heel worry her and she goes about tending to it with zest. I have had bouts of cellulitis in the past and the middle of the Kimberly wilderness is no place to have a recurrence. She orders me to keep it covered. The long drives and now this have made me very tired, tonight might be an early one again. We are dining in, barbequing, with gas bottle full now, with Silver Leader. The vans’ positioning have made his van the ideal beer garden.

We have booked an afternoon cruise for tomorrow. I suspect this will also be relaxing. If the water is as cold as the infinity pool, this little black duck wont be swimming. This finishes at 6.00pm from which we may eat in the bistro or simply do what we did last night, dish out some peaches, custard and ice cream and hit the sack.