As northern Australia manages to almost by-pass the COVID pandemic, at Kimberley Off-Road Adventure Tours we are slowly waking up from hibernation and getting ready to hit back in 2021, with possibly our best Kimberley adventure itinerary ever.
We’ve been granted an amazing opportunity to take you on a unique camping experience. Whether you are traveling from Broome to Darwin or Darwin to Broome, you will spend a night camping out on a secluded island on western Australia’s picturesque Lake Argyle – an experience not to be missed.
A view over Lake Argyle
A passenger enjoys a Lake Argyle cruise with Kimberley Off-Road Adventure Tours
The island adventure will begin when we board the cruise vessel with our camping gear and head out on to the lake. We’ll explore the islands and bays in search of wildlife including the Short-eared rock-wallaby, wallaroo, Freshwater crocodile, and numerous fish species and bird-life. We’ll also have the opportunity to plunge into the cool waters and take a refreshing swim before we head to the island to set-up camp. Enjoy the welcomed solitude and sunset with a campfire meal, before resting for the night ready to be woken by the sound of water, wildlife and an unmissable sunrise. The experience is as good as it sounds and is an added bonus to an already adventure-filled Kimberley tour!
Lake Argyle camping experience with Kimberley Off-Road Adventure Tours
Photo courtesy of Lake Argyle Cruises
Lake Argyle island adventure with Kimberley Off-Road Adventure Tours
Photo courtesy of Lake Argyle Cruises
The Milky Way as seen on the Lake Argyle island camping experience with Kimberley Off-Road Adventure Tours
Photo courtesy of Lake Argyle Cruises
I thought I’d take this opportunity to provide you with some great facts and information about Australia’s largest freshwater storage on mainland Australia.
The fertile plains along the Ord River in the eastern Kimberley were recognised as having farming potential by the Duracks back in the 1940s. However, the vast difference in rainfall between the wet and dry seasons made it difficult to farm all year round. It was about 20 years later that decisions were made to dam the Ord River. The Ord Irrigation scheme made it possible to set up intensive sustainable farming which would survive from January through to December.
A Rock wallaby, Lake Argyle
The dam’s gates allow the wet season’s flood waters to pass through, whilst limiting flooding of adjacent agricultural land. During the dry season the gates are closed so water can be stored and diverted to the irrigation channel, ensuring the year-round supply of water.
Lake Argyle was completed in 1972 and consists of over 70 islands. It not only provides water to the surrounding farmland but allows tourists from all over to come and enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife.
A freshwater crocodile takes a swim at sunset - Kimberley Off-Road Tours
LAKE ARGYLE FACTS:
- When flooded, Lake Argyle is the largest reservoir of freshwater in Australia. The largest is Lake Pedder in Tasmania.
- The highest water level in Lake Argyle to date (7 April, 2011): 101.36.m AHD - Australian Height Datum
- The lowest water level in Lake Argyle to date (4 January, 1991): 78.58m AHD - Australian Height Datum
- The Kariba dam, on the Zambezi River, between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is the biggest dam in the world by reservoir capacity
- At normal full supply level, the area of the lake formed by the Ord Dam is 980 square kilometres and impounds 10.7 million mega litres (8.6 million acre feet) of water
- 500 tons of explosives were used to blast rock from a nearby quarry to provide 2 million tons of rock for the dam wall. The blast was the largest non-nuclear explosion in the southern hemisphere.
If you would like more information about our Kimberley tour please read our itinerary. You can also call Adam or Lucy on 0447 740 880 or email info@kimberleyoffroadtours.com