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Notes: We booked into the Kimberleyland Holiday Park in Kununurra as we wanted to go on an all day Ord River cruise. The tour was booked at the Tour Office within the park itself. On the day of the tour we were ready quite early and took a stroll along the foreshore of the resort taking in the views of the Lilly Creek Lagoon. A bus picked us and a few other tourists up and took us to the tour boat where we boarded and set off on our cruise. More passengers were picked up from another park which had river frontage and then we really started our tour. A quick sprint took us to see the Pumphouse, the Ord River outfall for the irrigation system and the bridge/wall for the secondary dam before we headed upstream. A detour took us into the Murchison River loop. A quiet section of river with masses of water lillies and wildlife. Our stopping point for lunch was a welcoming spot where the boat crew set up a delightful lunch. Nearby was a small pond where local fish came to see us, eagerly awaiting our leftovers. Back into the boat we continued on seeing lots of freshwater crocodiles, birdlife and even a colony of fruit bats (Flying Foxes). The trip is a total of 55 kilometres, the first 40 kilometres has a rise of 3 metres with the last 15 kilometres having a rise of 10 metres, for a total rise of 13 metres. During low flow seasons this last 15 kilometres may not be navigable due to the shallow depth of the water. Arriving at the top dam wall we departed from the boat and got aboard our bus for a quick stop on the wall before heading off to the Durack Homestead. This was relocated to its current location as it was to be submerged by the rising waters of the Ord River Dam. The homestead was an interesting stop, detailing the history of the Durack family and the times they lived in. Back on the bus, we headed for home. |
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