Brisbane to Perth with Holtie Part 5

I’ve been side tracked from doing Part 5 of my next post on
“Brisbane to Perth with Holtie” by the post on Easter Monday
and then by my sister’s “Order of Australia” post, so now I will
continue on from where I left off at Lake Argyle.

To view this map you will need to double click on the photo.

This would have to be one of the picturesque places of Australia.
We arrived in the afternoon and set up the tent. There are boat
cruises on Lake Argyle so we decided to go on the sunset cruise
the next afternoon. The following morning we went on our own
driving tour to check out the various sights, and what sights
they were.
This aerial photo shows some of the vast area that Lake Argyle covers.

We drove down to the base of the dam wall, where we were
going to use our skills to catch enough fish for our evening meal.
After a couple of hours enough fish had decided that our bait was
too good not to be ignored and we had sufficient fish to prepare
for our dinner.

Just to the right of the photo is the Hydroelectric Station.

The Ord River was dammed to harness the river so that the
water could be used for irrigation and electricity production.
The power produced is more than enough to provide electricity
for the local community of Kunnunurra.

Is this not such an idyllic place to moor a boat and cruise these waters.

Wazza at Lake Argyle................and.............Peter at Lake Argyle.

At 4pm we were driven down by the tour bus to where we
were going to join the boat for our sunset cruise. The cruise
took two hours and one of the places we visited was a island
that had been created by the rising waters. On this island
were a number of rock wallabies.

A rock wallaby, a smaller version of the kangaroo.

At our next stop we were going to feed the Archer Fish,
or Rifle Fish as they are known in Queensland
We were given some bread and we just had to stretch our
hand over the side and the archer fish (who are now used to
the cruise boat coming around at this time) swarmed around
the boat. We then had to wait and almost immediately the fish
started squirting water at us. We were told not to let the small
pieces of bread fall into the water until the bread had been hit
by the water squirts. On quite a number of occasions people
were either squirted on their hand or on their face.

This fish is famed for their ability to shoot down insects and
small creatures resting on foliage or mangrove roots. Archerfish
are remarkably accurate in their shooting, adult fish almost
always hitting the target on the first shot. They can bring down
an insect six feet above the water's surface. This is due to their
good eyesight. When their prey is spotted, the archerfish sticks
its snout just above the surface and squirts a jet of water at its
victim. The resulting jet of water can be up to 2-3 feet long, but
their accuracy only allows them to shoot insects 1-1.5 feet away.
If the first shot does not knock the victim into the water, the
archerfish will keep trying.

...................."Phil" the fresh water crocodile.

While we feeding the archer fish we were told that “Phil” the
fresh water crocodile would usually show up during the feeding
time, and sure enough he did appear. Fresh water crocodiles are
not man eaters, they mainly eat fish and as fish are plentiful in
Lake Argyle, “Phil” was not interested in eating the archer fish.
There are over a thousand crocodiles in the lake. There are no
salt water crocodiles here as this is fresh water. The salt water
crocodiles are the man eaters.

Sitting on a provided floating cushion, with a Emu (brand) beer.

Our next stop was besides one of the many small islands were
we were able to get out onto the island or even go into the water
for a swim. Here we were offered nibbles and drinks (soft drink,
fruit juice, beer of white wine) so naturally I was quite at home
to get in the water and have a beer. The weather was quite
pleasant, the water just right and the beer chilled just perfectly.
We were told that we need not have any fear from any fresh water
crocodiles, of which I never saw any near us.

................Sunset over Lake Argyle.

Before our departure back to the village, we were able to watch
the sunset. Unfortunately as there were no clouds to help create
a brilliant sunset, our sunset although not great was still breathtaking.

With the help of a few drinks and a fish dinner we had a early
night as we wanted to be on the road in the morning to head
for our next destination, Wyndham, before we then continued
on our next long journey down the famed Gibb River Road, and
boy was I looking forward to this part of our trip.

Part 6 we will drive up to the lookout at Wyndham to see the
sunset over the Five Rivers, and then we will take three days to
travel the 660 km over the wild and rough dirt track called
“The Gibb River” road.