The Red (and rather green) Centre

We made a beeline south after leaving Darwin and stopped off in Mataranka for the night. We paid a visit to the Bitter Springs where warm crystal clear artesian water flows through a sandy channel surrounded by Pandanus and palms like a little oasis. We slipped into the warm waters and thought if only every long drive could end like this!

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Clark invasion of the Top End

Mum and Dad made their long awaited arrival in Darwin and bought with them a souvenir from Sydney – a cold! Something that seemed quite out of place in 30 degree Darwin. But they were determined to push on and we thought a bottle of bubbles while watching the sunset on Mindil Beach was in order. No markets this time round but some colorful locals added to the experience! Mum and Dad put us up in a beautiful apartment which was a far cry from our usual camping style and had my most missed piece of furniture – couches!

Darwin – Mindil Beach

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Border hopping into the Northern Territory

Our last port of call in WA was Lake Argyle and like the rest of WA it didn’t disappoint. Lake Argyle is a man made lake which was created to provide permanent water for the East Kimberley shire. A dam was built over 2 dry seasons stemming the flow of the Ord River. The cattle station which was flooded was Argyle Downs, hence the name for the dam. The homestead was recovered was and later reconstructed as a museum about the Durack family who were early pioneers of the area and the construction of the dam. The dam is absolutely stunning with the red cliffs dropping down into the blue lake with 9 time the volume of Sydney Harbour!

Lake Argyle

 

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