Location ~ Kimberley Region

Cost ~$40

• A taste of the Ord Valley Morning Tea
• Gourmet Camp Oven Experience
• Lunch and Sun Set Cruises
• Argyle Homestead Museum East Kimberley / Cost $5 family $12

Lake Argyle is located on the border of North Western Australia and Northern Territory. It is well known as one of the largest man made lakes in the Southern Hemisphere and hosts more than 70 islands. At the lakes peak it holds up to 10.7 billion cubic metres of water in our terms 21 Sydney Harbours…quite a big lake.

Lake Argyle was built as part of the Ord River irrigation plan scheme in the 1960s.The original plan for the dam was to irrigate rice crop to export to China. They saw the potential as a tourist opportunity and now the lake is one of the major tourist attractions of the Kimberley’s.

Lake Argyle is named after Argyle Downs the name given to the property of ’Patsy’ Durack and his sons on the banks of the Ord River. We had a chance to visit the homestead which was a short drive from the camp.

There is so much history behind the Durack family and the original homestead . The homestead had to be relocated higher over the years due to the lake rising . The relocation cost was 93K which was generously given from the historical trust and a lot of hard work from the Durack family. It now stands on high ground as a museum today and is well worth a visit.

We had the chance to take one of the Lunch time cruises on the lake. The tour is 4 hours and takes you out on to the lake to see all the wild life that inhibits its shores. There are of course fresh water crocs,wallabies,a vast combination of birdlife on and off the lake, and of course the fish …for the crocs to feed on. On the extensive lunch menu there was the Signature fish of the region Silver Cobbler Fish. This was renamed many years ago from the shovel-nosed catfish which sold at $3.99 per kilo to now $43.00 per kilo same fish new name go figure.

The camping ground we stayed at sits above Lake Argyle and the views from our caravan were stunning.

There are quite a few walks around the lake to enjoy so you can capture the beautiful scenery this lake has to offer. When you get back from exploring you can enjoy the fresh water of the infinity pool or go down to the Lake and have a quick swim.

They offer nightly entertainment which gets a real party vibe going for all including children. There is a restaurant here on site that is open from 7am-7pm so if you want a really relaxing holiday choose this as one of your holiday destinations. The colour of the Lake will take your breathe away .