The Traveller's Table: Welcome To WA, East Kimberley, Kununurra!

Wow, what a spectacular drive it is across the WA border and into the East Kimberley region. A brief stop at the gorgeous Victoria River and then on to quarantine. Boy did these guys take their job seriously... and rightly so. The NT/WA border has 24 hour patrolled quarantine, no fruit and veg, pests, cane toads etc are to be carried further, although I can’t imagine anyone would purposely smuggle a toad?? Luckilly for us we were prepared for this and used up all of our fresh produce but our word wasn’t enough. We had to lift our boat and open all the boxes on the trailer to be inspected, and honest Ben had to dig out his cast net from the deep for them to check. With everything approved we were in....the much awaited WA and only 50km to Kununurra.

As many of you would know by now, there was an abundance of work in the Kununurra region and due to the Gibb River Road not yet being open we decided to stash some cash for 2 months. After trying 2 other caravan parks we ended up setting up house at the showground... a fantastic place, loads of space and great for the dogs.

Ben and I both started work the first week we arrived, Ben as an electrician and myself back in recruitment. It truly was nice to be back in a reutine, making money instead of just spending it, and using my brain again! It wasn’t all work of course, we wanted to use Kununurra as a base to see many of the surrounding attractions.

Many a weekend was had at the Keep River, about 80km from town and great Barra fishing. We both caught some decent fish here and the drive is extremely picturesque with burning red ranges, rice fields and irrigation channels on the way. We were lucky enough to meet up with Ruth and Stewart again when they spent a few days in Kununurra. As the Keep River was one of our favourite spots we took them for a drive. The boys put the boat in and we all got onto a few Barra. By this stage I was giving them away!! We spent a bit more time and had a lovely dinner with Ruth and Stewart before they continued on their journey west.

We couldn’t leave town without a visit to the Hoochery Rum Distillery (just a taste of 75% rum nearly dropped me), and Lake Argyle. I don’t think you could prepare yourself for the size of the lake nor the amazing colours. We decided not to spend money on a cruise or flight this time around, we could already see so much from the drive.... it was something! There were also a few trips to the renowned “Ivanhoe Crossin” although it was still closed to traffic due to high water flow. Ben caught just a few small Barra here.

I am not sure if “Lucky” is the right word but Ben was “Lucky” enough to visit a number of local communities in the region. Most involved driving to remote indigenous communities, on one occasion a flight to Kalumburu and a few to the coastal town of Wyndham. I still hadn’t visited Wyndham as yet, so Ben decided to take me for a weekend drive. Quite disappointing really, there isn’t much to the town itself, but the 5 rivers lookout if definitely impressive. It is no wonder this region see’s so much flooding in the wet season. On the way back from Wyndham we took a drive towards the Cockburn Ranges to the “Prison Tree”. I great drive and super tree, of course I convinced Ben to jump inside for a photo!

I can’t forget to mention how nomadic our life was in Kununurra. I know you are thinking “well you are travelling” but in this one small town in 8 weeks we managed to stay in 5 different places. As mentioned our first month was spent at the showground where caretaker Troy looked after us and the dogs very well. Unfortunately we had to move out of the showground the week of the show and we moved to camp behind the office store where one of Ben’s mates Mum worked. From here we went back to the showground for a few days before caretaking a spectacular home on acreage just out of town, the dogs had friends to play with, I had a bath to relax in, Ben had fresh eggs every day and we were all very happy. Then, as lucky as we are, we were able to stay in Ben’s boss’s unit for cheap rent the last 2 weeks.. awesome!

For the foodies out there, surprisingly there a a few nice cafes in Kununurra these days. The Mango Cafe in the middle of town is great, good food and good coffee. One place i really enjoyed however was “The Pumphouse Restaurant”. It quite literally is the old pumphouse on the edge of the water and the tables are seated around the old pumps inside as well as out on the verandah overlooking the water. It’s a beautiful place, very interesting and alot of history. I would recommend for breakfast over dinner.

It’s hard o fit everything from the last 2 months into one post... but alot of it was work. I can’t help but think there is alot I have missed. As our time in Kununurra draws to a close, it’s both tempting not to stay longer and exciting to see more of the Kimberley. Fortunately for us, the Gibb River Road was now open, as well as the road north the Honeymoon Bay and Kalumburu, get ready for dirt dirt and a bit more dirt!