Another day in sunny Kununurra. The one thing that has disappointed me on this trip was to arrive at Kununurra and find most of the horticulture industry has disappeared.About 14 years ago you could come to Kununurra and drive out to the farms and buy fresh water melons or rock melons etc. In 1999 the sandalwood industry arrived and leased most of the farms from the farmers who got more money than they would have growing melons. There is only one orchard left up here selling melons, dragon fruit, star fruit and other vegetables.
Today I took a flight over the Bungles and all we could see as we left Kununurra were mango farms and sandalwood.It seems we have sacrificed food for smelling nice.
The flight over the Bungles has been on my bucket list for some years. At last I have seen them now. It was a little hard to get good photos while going over Lake Argyle due to the fires still burning there causing a smoke haze.
We flew over Lake Argyle from north to south, which is 55 kms. The width of the lake is 35kms. This photo is of the north end and shows the caravan park we stayed in. The depth of the lake can reach 40 metres.It is shallower at the southern end.
The scenes from the tiny Cessna plane (Only held 5 passengers), were nothing short of spectacular. the Bungles only came to public awareness as late as 1982 when a TV crew were told about them by a helicopter pilot while they were making a documentary about the Wolfe Crater at Halls Creek. The Bungle Bungles are famous for the sandstone domes, unusual and visually striking with their striping in alternating orange and grey bands.
Purnululu National Park was established in 1987 and skyrocketed to world fame.In 2003 Purnululu NP was inscribed as a World Heritage Area.
Coming back from the Bungles we passed over the Argyle diamond Mine.
and then we were back over Lake Argyle.
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