The Argyle Region of Western Australia

The remote north eastern corner of the State of Western Australia boasts Lake Argyle, an artificial lake created for the Ord Development River Scheme, an agricultural project that seems to have paid off. The town of Kununurra, the centre of this scheme, was founded in 1963 for this purpose. The farmers who use the waters of Lake Argyle, grow maize, peanuts, sorghum and sunflowers. Cotton was tried, but was not successful. Also fruit is grown, especially melons that are exported to South East Asia.

Apart from the lake, the region has tourist potential as well, with just to the north of Kununurra Mirima National Park; also known as Hidden Valley, it used to me an important meeting place for the local Aboriginal people, with its permanent water. There are galleries of rock art here and nice walking trails in the sandstone gorges.

Towards Wyndham, further west, is "The Grotto", a natural depression with lush vegetation around its permanent waterhole, The strangely shaped boab trees are typical of northern Western Australia; its grotesque bottle shape and spindly branches give the impression it is stuck upside-down in the ground, which is in fact a legend in Aboriginal tradition. These trees store water in their trunk; the hard fruits are sometimes carved by Aboriginal people.

	The Grotto	Kununurra	Boab Tree	Near Kununurra
	Lake Argyle	Lake Argyle	Lake Argyle	Lake Argyle
	Hidden Valley NP	Lily Pond	Didbagirring Trail	Sunflowers
	THE KIMBERLEY THE NORTH THE BUNGLE BUNGLES