Not Before Time

Last Sunday we went up in this

for a scenic flight. Our pilot Doug would spend the whole day with us, also acting as tour guide at the diamond mine. Apart from ourselves there was another couple who were visiting from Germany.

We’ve been walking around Kununurra, but seeing it from a plane is so much better

First we flew to the Argyle Diamond Mine (love those pink diamonds!) where we stopped for lunch and had a tour. Unfortunately they weren’t giving away any free samples that day , and more unfortunately, the diamonds for sale were way out of our budget! I didn’t even get any photos of diamonds, but here’s some shots of the mine:

It was really interesting seeing how huge the whole operation is. You don’t actually get to see much of the process as a lot of it is automated, but Doug does a really good job of explaining the separation of the stones from the surrounding rock (lamproite) and way it went through the the conveyor belts to the sorting area. Of course, this sorting area is the one place I really wanted to see but it also has the highest security in the mine so we couldn’t go in there. Apparently even the employees working in that section are subject to really strict security regulations, with every employee in that area having a security person handcuffed to them for their entire shift and they have to undergo a full body search every shift. We were told that these employees are amongst the highest paid on the site. The security person is changed every 2 weeks so a relationship doesn’t develop. I forgot to’t ask about what happens when they need to go to the bathroom!

To give you an idea of the scope of the mine, here’s a couple of shots from the air.

After leaving the mine we flew over Purnululu National Park (the Bungle Bungles). The flight was great, and it’s the only way to see scenery like this

And this

And then of course there’s this

We landed in the park to drop the other couple off as they were spending a couple of nights at a wilderness lodge.

On the way home we flew over Lake Argyle, the largest man made lake in Australia. Lake Argyle was once “Argyle Downs” , a million acre cattle station, and was created in 1971 by damming the Ord River, forming a storage reservoir to supply water for the country’s largest irrigation system. This waterway at times covers an area of more than 2000 square km, a volume equivalent to 54 Sydney Harbours! You can take a cruise on the lake, fish, bird watch and even swim in some areas of it. (there are crocodiles in the lake, mainly freshwater ones).

We’re staying at the Kimberleyland Caravan Park in Kununurra which is lovely and the pool is right behind our site and we’ve been spending a lot of time in it as it’s really hot up here, although not humid as it has been in Darwin.

Mainly we’ve been playing tourist – checking out the local sights. It’s just like being on holiday!

We’ve booked to go on a flight over the Bungle Bungle National Park (which includes a tour of the Argyle Diamond Mine) and Lake Argyle – this happens on Sunday so I’ll let you know how it goes.

We went to The Zebra Rock Gallery last Friday. I love this rock – it’s so beautiful and the colour variations are incredible. At the gallery they make jewellery, statues, decorative bits and pieces etc.

This rock is only found near Lake Argyle in the Kimberley area of WA. David bought a bag of little bits and pieces to play with – but I plan on pinching some of it to try making some earrings and a pendant .