We arrived at Lake Argyle around lunch time on Friday, and spent two nights there. We’ve visited before, but have never stopped over. Last time we visited, it was June 2014, and the famous INFINITY POOL was freezing – way to cold for us to venture in even for the sake of a photo. Not so this time.

It was gorgeous and pleasantly warm, only just cool enough to be refreshing. The pool is considerably above the lake but is designed so as to look as if it is almost part of it. What a delight.

Having heard good things about the SUNSET CRUISE, we decided to give it whirl the next afternoon. First a 45 minute video on the making of Lake Argyle. It’s the largest man made lake in the southern hemisphere, and was built over a three year period from around 1970 – 1973. It’s absolutely massive, with a surprisingly small dam wall. In fact if I recall correctly, it’s the smallest dam wall in the world for the volume of water it’s supporting.

Then a coach picked us up and took us out to the boat. Jack the tour guide, and the skipper were great. What Jack didn’t know about that Lake, and Kununnura mustn’t be worth knowing. He was open to questions, and provided a wonderful insight into the nature of the dam, the spillways, the wildlife, and facts and figures on the Kununurra farms and plantations it supports.

The lake is over a hundred kilometres long, so we only cruised a small section of it. The cliffs surrounding it, and islands in the middle of it are typical of the  Top End and the East Kimberleys – red and glorious.

After a small stop in the ‘Bay of Islands’ we moved on for our sunset swim.

About half an hour before sunset, we all jumped, dived or floated off the end of the boat into the water, all with a water noodle to drift around on as we waited for the sun to set. A life ring was floated out to us loaded with glasses of wine and champagne, and with a platter of cheese, dips and crackers. For the beer drinkers, Jack tossed out cans. I finished my glass and floated back to the rear of the boat to see if a refill was possible. Not only was it possible, but Jack was poking the neck of full champagne bottles into small pieces of cut noodle and tossing them into the water for us to refill our own glasses in the water. With the noodle covering the neck of the bottle they float upright. What an experience.

Then the sun set!!!

I’ve seen lots of sunsets, but none whilst swimming in the middle of Lake Argyle with a glass of champagne in my hand. If you have Lake Argyle in your sights for a visit – don’t miss this experience.

But wait, there’s more….. This next part isn’t a usual part of the cruise. In fact, I believe it was a first. There was a full moon rising that night, and Jack knew where it would rise. So, for those of us game enough to get into the water with our cameras Jack told us when and where to have our cameras poised so as to capture the moon and it’s reflections in the water. Similar to the famous ‘Staircase to the Moon’ for which Broome is famous, I don’t think I quite captured it at the right moment. To have had the opportunity to try was something I’ll never forget.

The next day we departed for our two day trip to Broome.

Lake Argyle’s sunset cruise – Up there with the best of pleasures!