Lake Argyle & Ord River Tours

Lake Argyle is your first stop in Western Australia when travelling from the Northern Territory and the last of the Kimberley’s amazing attractions when leaving Western Australia.  The closest town is Kununurra, 70kms away.

The WA government completed the first stage of the project in 1963.  The construction of the Ord River Dam created a major storage reservoir called ‘Lake Argyle’ that was officially opened June 1972.  Lake Argyle was filled to storage volume by January 1974!   At normal, full level, the area of the lake is 980 square kilometres and impounds 10.7 million mega litres – that is over 18 times the volume of water contained in Sydney Harbour!  If the lake ever does flood to its maximum capacity then the volume will more than triple.  

The damming of the Ord River transformed a dusty, million-acre cattle station into a habitat for waterbirds, fish and crocodiles; the hills and ridges of the former station have become islands. 

The Ord River is 650-kilometres long with a catchment of over 55,000 square kilometres. The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf creates the most northern estaurine environment in Western Australia.  

Take the time to visit and explore this fascinating area of the Kimberley!