Ord River & Lake Argyle

What’s not to love about a 320km long river that stretches from as far as the southern end of the Purnululu National Park, meandering through some of the most spectacular scenery in the East Kimberley, right through to the Cambridge Gulf in Wyndham?

The Ord River provides visitors with three distinct areas to enjoy from the massive expanse of Lake Argyle where you can cruise, swim, bird-watch and fish with a local tour operator (or with your own boat), to Lake Kununurra (the area between the Ord Top Dam at Lake Argyle and the Diversion Dam in Kununurra) which is ideal for cruising, canoeing, birdlife, wildlife and water sports, right through to the Lower Ord which is a barra fisherman (or woman’s!) paradise. Historically, the Diversion Dam was completed near Kununurra in 1963, followed closely by the damming at Lake Argyle (Ord Top Dam) which was opened in 1972. The Ord River Floodplain was nominated as a Ramsar Site in 1990 and the site was extended in 2001. The Floodplain is signifcant as a Ramsar Site as it is a large system of river, seasonal creek, tidal mudflat and floodplain wetlands that supports extensive stands of mangroves important for salt-water crocodiles, and a large number and diversity of waterbirds. Lake Argyle is also a Ramsar Site significant as a large system of two man-made reservoirs and associated wetlands that is used extensively by waterbirds, especially during the dry season when up to 200 000 waterbirds have been counted. Information on cruises, scenic flights, fishing tours and other places of interest along the way can be provided for you by our Reception staff.