Day 38–42, Kununurra (03rd Aug–07th Aug)

This morning we headed off to Kununurra, it as only a 70 kilometre drive so there was no rush heading off so we took it pretty easy packing up and also had a coffee at the restaurant with a nice family we had met at the caravan park.
Arriving at Kununurra before lunch we headed to Ivanhoe Village caravan park where we had already booked, we chose this park on the advice of family who had stayed there some years ago.
Once booked in we found our site which turned out to be pretty good, it was on a corner and pretty large, long enough for us to have kept the car and trailer hitched if we wanted, and wide enough to have the annex up with a couple of meters space between neighbours. The amenities where only across one site away which made Joanne happy.
The park was pretty well maintained and there was a lot of grass which was great, the amenities were clean and large with lots of hot water for showers. There was also a pretty nice pool which the kids enjoyed every day, unfortunately the spa was broken but that was no big deal.
In town we found the information centre where we got some ideas of what there was to see in and around, the town was nice enough with some nice parks and pretty much all the shops and facilities that you would require.

While we were in Kununurra we visited:

Celebrity Tree Park

In town there is a lovely park on the edge of the lake, it is there that trees have been planted by celebrities who have visited the area, celebrities included Ernie Dingo, Kate Ceberano, Baz Luhrmarn, Princess Anne, and many others from Australia and abroad.
It is a nice walk through the very well maintained park and along the lake, there are also paddle boats to hire if you like, we didn't hire one so don't know the cost.

The Hoochery & Sandalwood farm

Only a few kilometres out of town you will find the Hoochery and Sandalwood farm.
At the Hoochery you can taste and buy locally made Cane Sugar spirit drinks, do a short tour of the distillery or have a meal. We had a look at the spirits for sale hoping to buy something to replace the Baileys I have become used to drinking of an evening, but at twice the price it was not going to happen
We decided we would return the next day to do the 30 minute tour, which from memory was $40.00 for the family.
The Sandalwood farm was pretty much a shop selling all sorts of locally produced Sandalwood products, the run a short video which shows the history of Sandalwood plantations in the area but I was a little disappointed because it showed very little about the growing process which is pretty interesting.

Zebra Rock

Zebra Rock is also just a short way out of town, there you can buy artwork and rock carvings carved from the very unique Zebra Rock, a silt stone which is millions of years old.
Sam our youngest who has an interest in rocks wanted to buy a 3 inch high Zebra Rock sculpture of a Zebra but we we had to pass because of the $600.00 price tag.
We did buy a $25.00 bag of assorted siltstone rock to take away and carve at a later date, not exactly sure how we are going to do that but we will see, I have the feeling that the boys think it is a bit softer than it actually is.

Ivanhoe Cafe

Just a few kilometres up the road from the caravan park was the Ivanhoe Cafe, it was pretty much a produce shop which sold all sorts of fruit and veg, but the cafe there was pretty nice, there is a lovely shaded area where you can sit and have a feed or coffee, we had some delicious ice cream made from local fruits.

Unexpected Delay

We ended up extending our stay in Kununurra because on the third day I injured my knee which swelled up and caused me considerable pain,especially when walking, a trip to the local hospital and we were assured that it was not a cartilage which I was afraid of and instead an inflamed Pre-patella Bursar which should be ok after a couple of days of rest.

The delay was not so bad as we had good neighbours at the caravan park and I got to have beers delivered tome in my chair for a couple of days, might as well enjoy it while you can i say.

We met some really nice people at the caravan park, Joyce and Noel from Heywood Victoria, and Virginia and Bob from Victoria also, afternoon happy hour was pretty entertaining, and productive too as Noel had worded up the tour guides next door and they delivered us all sort of delicious foods that they had left over and could not keep for legal reasons. One night we had roast chicken and Caesar salad, and another night Barramundi, even got a cheese cake one night. 

Our new friend Noel had a habit of inviting people over for happy hour, normally this would work out OK but sometimes the people that joined us were, lets say, annoying !, thanks Noel !

Our stay at Kununurra at Ivanhoe Village was very nice,