Day 74 - Around Kununurra

We took time out today to clean but managed to take an afternoon drive around Kununurra.  It is a friendly little town on the Ord River.  It is the site of the diversion dam which directs the water from Lake Argyle storage to the various irrigation areas.  The town has made use of the dam to provide water activities, swimming, skiing, fishing etc in its immediate environs.

We saw some of the crops in the irrigation area but by far the largest is the sandalwood plantation.  Trouble is we could not tell the sandalwood from the host trees.  It appears the sandalwood attaches itself to a host tree along its root system.  The wood is extremely valuable at $100,000 per tonne.  The sandalwood oil is extracted at a plant in Albany WA.  Tropical climate and plenty of water are prerequisites for the sandalwood and the grower (TFS) is currently setting up operations in NT and Queensland.  The wood is becoming scarce as the naturally occurring trees in India are being felled illegally.

190614 Water behind the diversion dam in the centre of Kununurra

190614 Water behind the diversion dam in the centre of Kununurra

190614 Did not wish to spoil the photo but present for a size reference

190614 From the swimming beach in Kununurra

190614 Corellas and they are just as noisy in WA

190614 Smallcrops at Kununurra