The unique Zebra Rock is 1.6 billion years old and is recognized by symmetrical patterns of stripes and/or dots embedded within the rock. It is classically beautiful and is only found in a teeny weeny part of Australia. The area includes a few sections of Argyle Downs Station (most of which is now flooded by the Lake) and a patch of rather arid land that lies on the border of WA and NT, near Lake Argyle. Geologists are miffed by how Mother Nature has been able to create such perfect patterns in the rock.
The Zebra Rock Mine & Campground was located just over the NT border. The mine was first opened in 2009 by Ruth and Kim Duncan, a husband and wife team. Ruth is a hydrologist so her skills are handy in this part of the World. Kim was born and bred in the Kimberley…and looks like it. He’s as rough and rugged as the Kimberley landscape! He grew up on Argyle Downs Station where both his parents worked. He loved fossicking in the paddocks for Zebra Rock as a child, regularly finding specimens for his mum who adored them. Kim spent years prospecting for the rock after the Station was flooded, eventually beating dozens of others to claim the patch he now leases with the prize geology. Kim and Ruth offer accommodation and tours to help pay for the expensive equipment needed to operate the mine. The camp ground was ‘no-frills’ but with a basic amenities block, $15 fresh fish & chips and a nightly communal campfire, it offered value at $10 per adult (kids were free!).
It was a bustling place but had a relaxed atmosphere. We bumped into a couple of families we’d met travelling across from WA so the kids enjoyed plenty of play time. Guests were allowed to fossick in the dry creek bed and around the camping area. We all found a couple of choice pieces to keep. The catch was that you had to sand and polish what you found if you wanted it to look anything like the beautiful jewellery and sculptures they offered for sale. It was actually a really therapeutic and social activity. The communal ‘sanding table’ attracted guests of all ages who shared worn, ragged pieces of sand paper as they admired each others rocks and offered advice on how to get the smoothest finish! The kids spent hours every day sanding, fossicking and building secret hideouts with palm fronds – it was a fantastic wonderland of dusty adventure, treasure hunting and imaginative play!
We lashed out and did a sunset cruise of Lake Argyle’s wetlands. The slow, gentle ‘cruisin’ allowed us to spot fresh water crocs, jabirus, sea eagles, plubbers and other water birds. As we moved across larger sections of the Lake, Max, our outback host (who looked eerily like Dr Pops…you know who you are!) delighted in ramming the jet thrusters to full throttle, making the kids scream with delight. Jesse would have been happy with 4 hours of jet boating but he was reasonably content with the croc spotting and swimming amongst the estimated 30,000 crocs in the Lake!! The sunset was truly extraordinary. It’s often difficult to capture the colours and mood of the incredible locations we’ve visited but the pictures below are a fairly genuine reflection of what we saw that night.
After twice extending our stay at Zebra Rock, it was finally time to move on. We headed towards Katherine, camping overnight at the King West roadside stop. We’d been warned about thieves in the area so left almost everything in the van, which required us to clamber over the benches to get to our beds because the floors were chock full of our stuff! At least it made for a super quick pack up the next morning. A roadtrip record for us – back on the blacktop by 7.50am!
We passed through Katherine where we shopped and voted! I can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed being off grid during an election year. Without TV, radio or internet for most of the past 5 weeks, we haven’t been subjected to the annoying, repetitive and patronizing dribble sprouted by the pollies. Mind you, I would have been interested to hear what policies the Pirate Party were endorsing!! Katherine also gave us connectivity. With our ‘flexible’ schedule, we didn’t know when we’d be in Darwin so we’d not booked anything in advance. After making a few calls, it soon became evident that we weren’t going find accommodation for the time we’d be there. We’d been warned to book during the peak season but we didn’t want to lock anything in. We’d also not realized it was the start of school holidays! In the end, we booked a few nights at Mt Bundy Station. It had been recommended to us, partly for it’s proximity to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks, but more importantly because it offered dog sitting. Perfect!
GENERAL ZEBRA ROCK PICTURES
Photos from left to right
the famous Zebra Rock
the kids at the sanding table, engrossed in the business of smoothing their fossick finds
some of the pieces we found and polished
toasting marshmallows in the campfire
the kids swimming among the 30,000 crocs in Lake Argyle on the sunset cruise
swimming in Lake Argyle (on the cruise) but this shot gives a better sense of the vastness of the Lake
Jesse enjoying the fast action during the cruise
a friendly 'freshy' on the sunset cruise
PHOTOS FROM THE SUNSET CRUISE...I took loads of incredible pics & this was the best i could do to cull them to a sensible number!!
