Good morning from ... Kununurra, Western Australia!!

Mirima National Park, Kununurra, Western Australia

A good morning in Kununurra starts really early.  That's because this town in the East Kimberley is just west of the Northern Territory border and the Central Australia time zone.  Crossing the border into Western Australia means you gain 1½  hours so what was 7:30 am in the Northern Territory is now 6:00 am!

And the sun is well and truly up by then.



The view from our campsite at the Lakeside Tourist Resort, Kununurra

BUT ... there's no point fighting it because instead of setting around 6:30 pm, the sun disappears at 5:00 pm.  So rising at the crack of dawn is just a smart way of using all available daylight hours.  Or so they say!

We tested out the theory with magical sunrise visit to the small but impressive rock formations of Mirima National Park, only a few kilometres from our campsite on Lily Lagoon.

And darned if it didn't start our Kununurra morning perfectly!



Here's five good reasons why:
1.  There was no one else around!  Well ... apart from the two manic joggers busy filming themselves running for Facebook.  If you're one of the 'lucky' ones to have seen the footage, it's my sad duty to inform you that it's SO not spontaneous!

2.  The light was perfect for photography.  TOO perfect.  Maybe it's time to accept that not EVERY photo I take is an oil painting, and start culling before my SD card fills up.  Again.


The snake at the summit, Mirima National Park

3.  There was a lot more wildlife about.  Sandstone shrike-thrush, Kestrel, White-quilled rock pigeon.  Oh, and what's that snake-shaped shadow along the look-out ledge?  That would be a three metre snake, of course!

It's a python, right?!

But it's *only* a python ...

See?


4.  Getting up this early left the rest of the day free.  And what better way to spend it than on a mango-cheesecake-and-mango-smoothie bender?!  Kununurra's Ord River irrigation scheme means the area is an agricultural wonderland with WAY more than mangoes on offer ...

In places like this!

Mango Smoothie heaven!  Sandstone Gallery, Kununurra

5.  And the smug, superior, self-righteous glow you'll wear after such a sublime start to the morning lasts all day!  Trust me!!

Mirima National Park Rock Formations, Kununurra, Western Australia

Want more information?

• Kununurra, Western Australia
• Kimberley Region, Western Australia
• Mirima National Park

PS  Please accept my apologies for not having visited many blogs in the last few weeks.  I've had limited power to charge my netbook battery and limited internet access.  I'll visit y'all to death as soon as I can!!