Just as we had anticipated, The Lake Argyle Resort is geared to provide that 'complete holiday'. The self contained village, which began life as the camp housing the dam construction workers, offers many diversions for those who wish to do more than merely laze around the pool or sit in the sun. Helicopter flights, lake cruises, daily entertainment, dining out or merely breasting the bar for a drink or two...it is all on offer here at Lake Argyle.
The daily event schedule appears prominently outside the entrance to the park office complex
together with a bulletin board, weather information and much more.
As I have mentioned before, this is a very busy place during the high season when the staff not only have to manage up to eighty new arrivals on a daily basis, but also have to constantly move vans from the overflow areas onto more permanent sites. The booking counter is busy throughout the day with new arrivals and those wanting to take one of the many tours on offer.
As could be expected at a place like this, tourist targetted merchandise abounds
and not too far away in the same part of this building is the inside bar
and roomy cafe/restaurant area. Here patrons cannot only grab a bite, but can also sit and watch the screen in the corner of the room on which a most informative video detailing the manner in which the dam was built is continuously played.
A doorway near the helicopter flight booking desk
leads out onto the front deck area which caters for those wishing to dine al fresco or merely take in the view whilst enjoying 'coffee and cake'.
Each evening meals are served in the outdoor garden dining area (here seen early in the morning)
and on most afternoons a local troubadour takes to the garden stage to entertain the masses for a couple of hours before the restaurant opens for business. The outside bar does well during these sessions.
This section of the resort really comes to life at night. We joined our park neighbours for drinks on one occasion (that's Liz in the purple shirt) but did not actually dine out here. But we did have one serious 'knees up' in this patch on the evening of one of the State of Origin rugby matches (when in Rome!!) when I estimated we were two of over 200 of us crowded around the several large screens. When we ran into a great couple we had met in Broome.....it was on for young and old!
And what better for a recovery session that a dip? All the promotional material relating to this resort bangs on about its 'Infinity Pool', which I have to say was disappointingly short (for those of us who like to actually swim some laps....and yes, I was back in the water now full time). From this angle it all looks pretty standard fare,
but from the entry level it takes on a completely different appearance.
Talk about a 'room with a view'.
There was only one major problem with he pool itself (apart from its length).....the water was freezing. This 'infinity' design is all well and good from an aesthetic perspective, but the constant flow of water over the edges means that it never gets the chance to heat up in the sun.
This is a shame because apart from anything else, it meant that the spa at one end of the pool was less than inviting and little used.
Liz dabbled occasionally but spent most of her time on the lawn surrounds soaking up the wonderful sun.
I, on the other hand, did make the most of my new found aquatic freedom and managed to bash my way through the crowds for a lap or two, and of course, posed for the mandatory Lake Argyle pool picture at one stage.
This really is a spectacular backdrop. Folk posing in this corner of the pool was a constant sight here for obvious reasons.
Quite close to the pool area are the park 'budget' cabins
whilst those who are prepared to shell out more for their accommodation can set up in far greater style in these much larger holiday cabins where the front deck provides marvellous views over the lake below. 
From here the red resort Robinson 44 was constantly on the go. No point in having the view impeded by doors! I did note a few very anxious pre-flight faces on some who obviously did not have complete faith in restraining capacity of their seat belts.
The pad area is pretty tight by any standard and required a departure hover through 180 degrees
before the chopper would swoop off over the edge of the hill
to begin its ten minute sortie out across this end of the lake. These Robinsons are comparatively quite machines but these flights were intrusive from a noise perspective, even for one as devoted to rotary winged aircraft as your scribe.
Neither Liz nor I felt the need to indulge ourselves in this way, but we did stump up for a sunset cruise on the lake. This had been presented to us by many as a 'must' whilst here. But I'll save this for the next missive when we take a closer look at this extraordinary stretch of water.
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