Tuesday 12th July: Hall's Creek - Emma Gorge
We set off at 8.00 am and drove eternally through the GABBA,  which some of you will know as the Great Australian Bugger All.  Well, THAT'S aptly named!!!! However eventually we reached the Argyle Diamond Mine,  the world's largest supplier of coloured diamonds. The 6,000 hectares of land belonging to the Mirriwung and Gija people was being explored for uranium until one of the women got a stone in her shoe. It happened to be a 42.6 point diamond. And so was born the Argyle Diamond Mine in 1983. The mine is not open to the public but we were allowed in and very strict surveillance. Only 20% of the diamonds are white, but all the coloured ones were stockpiled until recently when Queen Elizabeth I I popularized them. The mines have about 3 more years to run when they will be closed and the land will be returned to its original condition. We were shown an area where this has started. Tribal elders have invested their profits very wisely for the good of their people whose lives have been so transformed by this remarkable find. They are now in process of setting up a commercial enterprise marketing their natural foods and medicines, right at a time when the Western world is so much more receptive.
We were treated to the best lunch in the workers' mess. And there we were entertained by a baby croc who obligingly climbed out of the beautiful pond and sat on a rock for us.
We returned to our coach and were driven to Parry's Lagoon Nature Reserve with its wonderful array of water birds.
Then on to the town of Wyndham, the meeting place of 5 mighty rivers.  It used to be a huge port but has now dwindled to a mere 1,000 people with minimal port activity.
Back into the coach that took us to the El Question Wilderness in Emma Gorge for our glamping experience. The day ended magically with a magic  outdoor smorgasbord.