29th May,

Last nights discussion was about our next destination as we start to head SOUTH. This morning we are awake early so pack up and get on the road. As we leave Tom Price, Philip takes the turn northward towards Port Hedland. “Hey this is the wrong way we are suppose to be heading south”.

I politely mention this to Philip and suggest he made the wrong turn. He replies by saying “didn’t you listen to the weather report at 5am”, no I’m still asleep then. Wet wet wet. Rain storms just where we had planned to go and on these dirt roads water and red mud don’t add up to an easy drive. (We later heard that the area had up to 40mm-60mm rain and roads will be impassable). So we are heading north to Port Hedland and we have got 5 nights there. We have had no trouble getting accommodation in parks although other travellers are saying that everything is booked out. So we have 350 k to travel today. (P) We have a shovel and winch but as far as I am concerned they are for “looks” not to use unless desperate! Given our back road travel preferences I would prefer to spontaneously plan than be locked into pre planned / pre paid itineraries that force one into making bad decisions!)

So what to do on the drive north today. Let’s count the Road Trains and see what they are carrying. Once we reach Port Hedland our tally is 215 4 trailer road trains plus 6 stopped at Auski Roadhouse, 350 kilometres and 4 hours travel time. Or one road train every 1.7 klm.

The trucks carried varied loads:-

Conveyor belting, over height

Huge steel beams

Mining Equipment

Cat 11 Dozer over width

Trucks carrying trucks

Gas trucks

Fuel trucks

Ore ball crusher bowls and crusher jaws

Front end Loader

2 x 8m wide dump trucks (over width)

New Dozer 4m wide at wheels

Ammonium Nitrate

And of course multiple loads of iron ore, about 25000 tonne of iron ore,

Not to mention the Lithium and other ores also being carted.

The “Truckies” are most polite and excellent to travel with, they will call us (on the radio) to overtake when they deem it safe and will have a short discussion at times also. At 60m long, up to 210 tonne with 98 wheels and travelling at 80-90 kph they are quite a length to overtake!

(P) As well as statistical engineer and mobile photographer, Judith spends her time knitting ( and “unknitting”) it seems to be 10 stitches forward / 5 back 10 forward etc. ! I guess that her style takes longer and saves buying as much wool!

Road Travel Discussions!

Judith has always managed the home budget! She made mention that “it seems cheaper for us to live on the road than when we are at home”. Like a fool I answered “yep we are not using any electricity etc while away” the immediate rely was “ it’s more like that there are no Ebay, Gumtree, or Face Book purchases while we are on the road”! Wow I walked into that one – I must be more careful with my replies in the future!

30th May to 3rd June

A few lazy days to recover ( I may have overdone things a bit the last few days), doing a few Maintenance jobs and enjoying the scenery of this heavy duty Industrial town.

24 hours a day we can hear the background sound of Trains, Road Trains, Tug Boats and many other HD industrial machines from our campsite some 3-4 klm from the action Zone.

(If Philip can hear the background noise then it’s loud because he’s hard of hearing most of the time)!

During our stay here we have done two tours. The first one organised by the Seafarers Mission. After a very informative audio visual presentation we hopped on a bus down to the harbour for a cruise on a workman’s launch around the harbour. This certainly made us see just how large the ships are and how small an area they have to spin the ships 360 degrees to get them heading back out to sea before they are pushed into their berth by 6 tugs. As we were touring past the ships we were also doing a grocery/gift delivery of pre-ordered items to some of the international crew. The orders are sent to the Seafarers mission who purchase the items, pack them individually, then deliver to the ships. The launch noses up the the side of the ship where a masked crewman lowers a rope which is attached to the bag of goods and then its hoisted up and over the railing. Items are delivered this way as COVID has stopped crew members from leaving their ship (some have been onboard for over 18 months!. We motor past all the ships currently berthed in the harbour. 19 ships can be berthed at one time with another two berths being built in the near further. All ships are bought in and turned to face back out to sea before being berthed.

Our next tour, the following day, was a Twighlight Industry Tour, departing from the visitors centre we drove out past the Rio Tinto solar Salt Farm which covers 9000 hectares and produces 3.2 million tonnes of industrial grade salt per year. The salt stacks are clearly visible from all over town. Our Owner/Driver guide was a wealth of information, he was constantly quoting figures and statistics as he drove us around. Past the Lithium Ore (Spodumene), copper ore, fuel storage farms, and the massive Iron Ore storage areas belonging to BHP, Fortescue Metals, Hancock Prospecting and Roy Hill operation. The enormity of these operations simply can’t be described.

A few statistics and photos may help with the story.

60 trains per day = 1 every 13 minutes

580+ kilometres of conveyor belting delivering ore from trains to sorting to stockpiles to ships

Roy Hill built 2 ship berths and infrastructure $10 billion including the mine and railway.

Most Machines are autonomous and operated from Perth

Shipping channel is 20 nautical miles

14.5 metres deep

Minimum of 4 tugs per ship (6 to berth in port)

64 ships anchorages

22 days sailing from China

538 million tonnes ore per year

5500 shipping movements per year

7.4 metre tidal range

280000 tonnes of ore per ship $60-70 million per ship

60% of ships going to China

Largest Tug fleet in the Southern Hemisphere

(P) In summary a mind blowing town with incredible statistics! The whole place is red with a tinge of Iron Ore dust, (probably not a good home for an OCD “Clean Freak” but) for a boy who appreciates the finer things in life (MACHINERY) Port Hedland has been another great visit. Complimented by the Mine visits that feed the Port. Tomorrow we depart on the road to – Somewhere.

We enjoyed our tour of the harbour and told a few other campers about it. They all tried to book but were told that it wasn’t running at the moment. Next time we went down to the viewing platform the walkway to the pier was being removed. Guess that’s why the tour is not running. We were lucky enough to catch the last tour.

Thursday 27th May

We have been away from the van now for 3 nights and today we are heading back to Karijini before we reunite with our van in Tom Price.

Not sure whether I am keen to return Karijini to complete two more gorges or not. Weano Gorge will be okay but it’s Hancock Gorge that worries me. First up is Oxer Lookout, a great view over parts of Weano and Hancock. Then back to the start of Weano and down the steps to the gorge floor. Part of this gorge walk is closed due to a fatal and another serious incident earlier this year. I am pleased we are, not doing this section. (P) Judith sometimes struggles with stretching her sense of adventure!) We wander along the gorge floor Criss crossing the creek and admiring the swimming holes. Back up the hill to the car park where we stop for another tailgate lunch and a chat with the family parked next to us. This was a nice walk but not as good as some we have done.

After lunch we are off to Hancock Gorge. This is what the brochures say about this walk “the exhilarating descent into Hancock Gorge has been described as a ‘journey to the centre of the earth’. After climbing down ladders you wander further into the gorge which narrows into a huge chamber with small rock pools and marbled walls.” Another brochure says “for the fit and adventurous. One of the most spectacular short walks…… you wade through cool pools, negotiate rock ledges and clamber through stony creeks. The gorge narrows and this is where the class 5 section comes into play. To continue you need a degree of flexibility and nerve…. straddle the gap between the gorge walls.

What stood out to me were a. Class 5, b. Wade through water, c. Straddle the gap.

Anyway off we went with nerves on high alert. The ladders were okay, not very long and easily managed, then a bit of rock hopping and climbing round ledges to get to the first pool. Steep walls on either side and cool water ahead. Well if others can do it then so can I. We wade through this pool only knee high then some more rock hopping. The gorge opens out into a large amphitheatre then turns and narrows to a chute . I can touch both sides and its slippery so take it cautiously. This then opens out to Kermits pool a deep water, blue pool. To get the best view the only way across is to swim. So swim we did. My heart is pounding and I’m shaking like a leaf but I have made it to the end and am rewarded with a fantastic view. Now I just have to make it back. We do make it back safely and are elated that we have managed this challenging walk/swim. (P) well make it back Judith did she swam like an Olympic champion! Forgetting my very limited “dog paddle” swimming ability I was left to save myself despite assurances we would swim together. Seriously Judith did excel with Hancock Gorge! There were many younger than her that turned back. She clearly has a reason to be proud! )

We have covered most of Karijini now and have to say it’s one of the best National Parks that we have seen. The walks are great, challenging, exhilarating, beautiful and awe inspiring but worth every shaken nerve, deep breath, sore knee and stiff joint.

Upon arriving in Tom Price we discovered that a mine tour was on offer. The Rio Tinto Iron Ore mine is located close to the edge of town. As with any tour we only get a snapshot of the operation but it was very interesting. Our coach driver was an old train driver whom I am guessing lost his job when Rio Tinto converted the majority of their loco fleet to autonomous operation. (They also have most of their large haul trucks operated autonomously) Hard to imagine over 28,000 tonne of ore per train on a continual stream of driverless trains! All of which are remotely controlled from the control rooms near Perth Airport some 1500 klm away! We were taken to a lookout over a rather large open cut mine where we could view the huge dump trucks and loaders operating. Following this we were driven thru active operations roads at the processing plant including viewing the terminus of a conveyor delivering ore from a mine some 30klm away. We were told this conveyor cost approx $1200000000 yep that’s 1.2 billion!!! For those interested and for me to remember in the future when this blog is converted to a coffee table book I will include the fact sheet on some part of Rio Tinto. Keep in mind there are several other operations including BHP, Hancock Prospecting, Fortescue that are digging massive holes in the ground so we can all enjoy metal based products.

What a place to vacation for a “boy who likes his toys (machinery)”!

Philip was listening to the rural report for the Pilbara early this morning and there was a report on the success they are having using the non contaminated groundwater from the mines to grow cattle fodder under centre pivot irrigation. A new enterprise for the area.

For the last few days we have been off in the Roof Top Tent exploring some rougher roads. We left Tom Price And I had no idea where we were going! As usual Philip follows his “gut feeling” and we end up in a destination somewhere! “Pack enough food etc for 1-3 nights and see how we go” was his plan. We left the caravan in the park and headed north west up the Rio Tinto Rail Maintenance Access Road which follows along some of the rail lines heading to the coast. We hoped to see a train or two, which we did and quite a few more. These trains are very impressive from up close and although they are all the same we have to stop and watch each one pass. (P) depending on which line, approx 270 wagons and 6 locomotives. Each wagon with up to 150 tonne of iron ore! I know I have diesel and chunks of old machinery in my veins but anyone has to be impressed with these trains and for that matter the hugenessness (I know it’s spelt wrong but you will understand) of all but everything in the Pilbara!!!

The rail access road joins the main road to Mill Stream National Park so we stop in for a look at the old Homestead and points of interest as we drive past. Deep Reach on the Fortescue river is a lovely swimming spot, or would be if there wasn’t so much water from recent rains. It’s deep with lovely vegetation along the rivers edge.

The Homestead here was built in the 1920’s. It was once a thriving home on the edge of a large pastoral station. The shearer’s kitchen has been restored and is a great glimpse into the past.

Next stop on the other side of the park is Python Pool. On the road in we stop for lunch at a great outlook and have another lovely tailgate lunch enjoying the vista before us. Rolling hills, red rock cliffs, pyramid mountain and clear skies. (P) there is something special about driving thru “jump up” country ( as the pastoralists call it – hills that seem to jump up out of the surrounding flat ground) . The deep red colour of the soils and rocks in this area enhance the view more so). Python Pool is a gorgeous location with a lovely blue pool at the base of the escarpment. Shear red rock walls rise up from the water and almost enclose this lovely spot. From here we follow the road out to the NW Coastal Highway, driving through grazing country. It is so green here and contrasts beautifully with the red rock escarpments that litter the landscape. Pyramid Mountain looms before us as we near the Highway. Cattle graze on the lush grass and water lays along the road in low lying areas on Pyramid station. Truckies are heard talking on the radio about how green and lush it is. Some commenting they have never seen it like this. It certainly makes for lovely views.

We find a lovely campsite at Clearville Beach and camp on the dunes that run along the bay. Great view of ocean tonight making a change from countryside. We walk along the beach and collect a few rocks as we go. The rocks here are lovely. Lots of different colours and patterns as shown by the photos below. A nice fire, (we need a fire a 27 degrees) to keep the bugs away and a lovely dinner fill our evening in.

This morning before we leave the coast and head back inland. We drive round to Point Sampson and Dampier to check out some of the mining infrastructure and port facilities here. Couldn’t really see much but as usual Philip is intrigued with it all. A stop in at Karratha for a couple of things at the supermarket and a drive around the town area. Karratha is a nice little service town and caters well to all manner of interests here. Every second house in the area has a boat and/or caravan sitting out the front. Obviously fishing is good here. No lack of money in these towns.

Back on the road and again we are following a rail access route back inland. Plenty of trains today. All the drivers give a toot as they speed past. Trains today have 3 engines up front 133 wagons another 2 engines and another 133 wagons. A pretty impressive sight. We have no set destination today so are just following the roads where ever they lead. Our night is spent on the roadside grader turn around area on Hooley Station. Not another soul for miles and clear skies with a great view of the milky way. A small fire, a gentle breeze and an enjoyable dinner fill in the evening again.

First stop this morning is Wittenoom. Originally an asbestos mining town but the area was declared a contaminated site. The site covers an area of 120,000 acres, the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. Large signs at the entrances to the town say Do Not Stop. Nothing says you can’t drive through, so that’s just what we did. (As one would expect Philip to do). As we were driving through two vehicles came toward us one stopping to tell us to follow the road into the gorge where the mine site is visible. It is a gorgeous drive in crossing the riverbed numerous times before coming to a large pool. Gorgeous cliffs abound on both sides of the road. The sun is in just the right position and the cliffs almost glow. Climbing out at the road end asbestos tailings are clearly visible among the rocks on the ground and seams in the rock walls. It’s hard to believe that this is such a deadly material when you are working with it. In contrast to the asbestos the scenery is picturesque and the wildflowers are thriving.

P) Witternoom for a few years was a thriving town until the tragic effects of Asbestos was discovered. To date in excess of 30% of the miners in this town passed away from asbestos related disease! A horror story ! The town has been officially delisted and no longer shows on new maps. The most beautiful gorge drive could not erase the sadness of this place. Whilst there were beautiful potential camp sites here it wasn’t on the agenda – a bitter sweet part of the day), There are few homes left in the town site and only 3 or 4 people reside here now. What homes are left are falling into decay. It’s hard to imagine that just the other side of the range is Karijini National Park.

Continuing further we come to another part of the rail access route. Which takes us along the Roy Hill Road and although you don’t get views of the mine the trucks that bring ore out are numerous. 25 road trains in 40 kilometres. All the drivers are friendly and give a wave as they pass.

Tonight we are camped at another roadside stop ready to watch the super moon eclispse and we are not disappointed. We had clear views and the clouds stayed away.

Leaving Marble Bar we headed down the Woodstock Road heading south. First stop was Flying Fox Lookout, looking over the Coongan River and Marble Bar. There are some mighty river systems up here and seeing water flowing in these rivers would be amazing. But not today there is just a small flow. The marble/jasper is quite noticeable along the river bed. Then off to Glen Herring Gorge (not even a sign on the roadside – just relying on good outback maps). You never know what you will find up these side roads or if there will be a turning spot for the truck and van. Luckily today there was, although tight and took a bit of manoeuvring. The road in wound up and over creek beds and hillocks past gum trees and spinifex covered hillsides. All set against a backdrop of deep red rock outcrops. Once into the car park we walked along the river bed and round the corner to a pretty impressive small gorge. Only about a half hour walk but well worth the effort. Back to the car park and we chatted to a couple camped there who gave us some tips on where to stay and what to see in the coming weeks. Our half hour detour off the main road turned into two hours. As we were leaving the gorge one flash of red stood out among the spinifex. Our first sighting of a Sturt Desert Pea.

Our overnight stop was at Albert Tognolini Lookout, a great lookout over Munjina Gorge. From the lookout we could watch the road trains labour their way up the hill and hear them rumble down the other side. From here we have just a quick run into Karijini National Park in the morning.

We fuelled up at Auski Roadhouse. That was an experience. It was a busy road train stop, fuelling up, with both fuel and food, mine vehicles, tourists and an assortment of other vehicles and people. There was dust everywhere and on everything. Thick layers of deep red dust coating fuel bowsers, trucks, paths and anything else that had a flat surface it could cling to.

We could set up in the Overflow Campground at Karijini from 10 am so we aimed for that so we could get a walk in during the afternoon. Our first walk was Dales Gorge, starting with 290 odd steps down to Fortescue Falls. Just “gorge”ous and a lovely spot to swim later. From Fortescue to Ferny pool, then back past Fortescue Falls to begin the walk along the floor of the gorge. 3 kilometres weaving our way along the path, over streams, over rocks, through water and beneath shady trees. A lovely walk and great views of the cliffs overhead. Unfortunately Circular Pool at the end of the track was closed due to a rockfall so it was back up the steep rocky steps to the overview of Circular Pool. Then back along the rim to the car park. A great view and now we are ready for a swim so it’s back down the 290 plus steps to Fortescue Falls and into the water. How refreshing and such a stunning place to swim. You could sit on the ledge under the waterfall and have a private spa or just float and enjoy the 360 degree view of majestic nature. Back to camp and a drink and relax before dinner.

It’s interesting watching people as they arrive with their vans in tow. This park area would hold about 40 vans, it only has about 12 here but some have to drive round and round until they think they have just the right spot. Then they jostle backward and forwards, until they have the van in the perfect position. Unhook the vehicle, lower the legs, put out the awning, set up tables and chairs, hang out washing and have a drink. Makes for interesting watching.

Friday 21st we are up early and on the road out to Joffre Falls but the track is closed so we continue on to Knox Gorge. I’m not sure about doing this walk. A class 5 track. Brochure says a high level of fitness and agility required. Steep sections with vertical drops are common. Mmmmm not sure about this! But reassured by an all too familiar Philip saying “she be rite we can always turn back” statement, we start off on the trail and for the first 20 metres it’s fine. Then it’s down hill or should I say down a cliff face. Fantastic views are all that keep me going. One step at a time. About 500 metres almost straight down but we finally reach the bottom and marvel at the route we have just taken. Then as we wander along the floor of the gorge each turn brings more spectacular vistas. Criss crossing the creek, rock hopping and standing in awe of this place we reach a pool where the gorge turns 90 degrees. Hmmmm this is gunna be interesting. The corner is steep with few foot holds and fewer handholds but Philip makes it round while I chose to sit this part out. There is no one else around at the moment. It’s a peaceful and awe inspiring place to rest for a few minutes. Philip finally returns! (P) I had a reason to “finally “ return. There was an adventure tour group that was in at the end of the gorge having coffee and fresh ginger nut cookies – soft and filled with some gooey sweet stuff. It would have been rude of me to rush back and not enjoy their company ( and cookies) and disturb Judith’s “quiet” time alone!) after watching another group shimmy round the corner Philip convinces me to give it a try because the best is yet to come. Nerves kicked in but after a few deep breathes and encouragement from Philip and others I made it round and continued to the end of the gorge. (P) I note there is no mention of Philip removing his shoes, sacrificing life and limb by wading thru the stream acting as a human prop to prevent Judith from doing a backflip into the water ( all because her legs and arms were too short to grab the minimal foot and rock holds)! One lady did tell me what a wonderful husband I was! (I accepted the compliment graciously) This is a truly spectacular place.

I must mention how awesome the Pilbra has been so far, spectacular vistas, huge machinery, monster trucks, historic mines, relics, buildings and massive mines, friendly people and some of the most spectacular gorges we have visited anywhere! It certainly isn’t promoted like the Kimberley but it is an awesome area to spend time, much more time than we initially planned to.

My husband, always thinking, is wandering along thinking out loud. “I wonder how magnetic this rock is around here. Yep he had to try to find out so stuck his phone close to the ground and boy is it magnetic as you can see from the photos. Next thought is could I weld this rock because of its iron content. Maybe try another time.

Tuesday 18th

Today is home duties day. (P) A mans work is never done!!! That means washing clothes and floors, cleaning bathroom and all those other yuck jobs that need to be done to keep our house in order. But first up, before it heats up, we are off for a walk around town. We checked out some of the heritage sites, called into the general store for some eggs (P) and fresh baked apple strudel for dessert this evening), then visited the information centre. The lady there was very helpful and full of information and sent us on our way with maps and details of where to visit.

After lunch we took off to see Marble Bar which is about 5 k out of town. This is the phenomena that gave the town its name. Unfortunately it’s not actually marble but Jasper. The rock doesn’t look much until it’s wet and then the colours really show out.

Driving a bit further you never know what you will come across. About 40 k out of town is the remains of a Secret WW11 airbase. Two very distinct runways are almost all that can be seen. With markers showing where ammunition dumps, fuel dumps, accommodation sites etc were.

This base was set on Corunna Station and had air crew quarters, kitchen mess, canteen, post office and store. The runways, one 2300 m long the other 1650 m long and both 50 m wide are just cleared strips in the spinifex landscape. Long range B24 Liberator bombers thundered down these strips. Heavily loaded with bombs they were on their way to Japanese bases in a Java, Borneo, Singapore and other targets in South East Asia. About 300 people lived at Corunna Downs, most in four man tents. They were tormented with heat, flies, snakes and scorpions. The temperature could reach 50 degrees and the brackish artesian water was so hot that it only cooled enough to shower after 9 pm.

Well with no other vehicles in site and two very clear runways, what would you expect a rev head husband to do. Well that’s exactly what he did. 170 kph drag down the runway and we still didn’t take off! We have good brakes though. (P) I was responsible and did a runway check first as a good pilot always does! They say “you can never take the youth out of a man” no matter what age. That was fun!!! I also flew my drone as the airfield can be better appreciated with the aerial photos. Not sure what they used for weed control 75 odd years ago but the area is still relatively denuded of vegetation even after all this time!

Driving back to the main road we followed a road train. Philip got on the radio and asked him some questions. We now know that he is called a Super Train, 4 trailers, 98 wheels and tyres, 60 metres long, 550 HP and 3 rear drive axles, total weight 205 tonnes, has a payload of 139 tonnes, he does a 410 k round trip to Port Hedland and does two round trips per day. Pretty impressive numbers really.

Back at the van we enjoyed a lovely drink with our neighbours comparing notes on where we had been and what we had seen during our travels, comparing roads and campsites along the way.

Saturday 15th

Tonight’s lovely campsite is about 20 kilometres north of Wiluna, a nondescript town between Leinster and Meekatharra. The main thing Wiluna is renowned for is that it is the starting point for two great 4WD routes, the historic Canning Stock Route and the Gunbarrel Highway (of Len Beadel fame). After a quick drive round the township we drove out the first few klm of the Canning Stock Route then turned off to North Pool. Not sure what we are going to find but it’s a good road out so we will see what happens.

10 K later we arrived at a beautiful spot on the banks of a permanent water hole. Only one other camper here. We park our van nestled in amongst the river gums and set up for the night. The fire pot comes out and is set ready for lighting and cooking one massive rib eye steak for dinner.

(P) Not only did we sit and enjoy the fire and inhale the beautiful aroma of my “Mammoth” “tomahawk“ rib eye cooking over the hot coals Judith also omitted to mention how delicious it was! I must be more refined in my eating habits than when I was younger! I even shared it with Judith. Weighing in at 1.25kg there was even enough left to have with our Salad (potato salad, none of that green stuff for me thanks!) the following day.

North Pool is such a peaceful spot and so unexpected after miles and miles of dry, barren, rock strewn landscape that we have passed through over the last few days.

Sunday 16th

Travelling on to Newman the countryside starts to change from barren, dry and desolate, to areas that have had some rain and now starting to show green shoots coming through. Then closer to Newman as we cross the Tropic of Capricorn there is ample feed, hills covered with vegetation and water in pools along the roadside and some river beds. Our intention was to stay in Newman for a couple of days before heading into Karijini National Park but as BHP have bought out the caravan parks (we understand this happened to protect their staff because of COVID-19) and tourists are no longer welcome, we only stayed overnight at the Tourist information rest area. Newman was a much bigger town than we expected. Very much a mining town with a population of 5000 plus another ( approx) 4000 FIFO workers. We enjoyed a lovely walk around town after we arrived and collected some tourist info from the centre for some light reading tonight.

Monday 17th.

We have 3 days before we are booked into Karijini (so far the only prebooking we have made which was a few days ago ) we have to decide what to do in the interim. Philip wants to head just north of town to look at the Roy Hill mine. After about 50 kilometres he finally decides that we are not going to see much of Hancock Prospect’s huge mine as it’s all behind a range of hills just off the road. All we can see is a few spots of stockpiled tailings and one huge airport built especially for this mine. We drove into the airport to see a Qantas 737 sitting on the runway. It looks very out of place here in the middle of nowhere. Just a few kilometres on we cross a fairly new railway line heading into the mine. Again no sighting of the mine. Philip says mining companies should be made to construct viewing platforms for tourists when planning their mining operations. Not sure that they would agree. However he has his own mobile platform and binoculars with him. (Lots of people ask us what the ladder on the van is for).

The landscape heading north from Newman is quite surprising. We weren’t planning on coming this far north but we have a couple of days to fill in and it’s so pretty with green spinifex covered “jump up” hills, lush river crossings, deep red rock outcrops and clear blue skies, that we just keep driving. Every corner presents a new vista and although it’s very scenic it’s hard to take photos of. The road is a mining road so is wide and graded in parts. The ungraded parts are corrugated and have washouts that need to be avoided but as there is little traffic we have the whole road width to drive on just keeping an eye out for the other limited traffic. Most are mine vehicles which radio ahead to say they are passing. In 300 k we probably only see 3 other tourist vehicles.

About half way to Marble Bar we stop at a lovely little picnic area called Garden Pool near Beaton Gorge. There is a substantial water catchment here with grassed edges and beautiful old gums and only one other visitor. The nearest town to this is Nullangine, an old gold mining town almost defunct now. We had considered stopping here but the caravan park is closed so it’s on to Marble Bar.

Before we get to today’s tourist drive I just wanted to include some pictures of the trucks we are encountering. There are heaps of 4 trailer road trains carrying anything from fuel to gold bearing ore, mine equipment and assorted paraphernalia. (P) up to 160 tonne combined weight) As we drove towards Kalgoorlie a couple of days ago we followed a wide load. The widest we have seen. 8.5 metres. (Close to 29 feet wide) Two escort vehicles in front and one behind. To put it simply, there was NO ROOM to Overtake!!! Amazingly they were travelling between 80-90 Kph. We followed them for almost 100 kilometres. We had our radio on so could hear all the talk between the escort vehicle and oncoming traffic and the comments when vehicles didn’t move over or stop quickly enough.

Now to today’s (Friday 14th) touring. We are heading North from Kalgoorlie and our first stop was Broad Arrow, a township that supported the Railway. All that remains is the water tower, 3 railway cottages and the tavern. The water tower is one of the few cast iron tanks that remain in Western Australia.

After restocking with groceries yesterday and doing all our domestic chores we left Kalgoorlie this morning after a very enjoyable stay. The park we stayed in, although a Big 4 Park was mainly used by mining staff. The cabins here were let out for $400 per week and they were all full. Tourists were a bonus for the park. We met some great people here. The couple next to us the first few days, were in their late 70’s. He, Graham, look very worried when they pulled into the park after us and he was very grateful when Philip offered to back their van into the site for them. Philip then proceeded to give him a lesson on how to easily un hook their level riders along with a few other tips. We later enjoyed a drink with them and the next night Philip again came to the rescue when they couldn’t get their DVD player working. Graham had no technical idea but Joan had it all sorted when we had the right cords connected for them. The guy behind us (mine claim consultant) was also very chatty each time he saw us outside.

P) Kalgoorlie has been a great stop. A vibrant active hub to the Goldfields region of WA. We felt a little out of it as no matter where we looked at any time of day the popular standard of dress was Hi Visibility work clothing! I was almost concerned when Judith went shopping that she may have returned in the yellow/orange reflective attire!!

All but every thing in Kalgoorlie is BIG, trucks, loaders, diggers, mines, pubs just to name a few. This BIG theme has now caused us a most concerning problem. As most who know me would realise quality food is a bit of a hobby of mine.

A long time back an old wizened farmer mentioned to me that “meat is actually vegetarian- well Cows and Sheep eat grass and other vegetable matter and convert it into a protein that actually has a delicious taste” so meat is just naturally processed vegetables.”

I didn’t take a lot of convincing!!

Now back to the BIG issue. Whilst shopping I found a butcher and they had 2 of my favourite beef cuts. Beef ribs (delicious slow cooked on the hot coals) and a rib eye on the bone. When I got them home I realised wrapped up in the parcel was 2 long complete ribs of a Mammoth and the matching rib eye! None of which will fit in my camp cooking equipment or for that matter our Webber BBQ! To solve this serious issue I had to decide, do I butcher them with the Chainsaw, Pruning Saw, Axe or Angle grinder (new washed cut off disc )??

Next stop is Niagara Dam. This was constructed by the railway in 1897-98 for a cost of £62000. The huge quantity of cement that was needed for the project was railed to Kalgoorlie from Perth and then taken by camel train the 137 miles to Niagara. The camels were each loaded with two wooden half barrels with a total weight of about 1/2 a ton. By the time the dam was completed it had accumulated very little water due to lack of rainfall. To make matters worse a good supply of underground water was discovered at nearby Kookynie. Today the dam only has water after cyclonic events. It provides an oasis for campers, picnickers and locals.

Continue reading “A Dam and a Ghost Town” →

We are off for a couple of nights leaving our van in Kalgoorlie and planning on using the roof top “penthouse”. We are heading off to explore some backroads around the historic gold mining areas. Driving south first to Coolgardie then turning north up some gravel roads following the Golden Quest Trail which covers 965 kilometres around the goldfields. Along the route we discover old mine sites, mine towns that have died and fallen into disrepair or been moved to newer sites, old machinery and gravel roads that are wide and straight and traverse varied terrains from salt bush to mulga, dried lake beds to granite creek beds. Red soils to redder soil to lighter gravels. The men that discovered gold out here must have been hard, strong men with great vision and even greater determination to want to work and live in this desolate landscape. The women who followed them must have been out of their minds. For them it would have been an even harder lifestyle with few women about and great distances between mining townships.

We had a guide book with us which gave us some history of each of the highlighted sites along the route with stories of men who worked the mines, rescues that took place and events that occurred in the towns. This made the trip much more interesting.

(P) Added to the above we also drove some Station Access roads, the area is dry and feed is scarce. Alongside major water bores there is evidence of the cattle being fed hay. What was once sheep country is now predominantly cattle country and as a general observation the cattle were cross breeds of poor quality. Whilst the caravan is full off-road it still limits where we can travel ( off the beaten track).

We are looking forward to using our custom built “Rooftop Penthouse”. I designed this so we could still have most of the comforts of the Caravan but explore narrower rougher more remote tracks. Complete with Solar panels, Lithium Batteries, Fridge and Freezer, water Tank, 12v heating ( if it’s cold) 240v electric cooking (via an inverter), a dressing area on the tailgate ( so Judith doesn’t get red sand between her toes) and a “throne” for when the old age bladders need to be relieved through the night. The 12v heated shower is outdoors and under the Milky Way as usually there are no other campers within a “Bulls Roar”. In fact once we got off the main road and headed bush we saw no other vehicles for 2 days apart from 2 mine vehicles and a Station Bore runner ( who checks the livestock water on the stations).

We spent two wonderful nights sitting out enjoying the amazing night sky, beautiful sunsets, the milky way so clear we could watch passing satellites, the International Spaces Station pass over, shooting stars and the most awesome sunrises from our “Rooftop Penthouse”. The first night we didn’t have a fire as we were in a National Park but by night two Philip couldn’t help himself. (P) I must have had a “Brain Fart” to forget my fire pot! At one stop at a disused mine, while exploring, he found an old empty gas bottle that had been shot at, so he picked it up and put into the back of the truck. I wondered what he was going to do with it!!! but when we stopped for the night out comes the gas bottle, cutting discs and grinder and he sets to work cutting the gas bottle off just below half way and cuts some slots in the base of it. Then we are off looking for some wood. Tonight we are going to enjoy a fire in the “new upcycled” fire pot. The lamb chops were delicious cooked over the hard dessert Mulga wood. I must say it was very nice sitting by the fire as night settled around us.

(P) We arrived back to Kalgoorlie and went for a wander around the streets of Kalgoorlie and it’s adjoining town Bolder, beautiful late 1800s architecture abounds. The place is full of old pubs and other decorative facades. From there it was another visit to the viewing area of the “Super Pit” the huge open cut gold mine right on the edge of town. The area was originally mined underground and then converted to “open cut mining”. With a good set of binoculars I was mesmerised by the huge machinery, trucks, the size of the terraced mine and the exposed tunnels from the old underground mines from previous times. Some underground mining still takes place with the ventilation shaft and entrance located on one of the mine terraces. From there it was back to the “Exchange” Pub for a great meal.