Monthly Archives: June 2013

Broome – Day 4

Posted on Sunday, June 30, 2013 by shorty

It was windy last night, so much so that I got up in the middle of the night to check that the awning outside was OK. Everything seemed to be in order so I went back to bed, but once up in the morning I added an extra tie down and some extra tent pegs just in case things got out of hand.

Today’s highlight was a Willie Creek Pearl Farm Tour. There is a bus option and a self drive option which required the use of a 4WD. So we set out in the mighty BT-50 for a stint of off-road driving. It was certainly a bit of a challenge as we haven’t done very much 4WD-ing until now, but we thought that we’d give it a go.

We started off on the bitumen for the first 20 kms or so to Willie Creek before the road surface changed to a wide, graded, red dirt road. At this stage we changed into 4WD and coped quite well with the corrugations and some mud. The surface eventually changed to a single lane sandy road, which was fine until we met a number of vehicles coming the other way!

Dirt Road to Willies Creek

One Lane Road to Willie Creek

Nearly there

After some 15 kms of dirt/sandy roads we eventually arrived at the oasis of Willies Creek Pearl Farm. Our tour guide Finn (he’s Irish) started off with a very informative and entertaining lesson on the styles of oyster that grow pearls, the anatomy of a pearl oyster, the seeding, cleaning and harvesting process, and more. We learnt that pearl meat sells for up to $500 per kilo overseas – that’s a lot of oysters though.

Arriving at Willie Creek Pearl Farm

Ann’s New Friend

Finn – Our Tour Guide

Then it was off to lunch which included some delicious Kimberly Dampier [sorry Downunda – no photos]. After lunch we boarded our “luxury cruise ship” to see some oysters in the wild and to go for a bit of a cruise around Willie Creek and surrounds. We saw a crocodile – there are known to be three in the area. Finn also pointed out many interesting examples of bird life, geological features and so on, as well as detailed some history of the area.

Boat Cruise around Willie Creek

Cleaning Oysters the Old Way

Clean and Healthy Pearl Oyster

Back on dry land it was back into the showroom for a more detailed discussion on the end result – pearl jewelry. This was also very informative and it was quite surprising at the difference in prices for the various sizes and styles of pearl. Several members of our tour actually bought some of the beautiful pearls.

Later in the afternoon we met up with our friends for another Happy Hour before returning to the fiver for the night.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broome, willie creek

Broome – Day 3

Posted on Sunday, June 30, 2013 by shorty

After a mild night, Saturday morning started off quite fine so we headed off to the Broome Courthouse Markets, set in a large tropical garden area. What an amazing mix of stalls and individuals! Clothing, handcrafts, artwork, more clothing, charity stalls, local tour operators and so much more. Then of course there were plenty of choices when it came to food, including many Asian styles, local organic produce, and even a considerable choice of coffees. We succumbed to some incredible Indonesian treats and some Kimberley Coffee Company coffees. And there were buskers and musicians of all types, including banjo players, country and western guitarists, flautists, and more.

Artwork at Courthouse Markets

Busker at Courthouse Markets

Clothing Stalls at Courthouse Markets

Food Choices at Courthouse Markets

Relaxing at Courthouse Markets

We stayed at the market for quite some time before heading back to the fiver for lunch. Then, as the wind was increasing a bit, we decided to hang around the caravan park and attend to some more domestic pursuits. Ann caught up on some washing, which dried brilliantly in the wind, and then did a heap of cooking to tide us over the next few days which we anticipate will include several days of free camping. I spent some time trying to reduce the red colour of our caravan and was at least partially successful.

Not Quite Finished!

During the afternoon we were visited by some fellow travellers who we had met at Port Hedland Golf Club but left a couple of days after us. We later caught up with them for a Happy Hour (or two or three) under the awning of the fiver.

A great end to a great day!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broome

Broome – Day 2

Posted on Friday, June 28, 2013 by shorty

We played tourist today, and loved it. It was a nice change from driving and we walked and walked until we both had blisters.

Temperatures ranged between 18 and 27; mostly fine but the sky was a bit cloudy and overcast most of the day.

We spent much of the morning in the Chinatown precinct, which is very impressive. Obviously the Chinese had a major role in the early development of Broome. A number of pioneers of Broome’s cultured pearl industry are remembered in statues in Chinatown. Also of interest was the Sun Theatre which claims to be the World’s Oldest Operating Picture Gardens, originally built in 1916.

Pioneers of the Cultured Pearl Industry in Broome

Sun Picture Theatre in Chinatown

Being a tourist is hungry work, so we stopped at the Roey Hotel’s Pearlers’ Bar for lunch and a cold beer. Delicious!

Pearlers’ Bar for Lunch

This afternoon we visited the famous Cable Beach and Ann fulfilled a lifelong dream to walk on the water’s edge at Cable Beach at sunset. The overcast skies and cloud cover resulted in a less than spectacular sunset, but it was absolutely brilliant being there.

Cable Beach

Cable Beach Sunset

After the beach we returned back to the fiver where I cooked dinner on the barbeque, accompanied by a cold stubby.

Life doesn’t get much better than this.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broome

Sandfire Roadhouse to Broome

Posted on Friday, June 28, 2013 by shorty

We were up early this morning, showered, breakfasted and away, just like everyone else at Sandfire Roadhouse.

Peacocks at Sandfire

First stop for morning coffee was the Stanley Rest Area. This was another council designated free camping area and it looked very well set-up. Toilets, dump point, under-cover areas with concrete floors, mini barbeques, and even several concrete pads for caravans. There was still a bit of water around but that wasn’t stopping the dozen or so caravans, motor-homes and campervans that were there when we stopped. Somewhere worthwhile stopping at if we are back this way again.

Stanley Rest Area

After a cup of coffee and cake, we headed back along the Great Northern Highway. We did a quick drive around the Goldwire Rest Area which again had toilets, dump point, undercover areas, etc. Still some water around but also plenty of travellers enjoying the surroundings. We would definitely consider a few nights here – in dry weather.

We stopped for lunch at the Roebuck Plains Rest Area, which is just a rest area and we wouldn’t stay there.

Finally we turned left off the Great Northern Highway onto the Broome Road for the final 30 kms or so to our overnight destination. Right away the extent of the recent rains is obvious, with water still by the sides of the road and very recent grading on both sides of the road.

Recently Graded Road to Broome

Our destination was the Broome Caravan Park. We quickly found our spot, parked the fiver, got set up with awning and floor matting, and sat down to relax. What a fantastic spot this is, and so very much different to the red dust we have been living with for much of this trip. Shorts, thongs and a t-shirt in a tropical environment sure beats jeans, muddy boots and a rain jacket. Ann couldn’t wait and everything was washed by 5.00 o’clock.

Just Landed at Broome Caravan Park

Serenity!

Welcome Party at Broome

We might have to stay here for a few months!

This post is late as I had to choose between updating the blog or taking Ann out for a barramundi dinner. Dinner won and it was fantastic.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broome, sandfire roadhouse

Port Hedland to Sandfire Roadhouse

Posted on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 by shorty

After a warm night and a great sleep, and nice hot showers at the Golf Club, we made a few enquiries as to whether the road to Broome was open. In general the advice, and info from the internet was somewhat inconclusive – we couldn’t seem to find any really up-to-date information. We decided, like several others at the Port Hedland Golf Club, to take the chance on the roads being open, and got away about 9.45 am.

Early Morning at Port Hedland Golf Course

We weren’t far from Port Hedland when it was obvious that there was still plenty of water about, including on the road, but there wasn’t much we could do but go through it. So we did – all part of the adventure. And we did it several times! We discovered that even going slowly there was plenty of wash over the Ute and especially the windscreen, to the extent that at one point we couldn’t see anything at all and weren’t sure what direction we were going in. Fortunately the road train coming the other way saw our dilemma, slowed down to let us get back on course. The bad news is that the Ute and caravan are still a nice shade of red, despite the car wash.

Water on the Road

Water on the Road on the Ute

Zero Visibility

One interesting sight on the outskirts of Port Hedland was a cluster of large ant hills adorned with hard hats and other caps and beanies. Not sure why someone chose to do this but it was interesting anyway.

Ant Hills with Hard Hats

Continuing up the highway we were amazed by the incredible scenery in places, and also by the huge volumes of water everywhere – fortunately not on the road. Creek beds that were presumably dry for most of the year were raging torrents of frothing water. Also of interest was the number of cattle on the road. We had been warned to expect this and we had seen quite a few dead cattle by the side of the road but now we were going through herds of live cattle, and they’re not necessarily predictable in their movements.

Interesting Scenery

Water Everywhere

Cattle by the Road

For our morning break we pulled into the De Grey River Rest Area/Free Camp. The De Grey River itself was a raging torrent and there was plenty of water lying around in the rest area. This had actually been our intended destination yesterday but we’re glad that we stopped in Port Hedland rather than drive the extra distance. This is a really well appointed free camping area with a huge space, undercover areas, and two toilets (long drop) with dump points. Talking to some campers we heard that a Winnebago got bogged this morning and needed a grader to get it out. Also a couple of caravans had much better than expected river views when they woke up and had to move back as the river had risen 2 metres.

De Grey River Free Camp

After morning tea we headed up the highway to the Pardoo Roadhouse for a break for lunch. We had looked at the road going into Pardoo Station on the way but decided to pass on that, despite the very positive reviews we had seen of Pardoo Station as a destination. There was a nice looking caravan park at the Roadhouse but we thought that we had a couple of extra hours driving left today so continued up the highway after having our lunch in the caravan.

Our planned destination for the night was the Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park. Ann actually rang them before we left Port Hedland and they had told her that the grader was out on the road now and that it should be right by the time we got there. When we reached the turnoff from the highway we stopped the Ute and got out and had a look. The road had definitely been graded but we decided that 9 kms of wet graded red dirt was probably not a great option, particularly with approaching storm clouds, so we headed on again.

Our final destination today was the Sandfire Roadhouse. Let’s just say it’s an interesting place with an interesting collection of animals and birdlife. Although there are supposedly only 9 drive through sites here, the owners have actually fitted in around 16 caravans by doubling up on the sites. We can’t leave tomorrow morning until the van in front of us moves. Still, we’re off the road and safe, we have power and internet access [no TV] and we don’t have too far to go tomorrow to get to Broome. We will sleep well tonight providing the storm clouds above keep moving!

Doubling Up at Sandfire Roadhouse Caravan Park

Interesting Birdlife at Sandfire Roadhouse

Interesting Pets at Sandfire Roadhouse

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: port hedland, sandfire roadhouse

Auski Roadhouse to Port Hedland

Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 by shorty

We had torrential rain nearly all night and we were relieved that we had decided not to stay at Mt Robinson Rest Area.

At about 7.20 am, I wandered down to the roadhouse “Dining“ area in time to watch the news and weather on the satellite flat screen TV. It seemed that the whole country was being subject to heavy rain. A lot of trucks and road trains had come in last night, I assume because of the wet weather, so while I was there, I had a chat to a couple of truckies who were tucking into a big cooked breakfast. They assured me that we would be OK if we were heading north as the roads are better able to cope with this sort of weather that the roads southbound. After a good laugh, we wished each other safe travel and I headed back to the van for my healthy muesli and fruit breakfast and to prepare the rig ready to move on.

Although it was wet, we were not cold and by 9.00 am it was 18 degrees and getting very humid. As we turned on to the Great Northern Highway, the mountains ahead of us were shrouded in fog. Amazing!

Packing up at Auski Roadhouse

Foggy mountains when leaving Auski Roadhouse

The road today was very busy with lots of trucks and road trains. As we progressed further up the highway we noticed more and more water and roads closed. The road to Marble Bar was closed. The first 2 rest areas that we had chosen to stop at were also closed. The scenery along the way is mountainous and breathtaking. It reminded Ann of the Hutt Valley north of Wellington in New Zealand. The Yule River was quite full and flowing.

Wide load pulled over just before we came along

Incredible scenery

As we got closer to Port Hedland, the amount of water in the rivers and creeks increased. We had a break at about 11.30 and after that the rain began again. We had planned to stay at Indee Station tonight but the 9 km dirt road was closed. Our next stop at Mundabullangana was completely full of trucks and road trains which we realized were stuck because the Coastal Highway was closed. We eventually managed to pull over and have a break but thought that we should make it a quick break and head to Port Hedland and find somewhere for the night.

That’s when the fun started. All of the free camps seemed to be under water and all Caravan Parks were full. We heard that the golf course would take any over flow but we had driven past and there was a lot of water there. Ann rang the Golf Club and they made room for us, so effectively we are free camping at a price. After a quick dash into town to top up supplies, we had happy hour with some other travelers who are also staying here and we all traded war stories from the last 24 hours. It seems that Port Hedland had the highest rainfall on record last night!

Water on the road coming into Port Hedland

Rio Tinto Salt Mine

Water, water everywhere

BHP Billiton never ending train

Anyway we are here and quite comfortable. It is currently about 27 degrees and about 75% humidity. Can’t wait to see what adventures we will face tomorrow. The road north is currently closed so we are here until that opens – hopefully tomorrow.

We have a sign in the van saying “It’s the journey, not the destination” and it has certainly been a fabulous journey so far!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: auski roadhouse, port hedland

Newman to Auski Roadhouse [Tourist Village]

Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 by shorty

As predicted, it rained last night, but although it was constant it wasn’t too heavy. We would have liked to have explored more of Newman but that’s not much fun in the rain so we decided that we might as well have a driving day in the rain.

We left the caravan park and took the “scenic” route around Newman to the Great Northern Highway. There’s not that much to see in Newman. It’s essentially a mining town created in 1966 and now “run” by BHP Billiton. All the accommodation and town facilities are there for the miners and associated workers – it is not a tourist destination by any stretch of the imagination.

Our next main point of call is Port Hedland, but we decided that it was too far away for one day so we planned to aim for a roadhouse about 200 km from Newman.

The country side and scenery today were completely different to what we had become accustomed to – instead of flat dry country we were in mountain range country, and the scenery with hills and rock cliffs was rather distracting to the driver. Cathedral Gorge and the Opthalmia Mountain Range are breathtaking.

At least one wide load every day

No longer flat

Beautiful scenery

Our first stop for coffee was the Mt Robinson Rest Area and it was magnificent. Basically it’s a council designated Free Camp nearly a kilometer off the highway up a bitumen road catering for maybe 10 caravans. There are several undercover seating areas, a stainless steel long drop toilet [BYOTP] and even a dump point. What more could a free camper want? Best of all the views were fantastic and there were even walking trails leading off the open area. We enjoyed our stay here so much that coffee break turned into lunch time. We were seriously contemplating staying for the night instead of moving on to the roadhouse when the inevitable happened – it started raining again.

Mt Robinson Rest Area

Free camping in the rain isn’t much fun, especially without mobile reception, so it was back to Plan A and onto the highway for the remaining 85 kms to Auski Roadhouse and “Tourist Village” which is in the Karijini National Park. Let’s just say that we were expecting something a little different but we really didn’t have too many options so here we are for the night. The Camps 7 book indicated it had mobile access but we don’t have any on Optus or Telstra, and no internet or TV either – just shiploads of red dust and mud!

Auski Tourist Village

After a bit of a walk around to investigate this place we retired to the caravan and books, computers, and other pursuits. At east we are now in striking distance of Port Hedland and surrounding areas.

One by-product of today’s adventure is that we no longer have a white Ute and caravan – they are now a glorious rusty red. Hopefully we will be able to give them a both a bath once we are closer to a more plentiful water supply.

Still living the (red dusty) dream!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: auski roadhouse, newman

Meekathara [Karalundi] to Newman

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2013 by shorty

It was cold again this morning; very cold. After hot showers we headed off to the Karalundi café for breakfast with David, CEO of the Karalundi complex, and his wife. Karalundi started life in 1954 as an aboriginal mission, but its function and ownership has changed several times since then. Currently it is an independent church boarding school for aboriginal children, and operates as a joint venture between the education department and the Seventh Day Adventist church, with additional support and funding from aboriginal affairs and health departments. It is a huge place and looks after several hundred students – who were all away on a special end of term excursion to Perth this weekend. Most of the buildings are made from rammed earth and there are plenty of solar panels and satellite dishes. There is a huge vegetable garden and about 100 chooks free-ranging in a very productive orchard. There are several hundred sheep and a number of llamas. The kids receive a decent academic education plus many practical skills including cooking, growing vegies and fruit, mechanical skills, and more. The very impressive café and caravan park are basically add-ons to the main education business at Karalundi. Two of David’s young children had actually formed a welcome party when we arrived yesterday and had offered us a treat of raw and cooked witchetty grubs. We politely declined.

From Karalundi we continued along the Great Northern Highway to a rest area where we stopped for morning coffee. It was a great spot along the Gascoyne River (South Branch) and this was definitely a potential overnight free camping spot. There was a beautiful lagoon and an abandoned mine (not totally safe I might add) and clear signs that there had been campers there overnight. Unfortunately this great spot was spoilt by so much rubbish, bottles, and even disposable babies’ nappies.

Billabong at Gascoyne River Rest Area

Abandoned Mine at Gascoyne River Rest Area

After leaving the rest area we came across a wide load on the road – a very wide load that actually occupied the entire width of the road. It appeared to be the bucket from one of the huge mining dump trucks and despite the size and obvious weight the truck was travelling at a quite impressive rate. There were two advance pilot vehicles and another pilot vehicle behind, all with flashing lights and a very humorous dialogue that we overheard on the CB. We tucked in behind the wide load and were surprised that we passed two other wide load trucks which each carried half a house! Eventually the two half houses caught up to us so we pulled off the road to let them pass. They eventually passed the very wide load truck as well, and headed off at a very fast pace.

We stopped for fuel at Kumarina Roadhouse (diesel was 196.9 per litre) and caught up with the very wide load truck which had stopped there for lunch. As we couldn’t find a suitable parking spot for us to stop for lunch, we continued along the highway to the next rest stop where we planned to have a quick stop and then head off again in front of the very wide truck. Murphy’s Law would say that we couldn’t be that lucky and we weren’t; so we stopped for a much more comfortable lunch stop and let the truck head on up the highway.

Very Wide Truck

Very Wide Truck at Roadhouse

After lunch we continued up the Great Northern Highway past more dead cattle on the road, and then it started to rain. We drove the last 50 kms into the mining town of Newman in the rain, which fortunately eased off as we arrived at the Kalgan’s Rest caravan park. Other than caravans, this place has a huge number of other accommodation options, mainly for miners. Our neighbours from Karalundi soon pulled up beside us.

Welcome to Newman

At the shop to buy ice-creams as a treat after a reasonably long day, we were told that the weather forecast for tomorrow was for heavy rain, so we may be here for longer than we had planned.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: karalundi, meekathara, newman

Mount Magnet to Meekathara [Karalundi]

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2013 by shorty

Saturday was the first day for a while that we woke to a bright sunny day, although there was a very chilly wind which followed us all day. We made a slow start and after chatting with some fellow travellers, we left Mount Magnet at about 10.00 am.

We headed north along the Great Northern Highway, past an almost dry but apparently huge Lake Austin. The drive today featured heavy road train traffic and a lot of road-kill including an emu and several cattle.

A Very Low Lake Austin

Another Road Train

We stopped at the town of Cue for our morning break and had a walk around looking for coffee. Cue is an attractive town with some amazing stone buildings and iron sculptures. One really impressive building is the combined Post Office, Police Station and Courthouse – built in the late 1890s, this building is still used for its original purpose. Gold was officially found there in 1891, which was actually before Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, when Tom Cue registered the area’s first gold claim. In its heyday it had a population of 10,000 people and 11 pubs. Very few people live there today. There was a very impressive general store/supermarket/newsagent/lotto agent/etc, but no coffee. We reverted to our standby thermos of boiling water and a coffee bag in the caravan.

Cue Club Hotel

Cue Post Office, Police Station & Courthouse

Iron Statue

From Cue we continued north and stopped at a rest area about 20 kms south of Meekathara for lunch.

We then continued on to Meekathara and although we cruised through town quite slowly to get a bit of a feel for the place, we didn’t feel comfortable about stopping. Further up the highway was a rest area that we thought could be a potential free camp for an overnight stay. Although there was lots of space and it was obvious that plenty of people had camped there in the past, we thought that there were a few too many empty Jim Beam cans and doughnuts in the dirt to feel really comfortable, so we continued further out of town along the highway.

Just a quick comment about free camping in this area. We had planned to be doing quite a lot of free camping on this adventure but we are simply not finding very many suitable spots. Much of the area we have been driving through in the past week or so consists of flood plains, and there has been some recent heavy rain. There is a fair bit of water along the road side and as a result many potential free camp sites, as listed in the Camps 7 book, are just too wet and too much of a risk for us in our big rig. Hopefully further on we will have more luck finding better free camping spots.

Our eventual destination was Karalundi Caravan and Camping Park, which had been recommended to us by some fellow travellers at Mt Magnet. When we arrived it looked quite inviting but we couldn’t find anyone to actually book in with, so we temporarily set up camp in the carpark outside the café and got out our chairs and books. Eventually the manager turned up and showed us to a suitable spot and said that we could fill out the paperwork in the morning. We chose an unpowered site as we are fully self contained but wanted the reassurance of being in a safe place. Not long after us another caravan arrived with three young kids and a baby. Obviously they wanted to feel safe for the night also.

Welcome to Karalundi

Camping Area at Karalundi

School & Church Buildings at Karalundi

There was no mobile, internet or TV reception at Karalundi, so after a delicious tea cooked in the caravan, we watched a DVD and had an early night.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: karalundi, meekathara, mt magnet

Leinster to Mt Magnet, WA

Posted on Friday, June 21, 2013 by shorty

We awoke to a cold morning which turned into a beautiful day, as seems to be the case most days recently. After hot showers and breakfast, we hit the road at about 9.30 am (we weren’t in a real hurry to get anywhere). One thing we noticed in the first leg of our journey was a large flock of eagles, soaring above the highway. It was so sunny it was hard to capture them in a photo, although we did see more of these majestic creatures along the way.

Site at Leinster Caravan Park

First stop for morning coffee was the Peter Denny Lookout (Camps 7 #271) and what a surprise it turned out to be. The countryside looks deceptively flat here and it is the last place where you would expect to find a lookout. However upon closer inspection you find that the lookout is on the edge of a breakaway, where the land falls away and you can explore the cliff faces. This is a large space with plenty of evidence of free-campers. If it were not quite so early in the morning we might have been tempted to stay there tonight ourselves.

View from Peter Denny Lookout

Our next stop was for lunch in the delightful town of Sandstone. This is an old gold mining town which started its development in the 1890s. The town site was gazetted in 1906 and by 1913 it had reached a population of 6000. By the end of World War I it was virtually a ghost town and remains as such today. The locals however are making a huge effort to keep their town alive. There are a number of shops, a fuel station, a Post Office, a thriving caravan park, and plenty of trees and other street plantings.

Sandstone Post Office

Sandstone Streetscape

From Sandstone we stopped at the Windsor Rest Area for a break. Again, this was a potential over-nighter but we decided to keep going a bit further. At the rest area we discovered a pile of stones with visitors’ names, so we made our own contribution to the pile.

Our Contribution to the Rock Pile

Our resting place for today is the Mt Magnet Caravan Park. Mt Magnet is the biggest town we have passed through since leaving Kalgoorlie. It has lovely wide streets, three pubs, a supermarket, butcher, baker and a well planned caravan park.

Arriving at Mt Magnet

Mt Magnet Caravan Park

For Downunda, further to your previous comment, we refilled the Ute in Mt Magnet after travelling 708 kms with just over 100 litres of diesel. There was some left in the tank, possibly enough for a further 100 kms or so, but I won’t be stretching things that far in a hurry.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: leinster, mt magnet