Left Karratha early in the morning and headed out the new sealed road towards Millstream-Chichester National Park. This is a glorious drive, with the roadsides covered in mulla mulla, wattle, sturt pea and other flowers, with snappy gum shining in the light. It winds through the edges of the Chichester Range, alongside the Rio Tinto railway line, so you regularly see huge trains - 3 locos and hundred of carriages, all full of iron ore being taken to Karratha for shipping. At the end of the bitumen we took a left turn onto the dirt road to Python Pool. This was unfortunately very corrugated and so we had to slow right down - and made us realise that we really couldn't take this vehicle onto roads like this. Python Pool was spectacularly beautiful, with sheer red rock cliffs rising out of the water. I'd love to see it with water flowing but then not sure that I would like to be in the Pilbara in the wet season! Chatted to a couple who had been swimming there - awkward as he had taken his togs off and had a very skimpy towel wrapped around his middle - leaving pretty much everything on show - lucky I had my dark sunnies on!
Drove out of Python Pool on the Roeburne Road - still dusty and rough but not nearly so rough as the way in. We decided that we would head to the Great Northern Highway just short of Port Hedland and then go down the bitumen to Karajini National Park - very much the long way round but all on sealed roads. Promised Michael a Barra Burger at the Whim Creek Pub - apparently something they are quite famous for - but got there and found the bloody place closed for lunches from the start of August. Made our own lunch and then headed off - very long drive with very long stretches of pretty much nothing along the way - the only gripe with WA is that it is so big and things are frequently 400 - 500km apart!
We approached the Auski Roadhouse at about 5 and decided to stop there the night rather than go into Karajini and try and get a place to stop. Just after I told Michael that there were often dingoes in the Dales camp ground one appeared on the side of the road! Auski is interesting - the site we had was great - really nice thick grass.. but the toilets and showers were yicky! I loved the sign that warned to turn out the lights when you left so as not to encourage the insects and snakes!!!
Went into Karajini the next morning and set up in the Dales camp ground. Red dust everywhere but here we are right back in the middle of the magnificent Pilbara. I love this area - the colours of the hills and rocks, the trees and the vast expanses of tussocky spinifex. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and I am drinking it all in thinking it's unlikely I will ever come back here. We walked along the rim of the gorge, then down into the falls and fern pool area. Very steep climb down and back, much steeper than I remember from 15 years ago!!!
We walked back at sunset to see the sun relected on the rocks - stunning. At night we could hear dingoes howling and stood outside in the cold to look at the billions of stars. We are so lucky in the southern hemisphere to be able to see so much of the Milky Way, and despite Stuart's astro-photography coaching, I am not sure that I can capture it all. There are stars from horizon to horizon, and until the moon rose and ruined it we just stood out there and looked.
Next morning we though we would drive to the other camp ground but after doing 10km in 45 mins turned back. The roads here really are very very poor, corrugated and rocky. Rather than damage the camper we will come back and do one of the day tours into the area with someone elses 4WD, This is one of the few times I wish we had taken a 4WD, but then as 90% of the trip is on bitumen it would have been a bit of overkill. So we headed to Tom Price - to the only caravan park, and a very nice one it is too. Booked for the Hammersley Iron mine tour and then will head back to Karajini for another night and into the other gorges the next day. Have taken today as R&R - reading and relaxing this morning, catching up on washing (and this!) and maybe a bit of a stroll later on before the mine tour.
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