31 July – 2 August Oscar Range Mine As previously mentioned this area is a disused quarry that is on the Windjana Road about 11 k short of the Great Northern Highway. Very nice spot we had right on top of the wall overlooking the open pit that had filled with water from an underground spring of some description. We had a day in Fitzroy Crossing which was interesting but not very much to see there and definitely not the place to stock up on the bevvies. While we were in there we stopped at Geike Gorge which is part of an ancient reef that is now exposed. Similar to Windjana. This one can only be seen best from the water which requires a boat cruise. Having seen a good slice of ancient reef we opted for a short walk around part of it and then back to camp. We did a bit of schoolwork with the boys and had a walk around some of the rocks in the area. Its all meant to be an ancient coral reef in the area and has some rock that is very similar to the acid rain rock at Gregory NP near the Calcite falls track.
3 August – 6 August Broome Pistol Club Packed up from our house on the hill and set off for Derby. The day before we left , whilst filling my washing buckets on Hervey’s roof, I noticed that one of the roof rack brackets had cracked on the bend and was swinging in the breeze. On closer inspection of the 10 , 2 were broken and several of the others were cracked and threatening to break as well. This overjoyed me ever so much as would have to try and find some replacements. We had also lost all water from the back tank after filling it up at Drysdale due to a broken elbow joint at the tank for the tap hose. Would have to get another Broome as had tried in Fitzroy Crossing with no luck.We got into Derby fairly early and stopped at the visitor centre as we have been known to do in any new place we find ourselves. We heard one of the women telling another couple that the place was all full up , rodeo this weekend, and that there was only unpowered sites available in the van parks. Tracy asked if there were flights to the Horizontal falls yet but they hadn’t started yet or they were all booked out. One of the two women there was less than helpful basically shooing us out the door as she surreptitiously made a “ Back at 1:00pm “ sign. The time was just before midday. After we left the unhelpful Derby Visitor centre we made our way to Woolies where we stocked up and Tracy saw the helpful lady from the centre in the shop buying some fags. No wonder she wanted us out the door so quickly. Anyway we hadn’t been sold on Derby and with the next tide several hours away we made the decision to continue onto Broome and try our luck there. We stopped briefly at the Derby airport where we had a chicken sandwich lunch before continuing on our way. When we arrived in Broome we again went to the visitor centre there where we found the people to be a lot more helpfull and pleasant.. At the entrance to the building there was a board with all the van parks and their current status of capacity. Most were showing that they were full. There was a few down the bottom that were showing vacancies – namely The Seventh Day Adventist church grounds and the Broome Pistol club. We looked at both these and Tracy got on the phone and contacted the 7th day lot to see if we could come and join there masses They declined our request once they found out who we were. Only kidding – we gave the pistol club a call and they welcomed us with open arms. It’s a great little spot and only gets better when you go through the gate guarded by an old military APC ( Im sure someone will correct me when they see the photo). We checked in with Gail at the desk and set up Bay right beside the gun range on a powered site at $35-. The place was pretty full but is treed and cant really see anyone else unless they are right beside you.They were doing some 22 rifle practice that night so in between bites of my chicken burger I did some target practise with them. Good fun. Amazingly I scored highest of the other three that were there. They had to leave their canes and dogs outside the shooting zone. During the evening I saw a welder sitting on a bench next to a drop saw. I found out that it belonged to Charlie – Gail’s hubby – so asked if I may use it to weld up my roofrack brackets as had been unable to find any suitable replacements. He said no probs but would have to get some rods as he had only a few left. He did have a piece of flat that he offered me to help strengthen the brackets up. I found some suitable rods at Bunnings and set too repairing the brackets. Had to take each side off and lift the rack up to get them off which was a bit if a bugger but these things happen – or so ive been told. Cut short bits of falt and welded them on to the top of each of the ten brackets – a slow process- so hopefully it should stand up to the rest of the trip. Got some more shackle pins and bushes from a trailer place and fixed Bay up while I was in the mood for fixing things. Found another elbow for the water tank and replaced that while I was going as well. While we were in Broome we had a good look around the place and the nearby port. Tracy and the boys went to see the Staircase to the Moon at the beach. Night Markets were also visited and a camel ride was had by Tracy and the boys as well. I declined from riding one of the smelly beasts opting to take Hervey for a drive along the famous Cable Beach. We also spent a night at the cinema which was a bit of an experience being an older outside version. It was quite unreal as we were watching the adverts at the start and a 707 zoomed right over the top of us as we sat outside on our deckchairs. It is one of the last outside cinemas left in Australia apparently. We all had a great time while in Broome and the Pistol club and were quite surprised at how nice the little place is.
7 August - 14 August Prices Point We packed up Bay and started to get ready to head out of the pistol club and go north towards Cape Leveque for the next stage of our adventure. I wanted to try and get the front water tank out so that I could give it a good wash out before we filled it up from the clubs water. The only way that it could be taken out is to lift the lid up which we hadn’t had to do in a while because of Tracy’s excellent packing and organizing skills and putting all the needed stuff close to the back of the trailer. Tracy and I started to lift the lid and as we did I felt something shift but kept lifting – should have stopped. As we lifted the lid - the rear hinge , a piece of flat hinged to the trailer and welded to the frame of the tent, snapped and the back of the tent dropped and swung around nearly sliding off the trailer. Bloody lucky that no fingers or kids were near it as would have caused a nasty injury if it had fallen on someone. After I stopped wondering what I had done to deserve this I had a look at the damage and thought of what to do. So much for getting an early start. I went and got the grinder , welder , drop saw and some angle from Charlie and set to work rewelding the broken hinge. The weld had torn right out of the box that it had been welded to so had to grind it all off and put the angle over the hole and reweld the flat to the angle – great fun. Had a look at the front hinge and because of the fall it had been bent a bit but couldn’t do anything about it so decided to just add a bit of angle to it and strengthen it up a bit more. Will have to have a bit more of a look at it when back in Hervey Bay. After that bit of unnecessary excitement we filled the tanks , didn’t worry about cleaning the thing , and headed north again. We drove out of Broome and headed along the Broome –Cape Leveque Road and then the Manari Road. At the junction of these two we came across the protesters camp that everyone had been talking about in Broome. There are plans by a big gas exploration company – Woodside – to build a gas refining plant and jetty for the big ships at Prices Point. This has the township of Broome divided and there is a some difference of opinions amongst the locals. Anyway we continued past and headed into Quondong Beach for a look. The books say that this area is the place to stay and there were quite a few vans camped there. No shade at all and saw only one tree that already had a big van under it. Nothing to spectacular about the place so we left and headed to Prices Point, where there was no one else , and chose our spot for the next week right on the cliff edge overlooking the bay. We had a walk to the beach down some steps carved into the cliff and tried our luck at fishing while the boys had a great time in the crashing waves. The following day Graham and Donna arrived after their journey from down south and set up on the site beside us. Over the next few days we spent time talking about our various journeys so far and the ones that we planned. We were all a bit sad when yet again we all said our farewells and they headed on their way for the mighty Gibb crossing. They were on a tight timeline needing to be in Qld in a month or so for a wedding. During the remainder of our Prices Point stay we continued to try our luck at fishing and shell finding with the boys swimming in their favourite spot at the bottom of the cliff. We were quite enthralled and surprised about the amount of rocks around the place at low tide and how far the tide went out. No matter how far I walked out I was unable to get the elusive fish. We were also quite intrigued by the gas drilling platform that moved about and the large catamaran which was moored out near it that we decided must have been the workers accommodation. Not bad little junket and the place was lit up like a xmas tree at night. All in all Prices Point was a bloody nice little spot – and free to boot – and would be a shame to see a dirty great gas plant built on it as im sure that there would be no further access to the area if it goes ahead. Im not sure whether the protesters will be able to do anything about stopping the place or not but at least they are trying I suppose.
15 August Broome Pistol Club We packed up again and headed back to Broome for a short stay after deciding to give Cape Leveque a miss as all the photos of the place looked pretty much like Prices Point. We made our way back to the Pistol Club and got a spot that allowed us only to scratch the cat but not swing it. Very cramped unlike our first visit to the place. With this in mind we decided to stay only the one night and head on again.
16 August – 17 August Eighty Mile Beach Van park We left the pistol club again and headed out of Broome after a quick restock of the necessary stuff. We dropped into the Mangoe wine place and found that it wasn’t as nice wine as the stuff from the Atherton Tablelands that we had got while we were on TI. Bought a bottle of their mangoe relish which didn’t last long though. We continued on south ( seems a bit odd to be going south after so much north) and turned West towards the beach when we got to Eighty Mile beach Van Park t/o. A fantastic place although it was fairly busy and crowded with vans. Heaps of amenities and facilities and put El Questro to shame. I mentioned to the bloke at the shop that he should invite some of the El Questro bigwigs to Eighty Mile to show them how a van park should function and be run. Big long beach which we took a drive on and did a bit of fishing with the 100 other blokes lined up with surf rods in hand. Had a chat to the old bloke , Bill , that does the coastwatch for the area. He told me that he gives the govt $70,000 a yr for the privilege of volunteering to do it. If he finds anything he contacts them on his sat phone , that he bought and pays the call charges. He also buys new quads each yr , he had 5 lined up out the front of his container that he calls home. They all have two ways epirbs extinguishers etc. He said that he had made his millions and was more than happy to put some of it back into the area. There was a variety bash vehicle next to ours and the bloke was a radio tech so got some helpful advice from him about antennae positions which I have put into practise and found better reception. We also took the time to wash Hervey which hasn’t happened since Dalhousie Springs, He looks just like a bought one. Bit woosy now actually.
18 August – 20 August Port Headland Black Rock Van park We packed up again and got ready to depart the lovely Eighty Mile. When we were nearly done a fellow from a site opposite us came over and asked for a set of jumper leads as his battery was flat and they were trying to go also. It was a Toyota of course. They just don’t last these Toyotas. Im getting quite a little photo gallery of all the ones that ive helped. Anyway the leads ive got cant pull the current so got the battery out of Bay and started the Tojo straight away. He gave us his name and address down near Perth and told us to drop in when we were down that way. We headed out of Eighty Mile and stopped at a roadhouse on the way and caught up with Robert and Trish that we had first met at Oodnadatta and then at Uluru. They had done pretty much the same as we had so far and were heading south as well. After a bit of a chat we set off again and got to Port Headland . We had been told by lots of people to bypass Port Headland and continue on so we didn’t know what to expect. The place is amazing and a hive of activity and growth. There are about 20000 people and they hope to make it 50000 within 5 yrs. Big port that handles all the ore from Newman for BHP and puts it onto ships for OS. Heaps of vehicles around with the fluro vehicle ID and the long red flags. Even Hervey has got a vehicle ID that I found on the way into Port. We had a bit of a quick drive around and then drove to the hospital to see if we could catch up with Higgo who was working over here. He had gone out to Marble Bar to relieve someone that had a meltdown. We had decided that we weren’t going to worry about Marble Bar – the hottest place in Australia apparently. We had dropped by the visitor centre on the way and contacted a van park that was cheap and had spots – Black Rock Van Park – so made our way there and set up for the next couple of days. It was a busy spot with lots of long termers that worked for local companys. The boys found some kids to play with so they were happy and we caught up on a bit of washing while we were there. We had a look at the port and watched a few of the big cargo ships be pushed out by the tugs and then at all the ships that were waiting out to sea – about a dozen I counted while we watched.
21 August Wittenoom Gorge We left Port Headland after a very interesting stay. The place is very busy and would be a great place to work for a short period . There will be lots of jobs going in the next few years if they intend to stick to the plan of building the place up. The harbour is going to have a peir that could take up to 8 of the huge cargo ships at once. They have space for 10 in the port at the moment. Heaps of jobs and money being put in – mostly by BHP. We made our way south along the Great Northern Hway towards Wittenoom. I had been told about this place by a bloke on our first visit to the Pistol club. It’s and old Asbestos mining town that was closed down in the late 60’s but still has a few people living in it. Bit like Iron Knob down in SA. Anyway he said that the place was just like Karajini NP to the south only with blue stuff lying around the place. “Tell your boys not to kick or play in the dust and you’ll be right” With those simple instructions and having had a bit of a look on Google maps we headed through the olod town and into the gorge where the mine used to be and the slabs of the managers house and other buildings still remain. There were several other people camped there so we set up on a concrete slab , not easy to do with pegs , and had a look around. We had stopped at a creek on the way in and come across some of the asbestos. Amazing stuff. Fibrously blue in layers in the rock. The stuff was all over the place even in the old bitumen road that led into the place. I took a walk to the old mine site and there was piles of the fibres everywhere on the ground. I have never seen anything like it. We had a fire that night and indulged in one of Tracy’s cottage pies that she has become quite adept at making.
22 August -23 August Newman We packed up and set out of the gorge. As we departed we came across an old track heading down a valley about 5 k sth of Wittenoom town. We ventured along it for a bit in a westerly direction but turned around as we couldn’t find it on any of our maps so were unsure where it might go to. It would be a great drive for anyone going that way with a bit of time to kill. Anyone ever get down it please tell me whats there as looke like it would go south into Karajini NP. We made our way east and got to Newman in the mid afternoon. This place is famous as being the biggest iron ore mine hole in the world. We got to one of the van parks and had the choice of bitumen site or rock site. We rang and went to the other van site that had a nice little grass area for us to set up on. Newman is like Port Headland. Very busy and very mine orientated. Heaps of workers in the place and heaps of the same vehicles around. We did the BHP mine tour and the place was huge. Lots of trucks and people everywhere. They move the ore from one spot to another in the haulpacks – the big bloody dumptrucks. According to the tour guide they are going to double the depth of the holw in the next few years so like Port headland there will be more jobs than you can poke a stick at in the future. Another great place to work – probably on a fly in fly out basis. We ran into Robert and Trish at the park and they were going to Karajini in the next few days so might catch us there.
24 August – 27 August Karajini NP Dales Camp We left the busy Newman and backtracked – something that we haven’t had to do a lot of – and aimed for Karajini.We made camp in Kangaroo loop #42 in Dales camp. We did all the walks there – Circular Pool , Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool and then headed over to the other side of the park the following day to do the rest – Weano ,Hancock , Knox and Joffre. A busy day that one was. During our stay at Kara we ran into Kev and Jenny that we met when they had fuel probs and Kev was very excited when he found out that Tracy had relies in my favourite place – Gundagai. He came originally from there and knew a few of her relies that she mentioned. We also ran into Robert and Trish again and had afew drinks with them after the big walking days.
28 August House Creek Bridge 30 k East of Nanuturra r’house We set off from Karajini after a quick pack and aimed Hervey west. We got to Tom Price and stocked up on all there and had a bit of a lookaround but kept going. We decided to shorten our drive a bit and took the Nanuturra road after going through Nameless Valley. The road was dirt but in very good condition so was an easy drive. We got as far as House Creek Bridge and made camp there. A very busy rest stop near the dry river shaded by trees. I counted about 15 vans and bongo vans taking up the available spots. The boys found some other kids to play with so they were happy for the while. They got incredibly dirty as the place was covered in dust.
29 August – 3 September (present) Ningaloo Station We packed up and left our night spot as did 14 other people. The place was full when we got there and it had emptied out by the time we left at 930. High turnover. We had decided to go to Ningaloo Station as we had heard that getting into the NP required lining up at the ranger station in the morning and being allocated a spot – if there were any. We got to the station and were directed by signage to the Shearing Shed. Here we met Phil who supplied us with chemical dunny – compulsory – fire box and wood – all at a cost. For a weeks camping $98 including all the xtras. He pointed us via a mudmap to the south so we headed that way and set up just behind the dunes in the ‘ best fishing spot’. We ( I) managed to catch several fish each day for the next few days but the weather got a bit windier so we decided to head a bit further north on the property to do a bit of snorkelling. We took a drive north to the NP after crossing the Yardie creek which is a tidal one which was coming in as we went across. It wasn’t very big but glad to be safely on the other side anyway. As we had been told all the spots in the NP were full and there were people everywhere. Beautiful views from up at the lighthouse of the surrounding bays and aerial masts of the Harold Holt base. We stopped at Exmouth and bought a few things to keep us going and then made our way back to camp.As we headed back Tracy saw a sign for the ‘Krait memorial” Now this probably wont mean much to most of you but to those that know the Krait it was boat that went from Australia and sailed to Singapore harbour during WW2 and the heroic men on it sank many tonnage of enemy ships there. Now whatever you side to the story is there is a memorial to these brave men and their boat just outside Exmouth where they returned to. Who would have thought. We got back to camp and settled down for another windy night.
And here we are.. Sorry that haven’t got many photos put on. Internet coverage is poor and generally to busy or too tired to do it.
Hope you have enjoyed this instalment as short as it has been
Talk to you next time…….
