Port Hedland to Tom Price
Wednesday 22 August saw us leave Pardoo and come to Port Hedland, a rich mining town. Uncle Mac took us straight to the Wharf where we were lucky to see a ship being loaded and leaving port. There were 6 ships waiting outside the channel, only one is allowed into the loading area at a time. We had to do a grocery shop as well as we hadnt done one for 3 weeks, our fresh veges had lasted well, its hard shopping in small amounts and also more expensive as you are so restricted with space.
Next day was a quiet one with Tony and Stewart (my cousin) making some amendments to the boat trailer, both of them like kids in a lolly shop working with tools. Yes Tony does miss pottering around in his shed. The weather is warming up though the nights are still cool enough. Stewart and Kylie have an adorable little dog called Hercules, he follows you everywhere and loves to play ball.
The following Monday we set off to go down to Karijini National Park and Tom Price. The trip down was very pleasant and the wildflowers coming into abundance, a huge fire was burning and it appeared as if we were heading straight for it, there are a number of fires burning right through the Kimberley and Pilbara areas, the scenery is unlike anything we have seen before, red rocky ranges covered in spinifex which seems to grow anywhere. After a lunch stop at Auski roadhouse we continued on to the Karijini Park and set up camp at Dales Campground,a very untidy place, the toilets were quite disgusting. Worse still we had the worlds loudest snorer next door so had a sleepless night.
Next morning we went for a walk or should I say slog, down the narrowest , steepest rock climb I have ever done into Circular Pool , fortunately it was worth the effort, a beautiful place. Following that we did another one into Fortesque Falls, the water looked inviting, however we didnt have our togs. Not to worry Tony decided to go for a dip anyway but forgot that he had his bright red undies on , no one semed to care so he enjoyed his swim. We finally decided that we had done enough climbing for the day and headed back to camp for a well earned happy hour and dinner.
After a cool night we packed up and moved on to our next destination, we werent disappointed. Joffre Gorge is an ampitheatre and would look amazing after rain, Knox Gorge also. Further on was Oxer Lookout and Junction Pool where 4 Gorges meet, it sure is a long way to the bottom. We were both overawed by the immensity of all the Gorges, the rich red browns of the cliffs covered with green-yellow spinifex. At Kalamina Gorge we criss crossed over a flowing creek as far as we could walk, the walls above us looking as if they had been neatly laid one block on top of the other, layer upon layer, looking like chocolate sponge layered with chocolate cream.
We reluctantly left the Karajini N.P. and drove onto Tom Price, along the way again were amazed at massive displays of flowers, when we stopped for lunch I went for a walk and took photo after photo of so many different kinds that you just dont see when driving. Through the Hammersley Ranges and into Tom Price mid afternoon we got out camping spot and dedcided to go for a drive to the top of Mt. Nameless (yes Mt.Nameless) it is a very steep drive to the top but we had a 360 degree view of the town and Mine. Coming down the mountain was tricky, thank goodness for 4wdrive and lockers. We got back to camp to that awful sound of a tyre going down, we had picked up a stone coming down the mountain ( we soon gave it a name !!!!!!!!!) Tony started to get the gear out to do a change when we looked over and to our horror pulling in bedside us was our snoring horror from the night before so we discreetly moved to another spot.
After a better nights sleep we were on our way early to get tyre fixed but ended up getting 2 2nd hand ones withover nearly 3/4 tread. We left the nissan and went on the tour through the Tom Price mine, the big tour bus goes right through the mine site and up to 2 lookouts, it is a huge operation. You can see how little I look beside one of them, the bus drove alongside it and the wheel is as high as the bus. It was a very interesting tour and worth doing. We picked up the Nissan and continued on our way. We had obtained a permit to travel the Mine access road, it is used for railway maintenance, it was in very good condition and we traversed it for about
100klms. The view was fantastic, and we were reluctant to leave but had to get to Millstream as there are no camps before then. Along the way were 5 Mine trains, each one is 2.4 klms long and has at least 24o bins they go 24 hours a day between Dampier and Tom Price. WSe got to Crossing Pools late afternoon after a very roundabout way
posted by Tony & Shez, 4WDriving.com @ 4:04 AM
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