Pilbara 

About 80kms east of Karijini access road, you turn onto the Great Northern Highway, the longest stretch of highway in Australia. It runs from the outskirts of Perth all the way to Wyndham in the far north west of the state.

We turned right, heading southwards. Our first stop was at the Mount Robinson Rest Area. An area with a pleasant view at the base of the mountain. I did climb a little way up, simply for exercise after sitting in the car all morning, and admired the rolling hills to the west when my eyes caught movement in an opposite valley - another train carrying minerals of some sort, likely iron ore.

Next day, we stopped at Newman, yes, a mining town again. It has grown and matured since we were last here. The caravan park has moved and is new. It is ‘unmanned’ with bookings online, a boom gate with an access code and coded facilities too. We spoke to the friendly gardener who was complaining that the booking website kept allotting caravans to the grassed sites and the grass was perishing as a result. What a dichotomy he had – damaged grass to keep alive and weeds along the graded sites to keep clear. At least it meant there was permanent work for him!

Newman’s shopping area has doubled or tripled in size too. More choice, more enticement to spend money. We kept to our supermarket shopping list but did splurge a bit at the bottle shop because this was the first place since leaving Geraldton where there were no restrictions in place on the days we had wanted to purchase alcohol. Restrictions are put in place by the Shires for longer periods of time or by the police for a few days if there are alcohol-related, inappropriate behaviours or the likelihood of such. We also got used to showing our drivers' licences at the bottle shops north of Geraldton – a bit like being asked to prove you are of legal age!!

I took a trek up to visit the large sculpture of Stan and Ella Hilditch. These prospectors first discovered iron ore in the Mt Newman area. They stand above the town pointing out the ore deposits. See me with them on my Instagram page.

There are several things for tourists to explore in and around the town but having been before, we decided to keep this visit a quick one. With laundry washed and dried, fridge and freezer restocked and a couple of bottles of wine under the bed, we headed off again.

A world class National Park, popular with local West Australian, interstate and international tourists. Words don’t paint detail adequately and photos do not do enough justice for Karijini National Park, but you’ll get an idea of the grand scale and majesty of this area from Instagram.

This park is renowned for its accessible and stunning gorges. Progress makes access easier over time. Many of the roads in the park are now sealed, to our surprise, and the last one due for tarmacking within the next year. Just as well because that road is currently very heavily corrugated and we decided the long road round was a better option this time.

We’ve been twice before to the park and selected two gorges to revisit: Joffre and Dales. At the former there are steep ladders leading down into the gorge floor and the latter a much easier staircase. Both these structures were new since our last visit and made the trail so much more enjoyable. At both gorges we could also swim, marvel at the rock formations, the power of water and giggle over the echoes bouncing off the high walls.

At Dales Gorge, the Fortescue Falls were still running into a shallow pool. A short walk through the lush greenery fed by the permanent water, reminding us of tropical Asia, takes you to Fern Pool. This is an idyllic, shaded, deep pool with another small waterfall you can swim up to and sit under to admire the ferns that grow along the gorge walls.

We also meandered along the rim trail atop Dales Gorge to peer over the edge at the securely fenced lookouts to Three Ways and down into Circular Pool, currently closed due to rockfalls.

There are more gorges to visit, especially the more adventurous of you! You can get all the information needed at the Visitor’s Centre, a beautifully designed piece of architecture that sits well in the landscape.

Dingoes prowl here and we heard them at night howling. Watch for your shoes as there were examples at the camp hosts’ cabin showing what the dingoes could do to them. There were also warning signs informing you of what to do if you ever meet a dingo. Fortunately, we didn’t!

There are two options for staying within the park. One at Dales Camp Ground, the other at the Eco Resort. Being popular, I highly recommend booking up either in advance.

Two national parks, Millstream and Chichester, were amalgamated into one in 1982 and has been on our bucket list for some time. While at Pannawonica, we misinterpreted a closure within the park of the Wetlands Area as being the whole park was closed. So, it was with delight in Karratha visitor centre to discover the park was indeed open.

Arriving after a pleasant drive south, following the Rio Tinto railway tracks and being amazed by the length of the trains travelling on it, we pitched up at our camp in full sun. This was great for the solar power system but hard on us sitting under the awning in hot 42 degrees sun and wind.

This made several swims at Deep Reach (Dreamtime story typed up below) on the Fortescue River an absolute joy and godsend. The cool water also calmed my burning and itchy sandfly bites to manageable levels (see earlier blog Karratha and surrounds – Cleaverville)!

The water was ever so deep, so deep we don’t know how deep! The banks were steep and filled with water reeds and lined with Sandy Gums and the local, native Palms. Access to the water was provided by two sets of stainless-steel steps for everyone’s safety. Such a picturesque spot for a cool down.

Early one morning, we took the trail up to the Cliff Tip Lookout for fabulous views over the river’s valley and into one of the areas the water flows above ground at this time of year.

The campsite was very well cared for with a great camp kitchen. There, we met Ranger Dan who chatted with us over the benefits of outdoors living and working with the landscape in remote areas as compared to the mining industry jobs in remote places. We congratulated him on his care and he was quick to praise the camp hosts who volunteer in national parks across Western Australia and, in particular, the few he had had recently helping him give the Spinifex bushes a haircut! Find out about volunteering from the National Parks website.

As always for WA’s national parks, bookings for camping at Millstream Chichester National Park are essential and can be made at Park Stay.

Check out my photos from the park on my Instagram page.

Barrimirndi, How the Rainbow Serpent Created the Fortescue River: Long ago, a sea serpent, Barrimirndi, became angry with two boys at Millstream who had cooked and eaten Gurdarnkurdarn, a mulga parrot, which was forbidden. The rainbow serpent smelt the singed feathers of the burnt bird and came out from the sea travelling inland.

He made a trench in the land, cutting it in half, creating Yandanyirra, the Fortescue River. Along the way he made many waterholes. Travelling underground he would rise to the surface checking he scent and looking for the boys. Each time he rose he dug out a waterhole before underground.

He cut open Bargumarrinha, Palm Pool, then went near Jirndawurrunha – where Millstream Homestead is – making a pool. He returned underground to where the red ochre edge is and made a pool in the red ochre.

Here at Nhakangunha, Deep Reach, he got the boys. He took them on top of a whirlwind and swallowed them.

This land had no water before he got the two boys and swallowed them. Just before he did, the people cried and cried and using a stick, tried to get into the serpent to get the boys out but they couldn’t reach. They returned to their camp by the river bed crying out, a big crowd of them. That was too much for the serpent, so he buried them in a flood of water. Finished! He’s in the water now, which fills the trench.

Yindjibarndi call it yinda. Copied, respectfully, from the public signs at Deep Reach Pool.

Another town largely revolving around mining and now tourism as part of the Warlu Way. With three caravan parks, we chose the cheapest one (AAOK Caravan Park) in the industrial area, Karratha gives travellers a chance to pick up work if needed, to shop at sizeable stores as well as top up on fuel.

Our choice of caravan park was a good one as it had free-to-use washing machines and was only a 5 minute walk to the North West Brewing Co where, after trying a few brews, returned on the Friday night to indulge in a jug of beer, a serve of chips and a platter of HOT spicy chicken wings.

Dampier is only a short drive from Karratha and we enjoyed a pleasant swim at the town beach, marvelled at the big ships in the port, gazed across the water to the islands of the Dampier Archipelago and said hello to the famous Red Dog from the movie of the same name. Based on a true story of a dog that roamed the Pilbara in the 1970’s, possibly looking for his owner who had died, and making friends along the way.

We stayed at two beach camps either side of Karratha. The first at 40 Mile Beach was most pleasant and we caught a sea bream for dinner on the camp fire. The other, Cleaverville, was spectacular for views and the rock colours but the sandflies (midges) were ferocious. I counted over 100 bites when they started to appear 12 hours after suffering a cloud of them despite applying Bushman DEET Repellent  lotion and long loose clothing. To be fair, most bites probably happened in the early morning cloud we woke to not the evening before so repellent an covered clothing is still the way to go.

From Cleaverville, we had a day trip to Cossack, an interesting historic pearling community that faded away as prices dropped. The stone buildings still remain and some have been restored for tourism purposes. The colour of the water from the jetty was simply stunning as you looked across to the mangroves.

A quick stop at Point Samson for a cooling dip in the water was most welcome before heading back to the rocky shores of Cleaverville and packing up ready for more planned National Parks visits.

Taking the tent out for a second trip, we tried our luck at Doolena Gorge on the Coongan River, on the road towards Port Hedland. It was fine but most likely far more impressive if it when it holds more water.

So, we tried to find Coongan Long Pool on the opposite side of the road. We missed the gate and chose to turn east to Coppins Gap.

Despite a rough graded road that t slowly disintegrated into a basic dirt track, we were delighted arriving at the Gap. You can watch the gap widen as you approach from the south and, parking the car to walk on, marvel at the rock formations just a score of metres apart and the clear running water creating a mix of deep and shallow pools between them.

We were lucky to identify a new-to-us bird species at this geographical point: the Crimson Finch. 

Hetty towed Huberto about 70kms east of Marble Bar on a lovely, sealed road to Meentheena Veteran’s Retreat. We bumped our way, along a dirt track road, to be made most welcome by camp hosts. A place for veterans but open to everyone with toilets, showers, a fabulous camp kitchen and a washing machine all run off solar power and minimal generators.

Lots on offer considering the location – Paper Bark River for a welcome shady dip in cool, slow running river and a loan of a canoe to paddle up and down the shallow waterway; Rocky Pool to relax, paddle and sit on rubber rings after a dusty, 30 minute 4-wheel drive trek; and ‘Blair’s Gorge where engravings on the rock both ancient and more modern (1930s and 40s) can be viewed before swimming across to the other walls of the gorge. Most wonderful is the camp host takes you to the further locations in the camp’s Landcruiser allowing you to take in the scenery and be guided safely to these wonderful attractions on the property.

A further 70 kms along sealed but not so well maintained (potted) road brought us to the Carawine Gorge turn off. This graded/dirt road was pretty rough and we were so glad we kept Huberto safe at Meentheena and engaged our new 3-man tent into action. Especially when the dirt road led onto a wide shale expanse by the riverside and 4WD was needed for Hetty.

We were fortunate to get a camp spot with trees on both east and west side to provide shade for most of the day. After sweltering in the midday heat, we braved the waterweeds to splash in the refreshing waters under a magnificent orange-red cliff opposite.

Others brought kayaks and small boats to tour up and down this stretch of permanent water and some of those were fishing too. We never saw them catch anything but we did spot plenty small fish close to the shore and a few larger ones jumping in the deeper expanses.

The sky at night was entertaining as we spied several satellites and it became a game who would notice the next small light streak across the sky. 

The hottest town in Australia – officially! This, for us, was a must experience place, even if we arrived in winter/early spring. And yes, it was hot. Our average temperatures were in the mid to high 30°Cs and over! No wonder this was the first place in Australia to run air-conditioning!

It’s a picturesque and dramatic landscape the town lies in, light green to yellow covered ribbons of red, stoney hills. The oldest residence is a quaint verandaed villa and the magnificent, old government buildings established in the 1890’s still stands proud as an example of the architecture at that time, on a hillside overlooking the town centre. The museum and visitor centre is here, alongside the police station and government buildings. We discovered that Kingsford Smith, whom we had come across in the Gascoyne region, was married here and settled for a time on a pastoral claim out of town.

We headed 8km out of town to the Comet Goldmine Museum housed in the old managers’ residence. A lovely prospector, the caretaker, showed us around the range of stones on sale and even some of his golden finds from that morning and we viewed the array of photos and memorabilia.

Next stop was the Flying Fox lookout which turned out to be a river depth measuring system hanging high across a dry wide gully. A wire rope was dotted with bouys and we were amazed at how deep the water could run at this point. We returned another evening for a sunset drink and watched the shadows play across the hills and valleys.

Number 3 stop was at the public Jasper Fossicking area. Marble Bar gets its name from the stone deposits around that ripple with jasper. Not sure if we found any jasper but we found some pretty stones!

Then for jaw dropping rock formations at Marble Bar Pool. Words don’t describe it and photos don’t do it justice and water makes it glisten and glow. Just a short drive away lies Chinaman’s Pool, so called after the Chinese pioneers who set up a market garden on the flat banks.

The notorious Ironclad Hotel built in 1890’s is now a quieter venue than in its hey-day but is still a pleasant spot for a cold beer at the end of a hot day. 

“Australia’s largest bulk export port,” Port Hedland is 1628km north of Perth. And the industrial infrastructure lets you know it too.

There are huge salt pans and big conveyor belts pumping shiny white salt into pyramid style mountains, massive warehouses, cranes and ships at the harbour, road trains galore on wide, well-designed roads with several fly-over bridge to allow the smooth running of some of the longest trains in the world. The longest on record was run by Australian BHP Iron Ore at more than 7km long!

I saw these mega-long trains, heard them day and night but didn’t capture an image worthy of publishing on my Instagram page. You can see mining equipment and ships if you follow the link above though!

We stayed at the town’s free campground for self-contained vehicles at the Turf Club. This is a great spot only a short walk to the ‘promenade’ and take in the sea (and shipping) views. One evening, we strolled to the Hedland Hotel for a tasty plate of fish and chips washed down with a glass of cold white wine. Lovely! The sunset watched from our outdoor table was stunning that night: a big, round, orange ball dropping behind palm trees into the harbour behind.

We didn’t stay long here, just restocked the necessaries and moved along for the next adventures.

Pannawonica is a good short stop when travelling the Pilbara but you can only stay a maximum of 3 nights at the Tourist Transit Park, which must be booked online and has only 4 sites. We were pleased to get a free laundry wash done after a few days of free camping and that big adventure (see Gascoyne Junction to Pannawona blog above).

Pannawonica (don’t you love the name!) is a small mining-town with facilities to match. You can swim in the free-to-use heated pool. If you’re there on a Friday night there’s a free outdoor cinema. Essentials can be bought at the expensive supermarket. There are three choices to eat out: the Tavern and Bistro, the Sports Club or the Miners’ Mess. We chose the Mess for a buffet meal of three courses and a cup of coffee. Good value for $14 each!