'Wherarwee' in Oz: August 2011

After 3 more days at Cleaversville we were getting bored so we moved on to our next stop, 40 Mile Beach. Although it is only 50K’s due South, although 110K’s by road as we’re still travelling West/Sou’/west, the night was considerably colder, in the single digits! We only stayed 1 night as it was the same as Cleaverville.

Returning to the highway we stopped at Fortesque Roadhouse where we had a beautiful, long, hot, shower, for FREE. Considering the cost of accommodation, $4.00 each time we fill our water tanks & $25.00 for LP gas that only costs $12.60 most of the way (& it’s made over here), A free shower was like winning the lottery.

Moving on we side tracked to Pannawonica, it was only 45K’s off the highway & wound through a gorge that was a delight to the eye. WA is so flat & usually we can see to the horizon left or right, so to turn off & after a few K’s, come to this was totally unexpected. Pannawonica is a transit stop??? We found a town with a railway station, truck depot, huge warehouses, a mess hut, houses, but no shops. Our next stop was at Robe River, a 24 hour stopover. The river was beautiful, the water so clear you could see the bottom 2 mts down easily. Once again we had a good view of the river from where we parked. While there we contacted our friends, they were on their way into Karijini National park & were some 450K’s ahead. Setting out early in the morning we decided to cover 300K’s that day & meet up on the second day. Once again, as we turned off the highway (this was a 470K side track each way) we became surrounded by ranges of low hills, much more interesting. Since the beginning of the month the breeze has picked up & as the nightly stops are usually just bulldust, (Sally calls them gravel pits) we are seeing lots of whirley whirleys & it has become unpleasant to sit outside.

Next day we did the last 120K’s to Paraburdoo which were very scenic, with ranges of age worn hills hemming us in along the road, & the road itself was lined with a riot of colour from the flowers. Looking ahead & seeing the flowers, the orange soil, various greens on the nearby hills & range after range of purple hills in the background, it is beyond description, even in a photo. Paraburdoo itself, was a surprise, it was an oasis with every lawn a blanket of grass, while there we ran into 4 solo’s from our club, they have been on the road for 2 years & we last saw them at the safari in Tasmania. They told us the shopping was much better in Tom Price so we immediately set out for there, it was only 85K’s up the road. While there we went to the local show (some sort of celebration) & ran into Sally & David, they had had trouble with their vehicle & limped into town where they were awaiting parts to be sent up from Perth. After a chat we set off for Karijini National Park as we knew Jim & Georgie were there, finding them may be a problem although we knew they were staying at Dales camping area & it was only another110K’s up the road. The area was huge & full when we arrived but the ranger managed to find us a spot, unbelievably it was just a little way from where our friends were camped so we ended our day with a nice happy hour.

We spent the next 2 days exploring Dales Gorge, the Circular Pool, Fern Pool & Fortescue Falls. It seems the whole of the National Park is Iron ore, it’s everywhere & there are seems of pure ore from <1cm to >15cm all through the gorge. At Newman (a bit further down the road) the ore is so pure it is mined, crushed & shipped out, no processing!

Returning to Paraburdoo we contacted Mark (our brother-in-law) & he met us in town & guided us to his place where we have stayed for the last few days, cleaning the van, relaxing, a bike trip visiting our friends (still broken down at Tom Price) & just enjoying the space of a house. Mark has taken us to the mess for dinner, unexpectedly good quality, introduced us to his workmates, & been the perfect host.
We've taken around 200 photos, these are just a few.