DAY 38 CAPE KERAUDREN - EIGTHY MILE BEACH

6 April 2008

DAY 38 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

CAPE KERAUDREN - EIGTHY MILE BEACH

As we had dinner last night and army of hermit crabs descended on us. What a combination of shells they were camouflaged under. What a sight!

After some unsuccessful fishing off the rocks we decided to explore the area.

The Cootenbrand Creek was running high as the 7 metre tide was coming in. The water was flowing very fast.

This is what it looked like as the tide was going out.

We drove onto the beach and joined the construction team from Pt Headland in the waters of the creek. We were invited to join them for a barbeque lunch that was absolutely delicious. After sitting in the water some more and going for a walk to look at shells we finally explored the area. Onto Mosquito Creek we went where a salty makes a home.

We changed campsites as we wanted to try and catch a breeze. So we camped close to where hubby had fished. No water in sight now that the tide was out. What wonders were revealed below the high tide water line.




And what amazing imprints in the sand.

The tide was out to reveal a most amazing rock labyrinth.

Many rocks had shell encrustations.

Saw some mud crabs hiding in the rock orifices. Came across an octopus and watched it camouflage itself in the rock pool.


It is hard to see it now!

The mangroves were totally exposed to the elements.

One mangrove looked like a figure carrying a weight.

Mangrove roots were exposed and drying till the next tide.

There was evidence of new formations forming.

There were beautiful impressions on the sea bed.

Sea eagles flew above us.

What a lovely day!

DAY 37 PORT HEADLAND - CAPE KERAUDREN via MARBLE BAR

5 April 2008

DAY 37 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

PORT HEADLAND - CAPE KERAUDREN via MARBLE BAR

What a day today!

First of all the charger we bought stopped working during the night. So in the morning we headed back into town and exchanged it. When they tested it, it was dead. What a waste getting a powered site in the caravan park!

We then headed to Marble Bar with the intention of spending at least a night here if not two or three. As usual we checked in with our daughter to let her know our intentions.

The very distant ranges were very unusual. They were too far to capture them on film. They looked jagged.

They were a mixture of steep triangle like structures with a pimple on top, a two hump camel back to vertically straight sides with a flat top. It looked very peculiar. Then after the turn off to Marble Bar for a while the land was flat as a pancake except for the odd rocky outcrop. Then you got some ranges again but they looked very weathered and had no trees or few trees on them.

As we were driving along the electrics were really annoying hubby. He believed he was getting incorrect readings of oil, voltage and temperature.

Anyway getting back to the trip. We crossed the Coongan River. I was very glad it was dry as it would not have been fun crossing it if the water was flowing. The landscape is just unreal. There is no shade. The countryside is stark, dramatic. In a way I could see parallels between here and north Alaska. Both places have extremes of temperature, the country side adapting to the extreme conditions. Survival of the fittest – in the tundra trees that are hundreds of years old are small with narrow trunks providing no shelter. Trees here are small with narrow trunks, offering no shade. As we got closer to Marble Bar ranges appeared again.


As we drove into Marble Bar our expectations grew as there was a lovely series of sculptures welcoming you to the biggest shire in the world – the East Pilbara Shire.


There was a very well maintained race track and then we hit the town before midday and . . . and. . . only a tiny little corner shop was open and the proprietor was looking at the clock and said “20 minutes and I am out of here”. Nothing! One local suggested we head out to Comet Mine and they will provide information on the area. And guess what – it hit 41 – AGAIN!!!!

So we headed to Comet Mine. It is no longer a working mine but they had a very interesting display of rocks of the area and some jewellery for sale. They were also the de facto information centre for the area. After spending some time here we headed for the Jasper deposit. It was an interesting track to get there.

We headed for Marble Pool. The water was not inviting but the rocks were stunning if you splashed water on them. Just like in the brochures.

But, how long is one prepared to keep splashing the water in this heat. To get into the water proper you would have had to make your way over some very, very slippery rocks.

Met a lovely young family from Cooma here – they moved to Pt Headland for work. Chinaman’s Pool was our next stop. It was a beautiful area. A pity you cannot camp here.

Marble Pool and Chinaman’s Pool are in actual Marble Bar. We looked at each other and decided not to stay here. We had been given a mud map of the best way to get to Cape Keraudren so we decide to go back part of the way and then take the turn off to Bamboo Creek and follow the track via the Muccan Shay Gap Rd. The scenery was stunning!!! It made our day.







The road was good but unsealed.

We crossed the De-Grey River – a very wide river crossing.

We both considered whether we should check the depth by wadding through it. We were in salty croc country according to some. We later heard they were definitely here. Hubby examined the flow and said it is not deep because . . .
So we crossed it. Then before we knew there was a railway line parallel to the road. Apparently this part of the road is a private BHP road to Yarrie Mine.

We were met at the entrance to Cape Keraudren by the ranger and birds in the tree. I am sorry but I could not get the picture to be rotate correctly on the blog.

After some discussion we moved on to find a campsite for the night with million dollar views. We were not disappointed.

And . . . another beautiful sunset.
Something I have been meaning to mention in the blog and then slips my mind is the fashions out here in the west. From Kalgoorlie all the way up the Pilbara one constantly sees the orange, yellow, blue outfits with reflective stripes. Caravan clothes lines are full of them. And you see them all behind the wheel of a ute, covered in Pilbara red, with an orange flag and a blinking orange light.

DAY 36 YULE RIVER - PORT HEADLAND

4 April 2008

DAY 36 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip

YULE RIVER - PORT HEADLAND

Woke this morning to find the river flowing much higher and faster than last night. During the night the bark owl made its presence felt. In the morning wherever you stepped there were little ant mounds.


It didn’t take us long to get to Pt Headland. The town itself takes great pride with its appearance. It is a very neat and tidy place. However, the big steel structures tend to dominate and steal the show. We drove over the bridge where the two great industries meet – salt and steel. The people at the visitor’s centre were helpful although we were very disappointed at not being able to go on a BHP tour. Someone else mentioned they had tried to get on the tour the whole week they were there with no luck.

After posting off the GPS for a check hubby contacted the auto electricians here. He arranged to get the electrics checked out. The verdict was that everything was charging but the meter wasn’t showing it. So a decision was made to get a charger for the gel battery.

We managed to see some turtles swimming in the sea from the Pt Headland Community Park lookout and watched the ships being loaded. We were very lucky to be here today as we saw the Martumili artists of the Western Desert exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery. Martumili artists is the art enterprise of the Martu people who come from the East Pilbara desert regions. The works were vibrant and interesting. Some of my favourites were already sold and the exhibition was only opening that night. It was a delightful gallery with a well lit gallery space.

There were quite a few sculptures around town that captured the spirit of what Port Headland is about and of course they were made of steel.

We spent some time in the Seafarer’s Centre as they had wireless internet. Finally we went onto Pt Headland Caravan Park near the airport so that we could charge up the gel battery using the charger. Met some contractors staying here. Apparently it is too early for the “crazies” as they call the grey nomad migration along the coast. We were asked what we were doing here so early – we said we just wanted to beat the rush.

It is interesting that we have not come across many caravans or motorhomes moving up the coast. We have met many Europeans, especially Swiss and Germans in their little Britz vans or sleeping in the backs of station wagons travelling a similar route to us.

DAY 35 - CLEAVERVILLE – YULE RIVER

3 April 2008

DAY 35 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip


CLEAVERVILLE – YULE RIVER

Meandered through Pilbara’s lovely little towns of Wickam, Port Sampson, Cossack and Roebourne. Pilbara is so unique and the landscape feels so ancient, so different.

The weather is hottish and humid. We heard that Lyons Creek that we had crossed several weeks ago near the Kennedy Ranges was now 3 metres high. The creeks and rivers are rising and some then falling within short time spans. You cross one river and its empty and the next creek or river crossing a few kilometres away is high and flowing. It is hard to comprehend what is happening here.

We timed how long it took the one kilometre long ore train to pass as we waited at a crossing – 8 minutes.Perth office was rung up.

The GPS has been playing up. So the Perth office was rung up. It is to be sent back for a check. It tells us to take a 300 km detour when we are 20km from a place, doesn’t recognise some major roads and decides to have a rest and do no work t times. Very annoying – and it’s a new one that we got for the trip.




After Gascoyne’s hot and dry
Pilbara’s welcome is hot with a sigh
Humid not dry
Overcast sky
Lightning on order every day
As clouds build up during the day
To dump their might freight
Of water – it’s a mighty weight
As one tries to sleep during the night
After flies and grasshoppers one has had to fight



The rivers fill
Floodways spill
Tidal plains empty and fill
And even more water flows one’s way
As roads rise and dip along the way
Testing the driver as they cross each bit
Hoping to stay on track with each nature’s little trick
From Karijini to Millstream the mighty Fortescue streams
Building up volume as it flows down stream
Whilst not far down the track
Along the mighty railway track
Back and forth the trains do rumble
Dampier, Port Lambert in their sights
With salt mines and North West Shelf sharing their light



Port Sampson lies quietly to the side
Beavering away at pearls and fish on the side
Whilst poor stately Cossack a has been it seems
Holds on to its past with self driving tours it seems.








Onwards we press through flood plain terrain
Will there or will there not be water or rain
One creek is dry
The next it is flowing
And so we keep going
Till we stop for a rest
At lovely Yule Creek for that rest

DAYS 33-34 - KARRATHA – DAMPIER - CLEAVERVILLE

1-2 April 2008

DAYS 33-34 Pilbara – Kimberley Trip


KARRATHA – DAMPIER - CLEAVERVILLE

Tuesday 1 April

I woke up to find hubby already working on the car electrics. He decided to change the regulator to see if that was the cause of the problem. A very muggy day again.

After some shopping we went on to explore the area. Woodside Visitors Centre and lookout are a must. Whilst one is aware of the impact of the North West Shelf Project, the visitor’s centre sure brought home the immensity of the project. An interesting interactive diorama explained the gas petroleum system well. The processing plant is big and its lighted beacons are visible for miles around.

We explored beautiful Dampier and the Burrup Peninsula. The salt mines were clearly visible in the distance


Quite a number of ships are in the archipelago waiting to be loaded either at the Woodside plant, or at the iron ore loading ports.

The tidal flats between Dampier and Karratha provided another bit of contrast to the scenery.

The rocky outcrops continued to intrigue us.

The rocks are over 600 million years old. The way they appear really do suggest human interference. They are however, weathered and cracked and form a very distinctive and unique landscape.

At Deep Gorge there are numerous aboriginal engravings on these rocks. We went to have a look at them as I had read about them in Josephine Flood’s book “The riches of ancient Australia”. As the day was overcast, the light was not good, so the engravings that we did see looked very faded. I think you also had to know where to look as they are supposed to be prolific in the number yet we found only a few of them.


We made our way to Cleaverville - a beautiful bush camping spot. The road in is supposed to be able to be used by 2WD but it was a bit rough with the wash aways from last weekend. When we got here we found two other camp sites set up. A woman who is 75 and travelling on her own in a motorhome told us she will be staying here for about 3 weeks until the road is graded as she cannot get out in her vehicle. In the other campsite a couple had set up home as they cannot get accommodation in Karratha. He is a tiler and goes there everyday unless he can’t get out because of the road condition. The starting rate here for a tiler is $70 per hour. If you prove yourself to be good at the job you can get up to $100 per hour. Shortage of tradespeople it’s called.

Lots of cloud build up again. Wonder what weather is in store. Heard there was another very big cyclone out at sea that will impact on the region. Looks like the dry season may be a little late this year.


The humidity is really wearing us down. It is worse than the dry extreme heat we experienced earlier in the trip.



Wednesday 2 April

At night we could hear the rumble of ships being loaded at Lambert and Dampier.

Stayed put today.

Walked along the beach, collected shells, relaxed and discussed some trip options. A pity we cannot go for a swim but the water seems polluted – some slicky stuff floating on top of the water. Looks like it could be from the ships.

It is nice to just have a quiet day. At night we watched the hermit crabs at play and were plagued by grasshoppers.