We arrived in Onslow at four-thirty this afternoon after a long six-and-a-half hour drive of over four hundred kilometres. The first seventy of those kilometres were on the gravel Munjima-Nanutarra Road, conditions ranging from quite smooth to bloody awful corrugations. The good news was that our fuel economy was excellent during this stage and the country we drove through was utterly breathtaking in its beauty.
I've fast forwarded a bit too far. We arrived in Tom Price on a warm afternoon, found our site and set up under a couple of magnificent eucalypts. I quickly discovered a washing machine in the laundry and undertook two large loads, all neatly hung on the lines before dark. The Tom Price tourist park was busy, the bathrooms a bit dated but the location and the camaraderie amongst the campers and caravanners were both outstanding. Nestled at the base of the eleven-hundred-metre Mount Nameless, otherwise known as Jarndunmunha, the mountain is ever present and very impressive as a backdrop.
I was aware of the pitter-patter of rain during the night and woke to a most unusual morning. Tom Price was wet. My clean washing was dripping wet. Delighted children were wet. And muddy. The insides of caravans and tents were wet. And muddy. And behind the tourist park, Jarndunmunha was shrouded in mist.
I decided that sweeping the damp caravan floor was a waste of time. I was a tad hesitant at driving up to the summit of Jarndunmunha in the gloomy weather, so instead we drove out the Nameless Valley Drive to check if the Munjima-Nanutarra Road was open after the rain. Not only did we discover that the road was open, but the unlikely view of this dramatic landscape draped in fog and drizzle was one of the highlights of our stay in Tom Price.
Our second morning in Tom Price was still gloomy but at least the rain had stopped. As the day progressed, all my washing dried, much to my surprise. And Michael decided that we would rise to the challenge of driving to the top of Jarndunmunha. Starting on an excellent gravel road in 2WD, we graduated to 4WD high before realising, about half way up, that we needed to be in 4WD low. By this stage, we had been thrown around by some serious bumping and engaged in a brief episode of wheel slippage. Try as I might, I couldn't help a startled "Michael!" leaving my lips. So, we pulled over on a flattish spot and consulted the Oracle - the car's manual. Within a couple of minutes, we moved Lily into 4WD low and continued. We immediately noticed a much better handling of some atrocious road conditions. And the vista from the summit was worth all the hair raising moments we had endured. Then we had to navigate our way back down.
Although we had in excess of a quarter of a tank of fuel, the acute angle of the car caused the low fuel light to be activated. Michael became seriously concerned that Lily would run out of fuel, not a great option in a diesel vehicle. As we were tossed about inside the cab, we descended lower and lower until we were safely on level ground. The fuel gauge returned to normal. The afternoon finished with us filling Lily with fuel before we made our way back to Digger.
We finished our last fabulous day in Tom Price with leftover curry. We discussed the daredevil activity tackling Jarndunmunha with relieved amusement. The trip to the top had been terrifyingly exhilarating. We had survived both the ascent and descent. Would I willingly ever do so again? Not a chance!
And so, we waved goodbye to Tom Price this morning. The wind was very chilly and in spite of the sunshine, I was wrapped up in a long sleeved tee shirt and cardigan until lunch at the Beasley River rest area. I took over the driving from Michael and continued until we were almost to the Onslow turn-off. He finished off the trip and ended with an excellent positioning of Digger into our site at Ocean View caravan park right on the beach at Onslow.
The park had received serious renovation since 2020. The sites were large and included an area of artificial lawn for setting up our chairs and the dog bed. The gardens were in their infancy but would be really beautiful once they'd grown. We took the dogs onto the beach for a romp and ordered a takeaway pizza from the Beach Club. And I booked us for dinner on Saturday evening - a verandah table where we could have the dogs with us.
Tomorrow will be my last day of being fifty-nine. I am delighted to be in Onslow for the next ten days. I am hoping that we all have a fantastic stay. I am sure we will.
Stay tuned...
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