After an exceedingly pleasant week in Carnarvon, we farewelled our new friends Chrissy, Nick and French bulldog Merlot, plus our partners in nighttime shenanigans Irene and Mal Perry. We set off for Nanutarra, which a roadhouse/caravan park/licensed cafe/shop about 360 kilometres north or Carnarvon. We were hugely excited to be heading for one of our favourite regions, the vast Pilbara which stretches from the Little Sandy Desert in the east across to the coast, taking in the towns of Newman, Tom Price, Parraburdoo, Onslow, Pannawonica, Dampier, Karratha, Point Samson, Wickham, Roebourne, Port Hedland, and of course Marble Bar.
The Gascoyne landscape north of Carnarvon was not that attractive. We pulled into Minilya Bridge Roadhouse after about 120 kilometres for a cup of tea for me and a cool drink for Michael. The rostered staff member was from Israel (!) and the duty manager's family owned one of the servos we frequent in Midland! We swapped drivers, revived after drinks, and continued on our journey.
We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn with little fanfare (we almost missed seeing the sign) and found ourselves officially in Western Australia's northwest. Almost immediately, the flat and rather featureless landscape began to transform. Red rocks, some with razorback tops were popping up, then the familiar white barked eucalyptus tree became more apparent, the golden spinifex replaced the shorter grasses and then the magnificent hills and mountains started to dominate the country. The sky, which had been littered with clouds, cleared completely and the brilliant afternoon sun provided the consistent warmth we had been seeking since leaving Beverley. Every time we come to the Pilbara, we feel like we have returned to our winter home.
We pulled into Nanutarra just after four o'clock. Our "next door neighbours" were a family who had been on the road for around six months. Ben was an IT specialist who could work from "home" as long as they had WiFi, Sarah was training to be a psychologist and mum to Harvey (almost 3) and Ed (who will be turning 5 on 12 July). The canine members were Coby the Vizsla and Frankie the Staffy cross.
We enjoyed a fun evening and morning with them all, and ended up being invited to Ed's birthday party in Onslow when they arrive. The boys were both very well behaved and self sufficient, playing with Duplo and Lego and creating a cubby house out of a camping table and a tablecloth. We admired their Space Museum jumpsuits and watched them with amusement as they played swordfights with toy foam swords.
We went our separate ways - they were heading to Tom Price to catch up with family - and we checked out the bridges and the Ashburton River before leaving for Onslow. Our enthusiasm grew as we turned off the Northwest Coastal Highway. The eighty kilometres to Onslow passed in a flash. New mining operations were springing up, the anthills were just as impressive and the salt pans that supplied Onslow with one of its most important exports had filled with water due to recent rain and were really pretty.
We did not check into the Ocean View Caravan Park straight away. A detour to KHB Mechanical Services was on our itinerary to see if we could get to the bottom of our battery management system. Even after Grant and Michael had spent a good half hour poking in the compartment under our bed, the loss of battery power and the annoying beeping all remained a mystery. We just resolved to use our solar blanket very liberally if we were free camping and cross our fingers that action would keep the pesky battery charged and the management system in an agreeable frame of mind.
Finally we checked in and we allocated a wonderful site right on the beachfront. I spent an hour or so bringing Will's interior to rights after the semi demolition of our bed. I set up a curry cooking in our cast iron pot for dinner and joined Michael outside in the late afternoon sun. An added delight was feeling that unfamiliar stuff called sweat under my hat.
Dinner was followed by the darkness of the early evening until the moon rose. We were treated to the last day in July for Staircase to the Moon, a naturally occurring phenomenon that is created by the moonlight on the mudflats of low tide seeming to form steps to the moon. My photos do not do last night's event any credit whatsoever.
We are immersing ourselves in Day 1 at Onslow. We have done nothing except listen to the waves and the breeze. Maybe a load of washing is on the cards later. A walk into town along the foreshore is definitely next on our hectic timetable. And this evening, we are treating ourselves to Happy Hour, dinner and the Tipsy Jipsies at the Resort. How tough is today?
No comments:
Post a Comment