The Pilbara

The Pilbara - if you think 'mining boom', 'colourful gorges', 'open spaces', you are correct, all of those things on a large scale.
On advice from locals in Marble Bar about road conditions we did not take route 138, the most direct road to Newman. Instead we took a fairly direct unsealed road to the Gt Northern Highway. 140km of good gravel road, no traffic, passing through undulating then flat country. Plenty of spinifex, trees in the river beds, interesting piles of rocks that looked as they had been stockpiled rather than natural. A very enjoyable trip under clear blue skies.

Near the end of this road there was a railway crossing with a train stretching out of sight in either direction. We had arrived in 'mining country'.

Boy, had we arrived. As we travelled down the Gt Northern Hwy, there was road train after road train. Some carrying ore, some fuel, some equipment, some massive tyres. I have never seen so many escort vehicles moving on-coming traffic over to the left as another oversize load went past. There were also heaps of dirty utes and 4WDs, each emblazoned with a large security identification code. The most amazing sight was equipment, at least 3 storeys high on a massive trailer with hundreds of wheels, pulled by two linked prime movers. Two of these  were in a rest area at the top of a rise and unfortunately we could not stop for a photo. The road would have had to be closed to other traffic when they were moving.

After reaching Newman we were able to make contact with Tristan and Catherine Cole, whom we first knew at Frankston when they were young children. Catherine's parents, Gary and Joy Scott, were visiting them and on Sunday we were able to have lunch with them all after sharing in worship at the Baptist Church. We were enthralled with Tristan's stories of his work He is employed by an Indigenous Community, funded by an NGO to preserve cultural and significant sites of the Martu people living in a number of communities on the edges of the Great Sandy Desert. His work has seen him travelling with an aboriginal elder while he sings a song taught to him by his grand father when he was a boy. The man had not been to the area before because the Martu were removed from the desert in the 1960's but through the song he was able to direct Tristan as he drove, leaving the track and going cross country, then leaving the vehicle and walking up a dry creek bed until finally reaching a fresh water spring, just where the song taught to him as a boy told him it would be. Tristan records the position of the site, it's condition and any preservation required. He manages a team of aboriginal rangers who are responsible for doing this work and often has to fly to Perth to report to the Board. He is very busy but obviously loves the work and receives great support from Catherine. Many of his stories about his experiences were very funny.

On Monday we did a tour of the Mt Whaleback Mine, a BHP Billiton mine and the largest open-cut mine in the world. Amazing to see the the size of the operation - massive trucks (60 of them, each of which uses 4,500L of diesel a day), conveyor belts, treatment plants, trains which don't stop - they move at 2km/hr beneath a hopper which fills each of the 323 trucks as they move through, before travelling the 8 hrs to Port Hedland on the longest privately owned railway in the world, where they dump their loads, once again without stopping. 

The next four days saw us in the wonderful Karijini N.P. - the main features are the deep, colourful gorges which you reach by walking down steep steps or climbing down ladders. At the bottom are pools of deep green water, huge paperbark trees, fern gardens, waterfalls, - we did lots of rock hopping but stopped when required to wade through freezing cold pools. Lookouts from the tops of the gorges gave some amazing views.

Unfortunately, I suffered with a tummy bug for one day which also slowed me done a bit for the next couple of days.

 We travelled on to Tom Price, another mining town but smaller than Newman and greener and neater. We are almost sick of the red dust, everything has a dark red sheen. The van and car, both inside and out, our clothes, the buildings in town, trees by the roadside, even the birds - the corellas in the park need a good wash. From here, after doing loads of washing and cleaning, we plan to travel to the Millstream - Chinchester N.P. and then back to the coast.

Mt Bruce, second highest mountain in W.A.