Monday 12th March 2012 Day 11 Port Hedland WA

Sunday the 11th we didn't do very much as we were spending time with Brad and Emily. On Monday Day 11, we were still in Port Hedland and used the time to change the oil in the Kombi and tidy up a few things in it as well. Darren was also out looking at trains. Since Saturday the weather has been rain, rain and more rain and now there is a cyclone forming out at sea which is expected to hit later this week. Time to start deciding where to go as there is also another potential cyclone forming off Darwin as well!

Top, Almost at the Port for unloading and A former Southern Pacific Railroad SD-40R (A favourite of Darren's)

Saturday 9th March 2012 Day 10 Karratha to Port Hedland WA

Getting up at 5.30am as we couldn't sleep anymore we took off for a drive to Dampier to see the statue for Red Dog. whilst we were there we we saw a couple of locomotives pulling a massive ore train to the dock where a couple of ship were being loaded. at the end of the loading are there was a sandy patch with palm trees looking like a island oasis.

Red Dog's Statue in Dampier

Gilligan's Island??

On the way back we came across the Pilbara Train museum so Darren got out and took a good look around like an excited little boy. He's been waiting years to see these US locomotives.

Former  Western Pacific Railroad USA EMD F7 

From then it was back to Karratha to find some breakfast, so we pulled into McDonalds to park next to another Kombi. Going in the owner of the Kombi calls us over for a chat (Another friendly Kombi driver).

It took nearly 4400kms to see another Kombi

Well we finally made Port Hedland by late morning and it was off to see more locomotives as Brad was sleeping and emily was at work. We eventually styled in for a couple of days to spend sometime with the family before moving on to Broome. Stay tuned and I'll be back soon.

These locos are monsters

Friday 8th March 2012 Day 9 Carnarvon to Karratha WA

Stay there please

We got an early start 6am and headed for Karratha some 650kms away. doesn't sound very far but in the Kombi it certainly is.

The trip started well no headwinds and relatively cool air as the temp was only 30c so there were no complaints for once. Soon after leaving Minilya there were plenty of animals around, cattle on the side of the road, goats crossing the road and Emus running alongside us in the paddock it was a bit of a worry.

Covered in flies

It wasn't long before we crossed the tropic of Capricorn and it was starting to get very sticky and humid. The paddocks were filled with hundreds of sizeable termite mounds and then the red sand hills started to pop up as the terrain changed. 

Termite mounds took this next to a sizeable bush to compare its size

Along the way there are several rivers which had a fair bit of water in them and the surrounds were so green and pretty. There are also many hills/mountains which are very rocky and not necessarily in a range.

Approaching the 50km to Fortescue Roadhouse we passed this massive construction going on for a substantial mining site. As we came to the Roadhouse there was hundreds of Huts placed around the Roadhouse creating a mini city. From the huts buses were being loaded with mining staff to be transported back to Karratha some 100kms away.

We needed to find somewhere to spend the night as the 3 Caravan Parks in Karratha were either full or were closed by the time we expected to arrive so it was check the Camp 6 book. Great the Karratha Shell Roadhouse has free overnight camping showers and toilets a log with several road trains. We made it throughout the night although it was sticky and hot.

Another stop to cool off

One of the many creeks/rivers

These mountains just randomly crop up and below one of the muddy rivers

Morning at the Karratha Roadhouse free campsite (The car/truck park)

Thursday 7th March 2012 Day 8 Carnarvon WA

We stayed in Carnarvon today to have a look around. What to do? We decided to walk the "One Mile Jetty" so it was stroll to the end (well the end was blocked off due to a fire). There were quite a few metres of mangroves and there were heaps of small fish swimming around obviously the breeding area and as we walked out further there was schools of reasonable sized Garfish swimming around. Unfortunately we didn't have a line. The jetty dates from 1897 and I tell you what some of those sleepers were in a pretty poor condition.  We looked around at the beach area and saw the NASA tracking Radar and that was about it. Carnarvon was off season and repairs to the main street were in progress following some recent cyclonic damage.

Our camp set up at Carnarvon

One Mile Jetty at Carnarvon WA

After lunch we decided to checkout the Blowholes some 62kms out. Well we were glad we did. The Blowholes spewing water in the air approx 20metres high. It was great to see and hear and there were also some King waves crashing into the rocks making Darren head for the hills.

The Blowholes

Some of the waves near the Blowholes

Some of the Shacks scattered around

A km up the sand track there was a campsite so we thought we'd see what it was like. As we drove towards it there were all these rough little galv iron shacks all around. The area here was sheltered and there was a reef and still bay area quite surprising given the sea on the other side. As we were driving back a storm was forming and along the road in front of us a massive lighting bolt could be seen all the way to the ground. On they way back we could see the many Banana and mango plantations around.

Brewing up a storm

Wednesday 6th March 2012 Day 7 Geraldton to Carnarvon WA

We left Geraldton early about 7.30 am on the way to Carnarvon and it started the same hot and slow but a bit more scenic along the way. The first town North Hampton was a pretty town just 50 kms from Geraldton. For one of our cooling downs we found this massive campsite which was very well set up alongside of a river. 

An old road to a campsite

Near the campsite

Onward as the day got hotter we had to drive 170kms before the next stop Billabong Roadhouse, sounds like a great surfing place. We arrive to find a pub and a service station and it was absolutely frying the temp was 44c. No question we went to the pub for a cold beer and a chat to the barman. Once again we were the only people in the bar so this guy tells us about what to expect for the remainder of our trip. He has moved around a lot in his life.  The bloke told us that the Cafe part was named after a lady whose car broke down some years back left it there as it wasn't worth the money to cover the repairs or the tow. If you look at the car it still has the lady and he child's belongs in it so the Cafe was named after the car, "The Red Car Cafe". Another unplanned but interesting stop.

The Red Car 

The Billabong Hotel/Cafe

Looking for an air-conditioned ride to Carnarvon

Along hot day but we eventually made it to Carnarvon by 6.15pm and set the tent up fully for a couple of nights.

Tuesday 5th March 21012 Day 6 Mt Magnet to Geraldton WA

Mt Magnet to Geraldton WA which was another slow day with heat and this time hills to heat up the old engine. Driving out of Mulwalla we actually overtook a road train on an uphill overtaking lane and not long after it had caught us again and overtook us again except this time he had his 2 buddies with him, 3 road trains overtaking us at once scary 53 plus metres long each.

These guys were huge

Also along the way the road parallels a disused railway with chimney and a platform as standing reminders of a bygone era.

Remains of the Mulwalla to Cue railway stations note the front steps in the foreground.

The eagle was standing on the side of the road and at the last minute it decided to take off in front of us 

We made it to Geraldton to find the temperature was 40c (considering we have no air conditioning we knew it was hot) We spent time shopping for water and eventually set up the tent for the night at the local Caravan Park just out of the main shopping precinct.

At night we decide to take the scenic drive of Geraldton deciding to move on in the morning, at least the night was cool.

Monday 4th March 2012 Day 5 Leonora To Mt Magnet Western Australia

Day 5 was a long hot drive from Leonora to Mt Magnet WA but we back tracked for a time to visit the ghost town of Gwalia. A place certainly worth stopping to visit. We arrived to see these old mining shanty's still in good shape and packed with reminders of the past. We walked in and out of the shanty's as they are all open to free view.

The shop facade at Leonora WA

One of the miner shanty's in Gwalia, this one had newspapers on the wall dated 1911 as wallpaper

Another shanty from the inside

A view of the ghost town Gwalia

On the way to Mt Magnet we passed through the towns of Leinster and Sandstone. As the weather was hot and dry the going was slow with plenty of stops on the way to cool down. 

A view from the Peter Denny lookout on the way to Leinster

Stopping at Mt Magnet for the night the Caravan Park was quite green and we decided to set up the tent for a night with more sleeping room. Surprisingly we slept better in the Kombi.