Broome and Derby and the Kimberley region

When we leave Karijini the next place to stay is Port Hedland, a large port from which much of the iron ore from Newman and Tom Price is shipped overseas.  More info about Newman  The high quality ore arrives at Port Hedland by trains which stretch over several kilometres in length. Info about Tom Price

Being a large Port, Port Hedland is a large sprawling place, rail yards with shunting facilities for those long, long trains which seem to take up quite a large area on the outskirts.  There is also Sea Salt Mining with large evaporation lakes near a storage facility where mountains of white salt are visible from a long distance away.  If it wasn't hot one could almost believe the stuff was snow.

Barn Hill at sunset

I leave the following morning while Eckhard and Suki have to attend to personal stuff with their vehicle.  I drive to Eighty Mile Beach, about 8km of dirt road from the Highway, but well worth the drive.  The campground has been hit by a cyclone, back last December.  The trees have all been stripped and needed to be cut back so they could recover.  The place now looks quite bare compared to last year when I came through in August.  According to a Local Person windspeeds of 300km/h have been recorded, in fact, a large shipping container has been blown by the cyclone for several kilometres.

The white sand on that beach is beautiful as I remember from my last visit.  I am spending 3 days relaxing, my friends arriving after 2 days.  When we leave we follow the Coast Highway and spend the next 2 nights at a rest area, under the shade of a large tree.  Fellow travellers, Trish & Lenny have invited us to come to their campfire where we spent a delightful evening with many a yarn being spun...

Rock Formation at Barn Hill Beach

When we leave its just about 70km up the highway then 9km of dirt to the coast again where we put down at Barn Hill for another 2 days.  More...

Toward the town of Tom Price and Karijini National Park

When we leave Learmonth Jetty there are clouds looking north-east, the direction in which we will travel.  By the time we reach the coast highway driving north, there are a few showers.  At Nanutarra Roadhouse we top up fuel to get to Paraburdoo.  There is light rain when we drive on, which increases the further east we drive.  

The rain we left behind

We pull over at our planned rest area.  Its raining quite strongly, but looking brighter toward Paraburdoo, so we keep going.  Sure enough, its getting brighter and the rain has stopped by the time we arrive in town.  As it turns out, no camping facilities, so we just keep going to Tom Price, where I know, we can go into a caravan park.

All the grass and spinifex burned off after a lightening strike in Karijini National Park

  We are in the southern Kimberleys, lots of red mountains, today decorated with heavy clouds, but also sunshine in places, a part rainbow, looking so real you feel you can also touch it.

Looking up to the rim of the Gorge

Water at the bottom of the Gorge

The following morning we drive on into the Karijini National Park with all its gorges, strongly coloured rock formations, pools of water, really a feast for my eyes.  So much to photograph, even though I have been here before twice, the shutter on my camera keeps clicking away.   More about Karijini National Park...

Ningaloo Reef

Time flies when you are having fun, or so they say, always surprising for me to realise how much has happened in just a few days.  well, when traveling with friends there are always things to do or more places to go...

A short part of the roads travelled

From Kalbarri we traveled north into the Peron Peninsula, to Denham for some shopping and re-fuelling then spent 2 nights at two different beach locations, just south of Denham, great spots and free of charge as well.  We saw some great sunsets and sunrises before driving further north to Carnarvon where we had to stay for 3 days, as Eckhard and Suki both had to see a Dentist (the only one until Darwin, about 2000km away.)  Our next stop was Quobba Station, a campground right on the coastal peninsula which turned out to be rather windy as well but we all enjoyed our stay there, walked the beach with its rugged red rocky coastline, white sand and lots of tiny fish swimming around your feet as you walk in the shallow water.

We were staying at No. 452 for 2 days (south of Exmouth on the Peninsula)

The next stop was Coral Bay and then on to Exmouth, or should I say Learmonth Jetty, beautiful clear turquoise waters, right on a beach with white sand onto the Exmouth Gulf.  Then, after two nights, on to Ningaloo Reef and the Cape Range National Park.  In order to get into a camp spot, you need to register at the entrance to the park with the Ranger, who allocates campspots as they become available.  More about Ningaloo Reef

We are at the Ranger Station already at 7.00 am, already 2 vehicles ahead of us in line to get into the Park.  Before the Ranger (a nice young lady) arrives at 8 o'clock, we witness a beautiful rainbow just as the sun rises.  Simply magnificent!  My Tibetan friends would say that to be very auspicious and extra good fortune for us.  Yes, we are very lucky to witness such a spectacle and to spend time in such a pristine environment!

Quite a Rainbow!

We are allocated two spots at Osprey Bay, beautiful in the Extreme, waves breaking several hundred metres from shore out on the Reef with the ongoing sound of the roaring surf at that distance.  

The Beach at Sandy Bay

Blue skies as you would expect, but we are glad of the breeze to keep the temperatures down.  On our second day we drive down the peninsula to Yardie Creek Gorge where we take a hike along the rim of the Gorge, the only one connected to the ocean.

Gorge Views and dried up trees along my walk

Back on the Westcoast of Australia

The first glimpse of the Indian Ocean when I drive toward Geraldton is really simply beautiful, shades of blue and turquoise as far as I can see and that scene only gets better as I get closer to the ocean.  I park right the town beach with my rear window pointing to the beach so I have a fabulous view while I do my stuff, like cooking something to eat and have a cold drink.  The sky is blue the water blue, about 30 degrees with a breeze off the ocean.  It does not get much better!

The mail I had arranged to be forwarded to Geraldton is not there the following morning (Monday) so after some shopping we spend the day around town, Eckhard and Suki having to also go to Centrelink while I head for my favorite spot by the beach.  We stay another night before driving further north to Kalbarri and its beautiful coast and the gorges in the National Park.  More:

 Looking up to the Lookout at Z-Bend

At Kalbarri we stay at a caravan park right by the harbour and the inflow of the Murchison River that flows here into the sea.  It is a 'must' to visit the National Park to see and to experience the beauty nature has on offer in this part of Australia.  We decide to also descend into the gorge itself as I had not been there when I last visited here 2 years ago.  I am glad we did, some of the scenery is simply breathtaking.

Only standing pools of river water down the bottom

We slowly climb down to the bottom of the gorge which turns out not only rather colourful but also nice and cool while the day above has been increasingly warming up.  We also carry some water and food, dehydration is not a great option down here to consider.

Above are some views along the way down...

Out of the Nullarbor, Norseman, Kalgoorlie and the "Wheatbelt".

Its been a cold night, as most nights in the Nullarbor usually are.  I say good bye to my fellow campers and I am back on the highway, going west toward the town of Norseman, where you can either drive south toward Esperance or north toward the city of Kalgoorlie. 

 

On my last night I have been bitten by what looks like a spider of some sort, as I am now showing a giant bruise on my left wrist, all black and blue, as if I had hit something with my arm with great force.  I decide to seek some medical advice at the Norseman Hospital, where the doctor insists it is definitely a bruise stemming from some impact.  Blood samples are taken to be sent off to Perth for examination to see if I have a "low platelet count", something to do with the ability of blood to coagulate.  The insect bite only given a low probability.

 

The following morning while I am having my car serviced at Kalgoorlie, the Doctor calls me, to tell me my blood is in excellent shape, no platelet problems, in fact, the platelet count is high, my blood pressure 125 / 80 and it looks like I am in the best of health.  I can't resist telling him that my original assumption about the spider bite was probably correct, to which he then agrees.  Nothing to be done he tells me, just take some anti-inflammatories.  Six days after the bite, the bruising is looking like getting less, still painful, but I only wake up twice during the night when the pain sets in for a minute or two, but things are certainly improving.

 Salt pans along the way

From Kalgoorlie I drive west again tothe town of Southern Cross, where I spend the night.  I follow the water supply pipes along the highway which have brought drinking water from near Perth to Kalgoorlie since 1903, when the (still ongoing) Gold boom in the Kalgoorlie area had started.  The pipes are laid above ground, as its much easier to detect any leakage that way, they are painted either silver or white to help reflect the sun and the water won't arrive hot at Kalgoorlie.  I stop for the night at Southern Cross.  

Wheatbelt country

This part of WA is called "The Wheatbelt", with (already harvested) wheat fields stretching from horizon to horizon.  In low lying areas there are also salt marshes and some salt pans where nothing will grow, but on higher ground wheat is the only crop.  Cattle and sheep only become visible as I get closer to the West Coast.  

Salmon Gum Eucalypts

Along my course through the backroads of WA, which are always in excellent condition, even if they are only single-lane roadways, many so-called Salmon Gums grow along the road, their glistening tree trunks reflecting the morning light as if they were wet.

 Seemingly 'never-ending' Highway

Another view of the Wheatbelt in WA

When I arrive at Geraldton I enjoy viewing the tourquiose colours of the Indian Ocean, so I park right by the sea while I wait for my friends Eckhard and Suki whom I have arranged to meet here.  We spend 2 days at Geraldton before heading north to Kalbarrie.