Wednesday, July 25
Here we are, safely returned to Karratha and the van after our wonderful time in the Pilbara.  After a day of washing (lots of very red dust to try and get out of stuff), shopping, puncture mending (which we are quite sure happened in town and not out on the rough, rocky roads, like the cracked windscreen we managed to end up with in town in South Hedland!) and catching up on the last couple of things we wanted to see here, it is time to update the blog before we leave and travel further south tomorrow.

We left Karratha last Friday and travelled to Millstream Chichester National Park via the road which follows the Tom Price Railroad.  This did, of course, provide lots of opportunities to see the huge ore trains which travel between Paraburdoo and then Tom Price to the port at Dampier.  We now know that these trains, with their three diesel locos, are 2.5 km long and have 236 trucks.  Because Tom Price is uphill from Paraburdoo, two extras locos push the ore trains between these two mines.

To reach the camp ground at Millstream, we travelled some 50 km through the Chichester Range, a fascinating landscape of spinifex hills, spectacular red rock escarpments and the winding tree-lined watercourse of the Fortescue River and its tributaries.  The Pilbara is classified as the arid tropics and in the plains between the ranges and away from water, the vegetation certainly reflects this dryness.

Along the way, we took a diversion to the north east of the park to have a look at Python Pool, a permanent fresh water pool at the base of a sheer cliff in the Chichester Range escarpment.

This road passed by Mount Herbert, which provided fantastic views across the range to the coastal plains – more spinifex, red rocks and beatiful white Snappy Gums (what a great name!).  Trying to stop myself taking ever more photos was a major challenge!

Millstream is on the Fortescue River and natural springs overflowing from the Millstream aquifer have created an oasis in this otherwise arid country.  We camped at Crossing Pool, one of the pools in the river fed by the springs.  This very small campground was just lovely and afforded the opportunity for a swim, a close-up encounter with a beautiful Buff-breasted Rail.

A walk through the Fortescue River erosion zone by the campground provided stark evidence of the power of surging water.  How do you think these silver paperbarks manage to remain standing after the storm-affected river waters have eroded so much of the soil around their roots?  The paperbarks here in Millstream and in Karijini are huge – we had no idea they grow so large.

Other plants more typical of the tropical north grow near the permanent pools and the most special of these is the Millstream Palm, the only Livistona palm which grows outside the Kimberly.

We were entranced by this acacia, with its curled bark (discovered in Karijini that the Aboriginal people call this curling 'minni ritchie').

Before we left Millstream, we walked to Cliff Lookout and marvelled yet again at the incredible red rocks as we looked down from atop the escarpment into the bed of the Fortescue River.

The trip to Karijini continued our amazement with this area.  As we travelled along the Roebourne Wittenoom Munjina Road (a serious mouthful and no, we did not go wandering around Wittenoom!) we began to see the Hamersley Range rising from the plains in the distance and this shot of Murray enjoying lunch gives some small impression of the vastness of this landscape:

As we got closer to the northern boundary of the park, the Hamersley Range became even more imposing and I couldn’t resist trying one more time to capture the magnificent views of the spinifex clad ranges with their dark red escarpments.  Even though, as soon as you look through the viewfinder, you realise that the vastness of the scene is lost and the resulting photo in no way reflects the view seen with the naked eye, we offer this as an attempt:

The drive along Karijini Drive into the park and camp ground brought another astounding moment – we passed Ross and Alison, the couple we had met in El Questro, then seen again in Derby and Broome and camped with at Bully’s Camp! Once we had set up the tent (after moving many metres of stones so we had a clear spot to ensure the floor of the tent did not ended up full of holes – thank goodness for the kind neighbours who lent us their rake!), we went and shared a drink or two with Ross and Alison – what fun!

Saturday was spent exploring the gorges, waterfalls and pools of the area around Dales Camp, so named because it abuts Dales Gorge.  The arid plateau forming the Hamersley Range has been deeply dissected by rivers and forms resulting steep cliffs in the 2,500 million year old red rocks known as banded iron formation, which is very resistant to weathering.  Some of these cliffs plunge into 100 metre chasms, which widen further downstream and their sides change to steep slopes of loose rock.  Layers of softer shale and dolomite are less resistant to erosion and form gentle slopes and this alternation of rock types forms the landscape of Karijini.  Later horizontal compression caused the rocks to buckle, causing numerous vertical cracks and here endeth my attempts to briefly explain the geology of this spectacular national park!

Fortescue Falls and Circular Pool are two superb features of Dales Gorge and both can be enjoyed from vantage points on the rim of the gorge, which suited my capabilities very well.

Fortescue Falls

Dales Gorge Rim Walk

Dales Gorge Rim Walk

Circular Pool

 From here we went to the Visitor Centre, the design of which represents a goanna moving through the landscape and is symbolic to the Banyjima people.  The displays and information about the Aboriginal culture and natural history of the park are excellent.

Later in the day, Murray did the Dales Gorge walk, which allowed him to enjoy the creek-side trail between Fortescue Falls and Circular Pool.  One of the aspects of the geology of this place which has just astounded us is the incredibly regular rocks – they look as if someone has squared them up before they cracked and some of these photos Murray took show this really well.

What gigantic force piled up these huge pieces of rock?

More amazement whilst I was amusing myself at the tent when Murray was walking!  A car and caravan stopped by our site and lo and behold – it was Graham and Josie, the couple we had met at Fitzroy Crossing and then run into again on our way up to the Dampier Peninsula.  More drinking and carousing Saturday night as the six of us shared stories.

Murray & Heff with Ross, Alison, Graham & Josie (photo credits to Josie)

Packed up on Sunday morning, bid goodbye to the others and headed for the Kalamina, Joffre and Knox Gorges, then the Weano and Hancock Gorge areas of the park.  Yet more spectacular scenery and we spent ages gazing incredulously at impressive waterfalls, precipitous cliffs, deep pools and narrow passages.

Joffre Gorge Lookout provided another opportunity to appreciate the power of water to shape the landscape -  a curved waterfall forming a natural amphitheatre, which we looked way down into:

At Weano Gorge we again marvelled at the views of the gorge and pool from the top:

From here we walked the short distance to Junction Pool Lookout, with its breathtaking views into Hancock Gorge, 100 metres below.

Another short walk around the rocks saw us at Oxer Lookout, where you can look down into the Hancock and Weano Gorge gorges and across the plateau to other gorges which converge in this area.  Just astounding!  Unfortunately none of the gorge walks were ones I could manage, so we will have to come back one day and spend longer so Murray can escort me around the easier bits, then go off and do all the walks. 

Next destination was out of Karijini at Tom Price, the highest town in WA and deep in the Hamersley Range.  A huge iron ore deposit was discovered at Mount Tom Price in 1962, which led to the construction of Tom Price and Dampier.  We took the 4WD track up Jarndrunmunhna (‘place of rock wallabies’) or Mt Nameless as it was named by the Europeans (offending the Aboriginal inhabitants of the area, who make the very valid point that it has never been ‘nameless’) and which offers incredible views across the ranges, the mine site and the town.

In the midst of all the dust, rocks and dirt of this landscape, there were still beautiful things to enjoy up on Jarndrunmunhna, like the newly-opened flowers of this magnificent mallee-type eucalypt and the gorgeous little (about 10cm) Ring-tailed Dragon  

Got ourselves booked into the caravan park before going into town to have a look around and buy our own rake (ready for anything now!).  Back to the park to put up the tent and have tea.  That night we were very grateful for the down sleeping bags as it was the coldest night we have had since the Bungle Bungles!

Up early to pack up and join our 8am mine tour.  We spent an hour and a half touring around the mine site, looking down into the huge, deep hole on the side of Mt Tom Price – about 40% of the mountain has now been excavated for ore and marvelling at the monstrous dump trucks (each worth $4.5 million) lumbering along, laden with iron ore.  Even though it is impossible not to be almost overwhelmed by the scale of the environmental impact, we all use the products created by this mining, so it was worth seeing. 

From Tom Price we hot-footed it back to the western edge of Karijini so we could visit Hamersley Gorge and what a sight it was!  Best of all, I was able to negotiate the steps down into the gorge (with the aid of the ever-patient Murray) so could enjoy all the colours, textures and shapes of the beautiful rocks and the magnificent reflections in the pool at the base of the waterfall.  What a way to end our time in Karijini.

The trip back towards Millstream Chichester along the Tom Price Railway Road was fantastic and certainly provided lots of opportunities to see the ore trains, especially when one arrived at a level crossing just ahead of us, so we got to sit and watch all 2.5 km of it roll by.

As the afternoon was rapidly disappearing, we amended our plan to spend another night in Millstream Chichester, as we wanted to get going early in the morning anyway.  So, it was back up the black top to Karratha once we got off the railway road and that brings us back to just about where I began!

Tomorrow we start the journey down to Cape Range National Park, where we are booked in from Sunday.  We are looking forward enormously to these two weeks on the Ningaloo Reef, so the next update will be when we get internet access and who knows when that will be . . .