4/10/18 Broome

4/10/18 To Broome

No photos for this bit.

We were on the outskirts of Pt Hedland at 7am, having got away early and topped up our petrol.  -We'd got up before the alarm as we didn't sleep too well.  Something in the pizza the previous night?

We stopped before and at Sandfire roadhouse, where we fuelled up and had an iced coffee.  -It wasn't enough.
We had to park around 100km down the road at a 24hour stop with shelter, where John had a brief lie down.  We downed some water and fruit, and that seemed to fix things.  From there we made it to our digs (Roebuck Hotel) in Broome.

The hotel is old, the light switch only works with a bit of cardboard shoved in it, and the bathroom fan doesn't work (a common problem).  Otherwise the room is OK.  A shower improved us no end.  We both arrived very hot and sweaty.
The temperature reached 38C on the way, before a bit of sea breeze pulled it down a few degrees.   John is worried about the temperatures we will face after here.

A new rear tyre is waiting here for John.  I ordered both tyres, but they aren't here yet.  Hopefully they will arrive tomorrow.  I probably don't have enough rubber to make Darwin.

We wandered across the road for a cooling drink.  The first place was closed (at 4pm).  the second one had a sign out, and customers drinking outside.  But inside they were mopping the floor and were closed.  Obviously the tourist season is finished here!
We went across the road and got our mango smoothie, at the Runway Bar, which is new to John.

Tea was a hamburger in the Roey (Roebuck Hotel).  It was large and tasty and decently priced at $18.  Too bad about the beer at $12.50 a glass.

Sleep came a bit late for me, not helped by the thump thump of bass from music in a bar somewhere close until after 12.  Broome residents must all be deaf.

5/10/18  We rode around to look at the 'sights', and a bit of a nostalgia trip for John.  We visited John's old workplace, an aircraft hangar complete with a couple of aircraft.  (He used to fly for Coast Watch.)  Security being what it is, we had to view the plane though a locked mesh gate.  They wouldn't let us in.

Here is John and MMBear at the famous Cable Beach, which really is lovely.  The water is just so blue.  There were plenty of swimmers.  We didn't think to bring our togs.

John coming out of Zanders across the lawn from the beach, after we'd had an iced coffee in there.  Went down well.

Then we rode around a bit more, ending up at the wharf.  It's a bit blurry, but this is John at the table where we'd just finished a barra lunch.  The fish was terrific, the chips were good, but unfortunately that's all that was on our plate.

Sadly, Broome is as far as we are going.

The forecast temperatures ahead of us are just too high in our estimation.  Dangerously so, and potentially turning the trip into torture rather than fun.

We could leave each stopover real early and do shortish hops to avoid heat.  But what do we do when we rock up at a place early?  Too hot to do much sightseeing on a bike, too early to check in.

We discussed options.  One was to go back to Perth and ship our bikes home from there.  (We don't need to do the Nullarbor yet again.)  We've decided to ship our bikes home from here, and fly home, as the least hassle option.  Expensive, but no more so than riding part way back.

Next time we need to get the timing right, and come a couple of months earlier (at least).  A caravan park I looked in on the way back to our hotel, was totally empty in the van section.  All the sensible grey nomads have gone home already.

We've disappointed the bike shop in not getting tyres fitted.  John's they had in stock anyway.  Mine were supposed to be here yesterday but weren't.  We didn't fancy hanging around Broome waiting for tyres to turn up.  I got a phone call at 3 this afternoon.  Too late.  We've booked the bikes on a truck.

(They were going to be very expensive tyres of course.  This is Broome after all.)

Sad to end our trip this way, but sanity has to prevail.

We had tea in the pub with my old boss in Perth, Eddie.

6/10/18 Sat

We rode to Cable Beach again for another iced coffee at Zanders and a sit around.  Then to a shopping centre to buy me a bag.  (John went out later and got one too.)  Snack lunch sitting around the pub pool.

The day was taken up with organising flights and bike shipping online, and trial packing.  (We can't ship anything on the bikes.)

Eddie shouted us tea at a local restaurant.  Too bad the Fat Yak tap wasn't functional (only Carlton draught on tap), and many of their menu dishes were sold out.  But we had a nice meal, followed by coffee and port at Eddie's Broome hacienda.

7/10/18 Sun
Lazy day.  Some washing, sitting round, John had a swim.  This view of him reading, taken through the foliage, makes it look all swish and tropical.  :)

Here is a memorial to the guys who started the pearling industry in Broome.  One of the plaques is in Japanese.
Behind are cones & marks where the road is going to be ripped up.  They are spending $6.9M refurbishing the joint.  Those statues will be moving to Dampier.  -So my photo will be one of the last of them in this spot.

(Photo taken on the way back from coffee & cake in a nostalgia-trip for John cafe.  Very nice.)

At 5 we went out to Zanders again, to watch the sunset.
A couple of beers, a meal, some rosé.  A lovely way to spend our last night on this trip, outdoors in the breeze at a terrific beach.

Tomorrow we drop off our bikes and catch the plane for home.
Here endeth this blog.

02/10/18 To Pt Hedland

2/10/18 We left the Tom Price motel at 7.42.
Not sad to leave it.  This is the condition of the chair outside the door, same when we got there, as when we left.  A $190 a night establishment.

As per Pete's suggestion, we visited some more of Karijini on our way to Pt Hedland.  First stop, the visitor centre.  It was an unusual design, not showing up well in the photo.  The shape is supposed to be representative of a goanna.

Inside were story boards about flora and fauna of the area, as well as a potted history of white man's impact on Aboriginals of the area.  (As usual, very sad.)

It was a very interesting place (to me), and probably would be more useful as the first point of call into the park.  (We left it to last to fit in with our movements.)


Here is John alongside yet another termite mound.  Lots of them around!

Another gorge or two, and more swimming pools...

 Snakes and falling off cliffs aren't the only dangers here.

Circular pool from the lookout.  We didn't go down, but there were a lot of folk enjoying themselves down there.

Another view, showing more of the impressive cliff.

 Looking the other way along the gorge.

John heading for another long-drop toilet.

Fortescue Falls, with people swimming down there.

We walked past it to where Pete had recommended.

 When we got there, there were a few people looking and swimming.

John and I both had a swim in this lovely pool, sitting under the waterfall for a while.  At the entrance deck there were a lot of small fish which nibbled toes if they stayed still long enough, and went berserk when a girl started feeding them bits of pretzel.  Under the waterfall overhang and other shaded overhangs, were ferns growing on the side of the cliff.

By the time we left it was getting busier.

The walk to Fortescue Falls was mostly on an iron staircase.  Not too bad going down, bit of an effort coming back!  This is only a part of the whole staircase.

We had trouble finding Fern Pool, which didn't seem to appear on any signage (maybe the Aborigines wanted it kept secret, because it has importance to them).  We asked a fellow walking around if he knew where it was.  Turned out he was a worker at the info centre.  He was a mine of information, including about a sheltered stop before the servo on the way to Pt Hedland.
So John and I resolved to stop there for lunch.

 The view from the stop.

John sitting at our lunch table.  A marvellous stop, and the path from the carpark to the shelter, is a red concreted path.  Very flash.

On the way in to the Tognolini Lookout, we saw the now familiar pattern of red dust on the side of the road leading out from the destination.  It's caused by the red dust from the carpark.  This whole area is red, red, red dust, getting into everything.  From the termite mounds, to the plains, to the cliffs, to the very large gibbers we saw on the road to here (reminiscent of Devils Marbles in the NT).  A beautiful dark red.

From the lookout we continued in to Pt Hedland, with a fuel stop and a drink stop on the way.  (Sadly the roadside stops dont have any shade.)
The temperature reached 37C.
We rode into Pt Hedland and filled up, only to find that we'd overshot our accommodation.  Back to it, a park cabin, but a little different to the usual, more of a working-man's donga.  These corellas were squawking in the tree right next door, but the resident opposite said they didn't wake him in the morning.  Let's hope that's true.

We were both a bit stuffed after the day.  We'd carried some beers with us, so John bought a bag of ice from the park office and stuffed ice and beers into a bag.  Soon they were nice and cold.  Then we ordered in pizza, which was very nice.  Tomorrow we plan to explore Pt Hedland.  The iron ore infrastructure and power stations we glimpsed on the way in were very impressive.  Maybe a tour somewhere.

3/10/18 In Pt Hedland

Due to faffing around in the morning, we got to the seafarers welfare place too late for a port tour.  So we made do with watching the ships in action from a park we were told to go to.

One ship being loaded with iron ore.

 Another to the right of it being loaded.

 One coming in to load.

 Closer.

 Closer.

 Right in front of us, on the way to turn round.

We wandered off to The Dome restaurant and had an iced coffee.  Then off to a cafe a bloke we talked to recommended, for a bit of lunch.
He was a bin everywhere type of guy.  When we mentioned that we were travelling on bikes, he tells us he has 12.  He's currently a truck driver.
He'd been living in Pt Hedland for some years, and loves the place.  He had a valid point, the tourists and blowins bag the place, but he talked about turtle hatcheries, coral reef, great fishing off the jetty nearby.  Things a brief visit don't bring out.

After lunch we went to a lookout recommended by the info office lady.
Here is the Rio Tinto salt pile, with salt pans on the left.

More salt pans on the right, a large area.  In front is the rail line to Tom Price.

Hard to see here, but its a train waiting to return to Tom Price.
They measure them in kms here.  1.9kms was the figure mentioned.  We saw a couple of engines at the front, and a couple in the middle.  (Dunno if there were some pushers at the rear.)

This is the bridge the lookout is on, going over the train line.  I guess you don't want a level crossing on a busy road when the train is 2km long and moving fairly slowly.

At the lookout carpark were informative signboards.  That purple flower we saw absolutely everywhere, is the Tall Mulla Mulla.

We'd decided that tourist season here is over, and accommodation will be easy to get everywhere, so we went to the post office and sent back our tents and sleeping gear and a few other bits.  That's lightened the load a bit.
Then sweaty as, we headed back 'home' and had a dip in the caravan park pool.  Luverly.
Pizza and beer for tea again, since it went down so well last night.
Tomorrow, Broome.

So we've seen a bit of the Pilbara, and the iron ore cycle.
As I understand it...
Underground gas at Pt Hedland fires power stations, which send electricity to Tom Price and surrounds, which is used to crush iron ore mined there and carted to a processing area on bloody big trucks, conveyed on bloody long belt conveyors, then sent to Pt Hedland on bloody long trains, stockpiled in bloody big mounds, then loaded onto bloody big ships, which take it to China.
I gather the hills contain a helluva lot more iron ore.  Some have been levelled, but there are plenty more to dig into.  All the while impregnating every local persons clothes and being with red dust.
In a world heritage type of environment, as if the two are compatible.
With vast distances between everything.

01/10/18 Karijini

01/10/18 This morning at 7.30, Pete from The Flying Sandgroper delivered a 4WD for us to use.  Here is Pete with his transport back home.

Pete guides tours in Karijini National Park, but his next was tomorrow, and we didn't want to wait.  (The motel is expensive, not that good, the town isn't too fascinating).  He gave us the good oil on what to see in Karijini.
So we set off, Ken driving, John navigating.
The road to the park is sealed.  Some of the roads inside the park are bloody awful dirt and rock.  Corrugations and rocks are popular features of them.
However, we survived and had a great day.
Here is our trusty steed for the day, an Isuzu dual cab.  Pete had added an esky with a frozen 10L water bottle in it for us.

Here is one of the termite mounds common to the area.  They are very tough.

Below are lots of photos taken in the park.  Magnificent gorges, pools, colours, rock formations... the camera simply doesn't do them justice at all.  We drove to all the places Pete suggested, and had lunch at the Eco retreat in the park.  Our chicken salad wraps were quite nice, but more disinterested staff would be hard to find.  John's cappucino was $6!

We didn't do the long walk, just a short one.

 We were taken by the lovely pattern and colours on the trunk of this tree.

 Where the gorges come together.

You had to wade or swim, if you wanted to walk through lots of these gorges.
The experienced folk had rubber shoes to change into, like divers wear.

This was a lovely shaded spot we sat and contemplated for some time.  The birds here were willy wagtails and some small birds too far away to identify, but no doubt seed eaters of some kind.  Colourful dragonflies darted about and water-boatmen ran races in the pond.

These signs were at every gorge.  Presumably they don't want drone flyers falling off cliffs while concentrating on their drone, or trying to retrieve a crashed one.  I'd taken my drone, but it stayed in the car.

An example of the lookouts.  The end was an opening gate (locked).  We assumed that its to ease retrieval of fallen bodies!

 John was taken by the simple construction of the long-drop toilets.

After driving round in the park, we drove to Hammersley gorge (as instructed by Pete), both to see the gorge and view the ranges.

 Amazing colours.

 And amazing ripples in the rock.

On the drive back through the Hammersley ranges, John took this photo.
Good view of the range, with lovely cloud & sky colours, blotted only by a bald guy.

After that we drove back and had a snack tea with a couple of beers.  We were both stuffed.