June 17th – June 28th
From our hillside
campsite we went to the nearby Ophthalmia
Dam for breakfast. Camping was not allowed at the
dam.
A short distance south we arrived at
Newman to
shop, to visit the
Information Centre for a mud map of the area and, to find a mechanic so Hugo could have a service.
Where else to spend the night but on top of Radio
Hill. We had great
views of the town and
mine and at night, these
views were something special!
Wow, this is BIG!
The hills at Kalgan Creek
The colours are marvelous
Jaffles cookedi in the Ozpig
Our beautiful campsite. Water both sides
The coffee pot on Ozpig
Another beautiful sunset in the Pilbra
Swinging in the air chair
Relaxing after lunch
Our first adventure in the
Newman area was to Kalgan Creek and Kalgan
Waterhole. We weren’t expecting much but it turned out to be very special. 6km before the
waterhole we found a perfect
campsite beside the flowing creek. We spent three nights at this spot and got so excited with the amount of water we washed everything – sheets, towels, clothes and us. The water was warm so we soaked in the deep water holes.
The Ozpig came out for a baked dinner, the Coleman Oven to bake scones and the air chair was slung from a branch.
One day we were joined for several hours by an absolutely drop dead gorgeous
young girl, Analeis. She was travelling around Australia with Ash, her dog. Chicka no longer talks about Hailey Berry!!
We finally continued on to Kalgan
Waterhole. The trip was exciting as long stretches were actually in the flowing creek. (You wouldn’t want to judge the time of year wrongly for this one or you may float away!)
The
waterhole was large and surrounded by colourful cliffs. We camped on one side and a group of two camped on the other. The wind was up and the water cold so a swim was out of the question.
Back in
Newman we stocked up on a few more groceries, refilled our water at the
Information Centre and then headed back to our favourite
Newman campsite. There on the ground was a dog’s food bowl and water bowl. Chicka was ‘beside himself’. How was he going to find Analeis to return Ash’s bowls?
The next morning we headed back to the
Information Centre and there was Analeis. The bowls were returned and Chicka got a picture with Analeis and of course, Ash. We said farewell and I dragged Chicka away.
Where is the track???
The sun brings out the colours
Kalgan Waterhole. We are on the far side
Mount Whaleback mine from Radio Hill
Chicka with Analeis
Analeis and Ash
On our way west toward Karijini we had another location to visit just out of
Newman, the Wonmunna
Waterhole. We had a mud map from the
Information Centre but without the GPS we would have missed the turn off as the signpost had been removed. The
waterhole was only 3km off the main road, down a narrow, rough gravel track. We arrived early in the afternoon so had plenty of time to explore. It was a peaceful, beautiful place!
The
waterhole was within a small
gorge with the usual beautifully coloured
Pilbara rocks. There was abundance of petroglyphs ie
rock engravings. They were similar to others in the
Pilbara including the
Burrup Peninsula near
Dampier. This art had been etched into extremely hard
rock surfaces, using primitive
tools and would have taken a long time to complete.
Crossing the mine rail line into Weeli Wolli
Wonmunna Waterhole
Wonmulla Waterhole
Petroglyphs at Wonmulla
Petroglyphs at Wonmulla
Petroglyphs at Wonmulla
Just on dusk four miners visited and impressed us with their description of nearby Weeli Wolli. We knew we had to visit.
It meant going 17km back along the highway and then quite a long drive in but, it was all worthwhile. We travelled alongside a huge
mine and finally crossed the creek. At this point water, pumped out of the
mine, entered the creek and to quote a miner, ‘We have turned an intermittent stream into a permanent flowing creek.’ The water was bath tub warm and so relaxing to soak in. The creek was lined with paperbarks.
It was several days before we left and made our way to Karijini in the Hamersley Ranges. The Park incorporates two billion year old gorges, where rain has cut out 45 metre ravines in the dramatic, spectacular landscape.
Crossing Weeli Wolli Creek
Early morning mist on the creek
Scones once again
Trains from the mine are constant
All these hills are being mined
A bulldozer at work
Entering Karijina NP
Wow! View from Oxer lookout
At Joffre waterfall lookout
In 2009 we spent six days walking through the gorges so this time we were just staying overnight to visit several lookouts, the impressive Oxer
Lookout and Joffre Falls
Lookout.
After a little reminiscing it was off to nearby
Tom Price. At 747 metres above sea level, it is the highest town in WA. It is the jewel in Hamersley Iron’s crown and under the control of mining giant Rio Tinto. It is the most attractive town in the Inland
Pilbara with tree-lined streets, modern facilities and a relaxed country-town atmosphere all made possible by the Royalties for Regions program. The town was named after Thomas Moore Price who was instrumental in founding the area’s mining industry. He tragically died only two hours after being told that a rich ore deposit had been discovered in the area
As early as 1952 Lang Hancock carried out aerial surveys over the
Tom Price area and detected large iron ore deposits. His discoveries were of little value at the time because the Australian Government had an embargo on all iron and steel exports. This was a result of World War II. After the lifting of the embargo in 1961 the area began to open up.
On top of Mount Nameless, Tom Price
The 4WD track to the summit
View of Tom Price Mine
Night view of Tom Price mine from Mt Nameless
The towers on Mt Nameless
An evening on Mount Nameless
On top of Mount Nameless
And down we go!
Rail Access Road permit
Tom Price is at the foot of the highest mountain in WA that is accessible by road albeit 4WD. It is situated approx. 4km from town and stands 1128 metres above sea level. From
the summit there are spectacular
views of the ranges, the
Tom Price mine site and the town of
Tom Price.
So good was this position that we stayed for 2 nights. From about 2pm adventures joined us for the sunsets. The sunrises, sunsets and the night
views of the
mine and town were spectacular! It was fascinating by day and night and watching the long ore trains entering and exiting the
mine was great.
Next we gained a permit to travel along the railway access road from
Tom Price to
Millstream NP. After finding out that Crossing
Pool, our favourite
campsite in the NP had been closed down, we travelled the road only as far as the turn off to Mt Sheila.
Because
the summit was once the location of a Telstra Repeater station the access to
the summit was sealed. Up and up we went till finally we came to the final pinch. For some strange reason I got a ‘funny feeling’ and said I don’t want to take the truck up there!
Our campsit at the base of the last climb
Happy Birthday!!
My birthday breakfast
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On top of Mount Sheila
]
On our way back to Tom Price
There was a lovely little one truck
camp site at the base of this climb and there we stayed for 4 nights. We had a view to the east and to the west with hills north and south. We had stunning sunrises and sunsets. On the 1st morning, 30th June, it was my birthday. We relaxed by the fire for most of the day until we decided to walk to the top. Wow, what a climb and what a magic view!
After our third night Chicka said, ‘We’re going up’. All the way I was saying under my breath, ‘Hugo, you can do it, you can do it!’ Of course Chicka had no reservations, he knew what the truck is capable of. Anyway, at the top it was marvelous and we stayed put for another 3 days.
On our second day a Rio Tinto Manager and his family visited and chatted with us for an hour. We were invited to their
home for dinner when we returned to
Tom Price. Another real treat.
Next Blog: The West Coast at last -
Tom Price to
Ningaloo