The Pilbara inland

When we were in Karratha we obtained a permit to drive the Pilbara Iron road that follows the railway into the Hamersley Range, to Tom Price. Following our HEMA map faithfully, and having viewed a compulsory video about how to drive safely, we set off on a wonderful stretch of newly bituminised road. After 50 kms we realised we were on a road that was not officially open, so we sought directions from one of the road crew that sent us off on a wonderful adventure into lonely Pilbara country, different again from anything we had seen so far. These roads are owned and maintained solely for Pilbara Iron Co. and Rio Tinto or its offshoots, that send 7 trains a day to the coats, each 2 kms long, carrying 20,000 tonnes of ore. WA is about mining of course, and it comes as no surprise that the amazing Karijini NP was cut in two when the Marandoo mine was established in the late 1990’s, and it and a railway corridor cut through the middle. Some locals are not happy.

The first stop along the mine road was at Millstream-Chichester NP. True to its name, out of the arid and rocky country flows clear and sparkling fresh water, straight from the aquifer that touches the surface at this point. A true oasis exists here, with an interesting pastoral history linked back to Roebourne and Cossack days. Remains of the Chinaman’s garden are still there, with mementos from the last years when it was a working station, in the 1950’s. Streams a metre deep link lily pools full of fish.

When you reach Karijini NP further south, you are straight back into Gorge Mode, with Hamersley Gorge and its folded rock strata on the western doorstep. By this time the WA school holidays were in full swing, and we were competing with the hordes to find a site for the night. Persistence pays off, and not taking any notice of the many signs warning you away, when face to face with park staff we always managed to find a suitable, even well placed camp. Nothing prepared us though, for the sheer gorgeous drama of Weano, Hancock, Joffre and the many other gorges that link to form the centrepiece of this park. 100 metres deep, some of them only 10 metres wide, they take your breath away. You simply have to go there, being prepared to wade and clamber. When combined with some seriously bad signage that had us teetering on one or two wrong cliff edges, the experience was interesting, let’s say! A gentler and beautiful walk the following day was through Dales Gorge via cold pools and waterfalls and vegetation like wild figs, sedges, ferns, kurrajongs and the inevitable spinifex. We finished our sojourn in the park with a brief stop at mining town Tom Price, where we drove to the top of Mt Nameless (the aboriginal people always had a name for it of course – Jarndrunmunha, “place of wallabies”) to get an overview of the mine, and to grab some Next G coverage to call home and catch upon wonderful news about the birth of Ari Morton Holland to Hannah and Nat.