OUR BIG TRIP

DAY     118    Sunday    4^th    August

This morning began a little early as we needed to pack up the vans ready to roll from the Black Rock Tourist Park at South Hedland, and then leave them on site to allow us to visit the info centre chasing information with regard to the availability of caravan sites and road conditions at Dales Campground in the Karijini National Park.  This done, and given the all clear on sites and roads, we fuelled up on the return trip to the camp and hooked up and headed off.

After stops for morning tea and lunch in road stops, (WA roads do cater for vehicles to stop at very regular intervals when travelling ) we were met by an on-coming Pilot car pushing us off the road. Off is the word, we were stopped outside the white posts along the roadside.  Along came a single truck with an extra wide trailer carrying a building for some sort of electrical works.  This gone by we continued to Dales campground and set up the vans without power or water for two nights.  Happy hour followed and some tea before a very dark night and bed.

DAY     119    Monday    5^th   August

After a sleep in and breakfast we headed west in the cars approx’ 50Km from Dales camp complete with picnic lunch and thermos to Weano recreation area which has an abundance of walks to all sorts of Gorges, Pools, and Lookouts which we managed to see most of before eating lunch at the Karijini ECO Retreat, another camp ground in the National Park.

Lunch finished, and a gas bottle refilled, we began the return journey back to Dales, stopping at Knox Gorge, Joffre Gorge and Kalamina Gorge along the way.  All these gorges were superb and all very different in their own ways.  It was a great days entertainment.  We are to look into two more gorge displays tomorrow, one is Circular Pool and on the way out of the camp when we are packed up, is Fortescue Gorge.  These promise to be very good also.

Happy hour was held as normal at the Clarks van and tea before bed.  

DAY     120       Tuesday     6^th     August

Early start and breakfast as reported yesterday to go see the Circular Pool and Fortescue Falls. Bruce had a swim in his underwear, and was late leaving the area as Virginia and he walked back to the car park at the top of the falls. Hales and Kollmorgens had a cuppa there before leaving and headed for Tom Price We had an uneventful trip apart from two wide loads which stopped us at a T intersection and then had us all the way off the road.  First convoy was 2 huge mine trucks and then later a two truck rig with a very big Dozer aboard.

Booked into the Tom Price Tourist Park and set up vans and had lunch.  Clarks arrived about an hour later and set up before we all went to the Info centre to ask about mine tours and road conditions to the west.  We were able to book a mine tour for Wednesday morning at 11.00am. Just a little top up shopping before driving up a very rough road to the top of Mount Nameless for a breathtaking camera snapping view of the entire area including the mines and town and all over.  There were two viewing areas, one I think was the legit lookout while the second seemed to be parking lot for the communication antenna base crews.   On the return trip we went exploring and found the greenest lake we had ever seen.  The rest of the park was so well kept we were at ends to know why the lake was so bad.  I guess somebody knows ?

Back to the camp for happy hour and tea and bed.