A boab tree nut, about the size of a kids fist. Aboriginals carve patterns into the shells for tourists.
The new truck. Intrepid, Kimberly Wild, Western Etreme....
Sandfire Roundhouse.
The road to the beach.
Eighty Mile Beach
The working area of Pardoo Station.
The new truck. Intrepid, Kimberly Wild, Western Etreme....
Sandfire Roundhouse.
The road to the beach.
Eighty Mile Beach
Pardoo Station.
Corelas waiting to feed off the cattle's feed.The working area of Pardoo Station.
Local beverage.
Wednesday,
September 21st
This
morning was departure day. We got up by 6 and Gudrun and I shared
some bananas, mandarins, yogurt and granola bars that we bought
yesterday. Damien arrived by 8 with 10 new people and the new truck.
We have exchanged vehicles with the trip that came north from Perth
because we don't require all the swags and tents and the big truck is
needed for the Gibb River Road. The new people are:
Victoria
52 and John 56 from Sydney
Elizabeth
67 from Australia
Sandra
65 from Brisbane
Sue
64 from Brisbane
Kathleen
24 from Sydney
Chelsea
23 from New York
Nina
34 from Germany
Sheena
33 from Edmonton
Kelly
22 from Manchester
and
Amber 23 from London, who just completed a work stint with Kimberley
Wild as an assistant tour guide and was in fact the young lady who
sang so beautifully at Cathedral Gorge.
We
drove across town to a coffee shop where everyone had their cup of
java and then we left town. We only got about 100k before people
needed a pit stop. The bush was the only option. The scenery out here
is pretty boring and consists of miles of flat land covered with
scrub and bush. About a half hour further down the road we stopped at
a proper rest station which had toilets. We drove another couple of
hours to the Sandfire Roadhouse where we had our usual sandwich
picnic lunch. With this trip there is less work to do with setting up
camp, so Damien divided us up into three groups, each of which will
take care of a meal.
While lunch was being organized at one of the roadhouses, there were three Harley road bikes, three riders and one woman. I got talking to them. It was hot and they were wearing big heavy black clothes and leathers. I couldn't believe the gear they were wearing in the heat. I talked to them about the heat and they said it was okay once you got going. They were riding from south of Perth up to Darwin and back! I was somewhat envious but when I thought about it I wouldn't want to do that because the distances between things are huge, the roads are very long and dead straight and there is not much to see. So much of what I want to see is off road, on dirt, corrugated roads and you couldn't do that with their bikes. Plus if you had a breakdown or flat you were hours away from any help. We talked about riding and they said they were hoping to do a ride like I did through the States, then they saddled up and rode off.
While lunch was being organized at one of the roadhouses, there were three Harley road bikes, three riders and one woman. I got talking to them. It was hot and they were wearing big heavy black clothes and leathers. I couldn't believe the gear they were wearing in the heat. I talked to them about the heat and they said it was okay once you got going. They were riding from south of Perth up to Darwin and back! I was somewhat envious but when I thought about it I wouldn't want to do that because the distances between things are huge, the roads are very long and dead straight and there is not much to see. So much of what I want to see is off road, on dirt, corrugated roads and you couldn't do that with their bikes. Plus if you had a breakdown or flat you were hours away from any help. We talked about riding and they said they were hoping to do a ride like I did through the States, then they saddled up and rode off.
We continued our drive into the Pilbara region of WA. We drove another hour south before turning off onto a dirt road for 10
km which took us to Eighty Mile Beach. It was a beautiful white sandy
beach but, unfortunately we were advised not to swim there as there
was the potential for sharks and stingers. There was a campground
there but everyone was fishing. I would be so disappointed to camp
beside this beautiful beach and not to be able to get in the water.
We stayed a half hour and then drove back to the highway and
continued for an hour until we got to Pardoo Station. We arrived
around 4 pm after about 8 hours of driving. This is a 500 000 acre
cattle station with 7000 cattle destined for export. We have little
rooms with twin beds and because I am the odd man out I get my own
room again!
I
wandered around the station taking photos of the buildings, cattle
and birds before buying a six pack of beer from the canteen and
having one.
My
team was on dinner duty and we cooked up a stirfry. At dinner Damien
informed us that we are getting a new truck tomorrow morning as the
air con is malfunctioning on our truck. We sat around talking after
dinner getting to know the new members of the group.
No comments:
Post a Comment