Port Hedland to Carnarvon

We have covered a lot of ground since my last post but wifi has been very scarce.  So this will be a brief synopsis but, hopefully, the photos will give an idea of the glorious sights we have seen.
The drive from Port Hedland to Karajini National Park was very scenic, some beautiful Pilbara hills, particularly East Munjina Gorge, and this is where the flowers began in earnest. Purple Mulla Mulla , acres and acres of it and , then, Sturt Desert Peas in their lovely reds. Lots of other varieties in yellows, whites, pinks, blues.
Dales Gorge Campground in Karajini is so well thought out and very well run.  We had an excellent camp spot with plenty of shrubs etc. between us and our neighbours.  Karajini is looking magnificent after a heap of rain (10 inches) earlier in the season.  The spinifex is green and the trees, snappy gums with stark white trunks, bloodwoods, on the hillsides, and all the other plants looking so healthy.  More flowers everywhere.  Over the days we were in Karajini we visited all the gorges and they are beyond spectacular.  The scary amazing depths and sheer walls and dramatic reds of the gorge walls. Karajini is surely the jewel of WA. We walked and gasped and felt privileged to see such awesome sights.
From Karajini we spent a night in Tom Price where we were lucky to coincide with their annual festival.  Had an interesting time in a simulator of an engine driver's cabin for an ore train.  A local young lady also gave me directions to find some wildflowers.  Found them and they were smothering a local hillside just on the edge of town.
From Tom Price we took the dirt road up to Hamersley Gorge then onto Mt. Florance for the night.  Hamersley Gorge is an amazing place.  The forces of nature millions of years ago have created this gorge with twisted folded bands of rock and amazing colours.  Mt. Florance Station was a little gem.  Grass! and lots water, so flushing loo and hot shower in a bush shed.  Also a fire pit which we made good use of and sat around with the only other couple there enjoying a chat and the star show.  A lovely interlude.  The drive today was notable for even more flowers and the good surface of the road even though very dusty.  No dust in the van!
Mt. Florance to Millstream/Chichester NP was  more of the same except for even more Sturt Desert Peas.  Millstream was hot and dry and we only spent one night there as it paled into insignificance after Karajini.  But the drive out past Python Pool through a range of Pilbara hills with great views was rather special.
We spent a couple of days at Point Sampson cleaning up and revisiting the area.  The historic towns of Cossack, and Roebourne, and drove down to Karratha and Dampier for a day.  Karratha has developed enormously and is now a modern little city with multi story buildings etc. etc.  Visited the North West Shelf visitor centre in Dampier and spent several hours learning all about the gas being produced.  Such a huge venture.  Mind blowing.  Also found our way to Deep Gorge and picked our way up the rough track between the tumbled rock hills to find ancient aboriginal petroglyphs. Successfully, thanks to Bill's sharp eyes.
Bullara Station came next and another gem of a place to stay.  Quirky open air amenities.  Walls but no roof.  A lovely feeling showering in the open air.  Damper and socialising every evening at 5pm.  From here drove to Coral Bay for a swim and up to Exmouth to organise a few days in the Cape Range NP.  Also did several drives and walks around the station..  Recommend a stay here for friendliness and relaxation.
Then another very special camp at Osprey Bay in the Cape Range NP.  So well done and our site was on the cliff top overlooking the glorious ocean in its colours of deepest turquoises and blues with blinding white beaches.  Unbelievably beautiful area..  Swam at Turquoise Bay with large fish all around us.  A must see place.
So much more I could say but here are a few photos.

Mulla Mulla, Karajini NP

Kalamina Gorge, Karajini

Circular pool, Karajini

Dales Gorge, Fern Pool and Fortescue falls

Reflections

More gorge views

Where three gorges meet

It is a long way down!

Joffre Gorge. Note the walkers climbing down the cliff.  Too steep for me.

Knox Gorge.  Really really scary and deep from the lookout perched out over the drop

Flower pics

 Ashburton peas

Ashburton peas

Pilbara Hill.  Red rock and green spinifex

East Munjina gorge view

Hamersley Gorge showing twisted rock forms

More Hamersley

Hamersley

Sturt Desert Pea

Pilbara Hill, the Nipple

600 million year old tumbled rock hill. Made by nature, not man.

Honeymoon Bay, Point Sampson

Aboriginal Petroglygh, many thousands of years old. Spot the fish

 Sunset Bullara Statiion

More Sturt Peas, red centred variety

Turquoise Bay, Cape Range NP, Ningaloo Reef

Yardie Creek Gorge, Cape Range NP

Our van at Osprey Bay, Cape Range NP

Wyndham to Port Hedland 3.8.15

We have moved from Wyndham to Port Hedland via Halls Creek, Mary Pool, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome, Barn Hill, 80 Mile Beach, then Port Hedland.  The weather has remained fine and hot and the travelling has been uneventful.  At Fitzroy Crossing we did a tour by boat up Geikie Gorge which was formed during the Devonian period and was originally a coral reef about 350 million years ago. Broome we really enjoyed as we, by sheer chance, coincided with the phenomenon The Staircase to the Moon. So along with hundreds of other people we lined up in the gardens of the Mangrove Resort to watch the moon rise over the mud flats and the moonlight form steps across to us.  Really quite a sight.  Also had the Toyota in for its 80,000 km service.  Met up again with Ken and Mandy.  Visited the Bird Park and the Mango Farm and the Broome Bird Observatory.  Watched volunteers banding waders and was able to have a close look at Great Knots, Curlew sandpipers, and Ruddy Turnstones.  Did lots of swimming in the pool at the caravan park.  Barn Hill was another piece of good timing as on Sundays it is roast night.  How they managed to feed a couple of hundred people 3 courses quickly with no fuss I do not know.  Practice, I guess.  The beach and cliff scenery here is quite remarkable, deep red cliffs worn into fantastic shapes, a wide beach and the deepest aquamarine sea.  80 Mile Beach is just that.  A wide beach smothered in shells and backed by sand hills that stretches away forever.  Arriving in Port Hedland today we saw an ore train which must have been more than a kilometre long  This definitely is  a working town. and ore carriers are lined up out sea waiting to come in to be filled up from the ore stockpiles.  There are also mountains of blinding white salt waiting to be processed by industry.

Geikie Gorge

Geikie Gorge

Geikie Gorge

Cable Beach Broome

A Kimberley red sand track

Roebuck Bay, Broome, near the Bird Observatory

Barn Hill cliffs

Barn Hill

Barn Hill

Barn Hill

Sunset 80 Mile Beach

Ore Carrier, Port Hedland

A working wharf, Port Hedland

80 Mile Beach

Barn Hill Cliff

Wyndham Caravan trip 24.7.15

Wyndham is about as far away from Melbourne as it is possible to get. The caravan park is just about the biggest commercial enterprise in town, apart from the port, and is very well run and because it has been here a long time and has, fortunately, lots of shade trees. 35 deg today.  Also has modern amenities blocks.  Surprisingly large number of people here.  Our main purpose in coming here was the reputation for having Gouldian Finches in and near the park and in the township.  However, because of the unusually dry wet season all the waterholes have dried up and the finches have disappeared. The lovely proprietess gave us as much information as she could and we followed her instructions to no avail.  But, I happened to be speaking to a young woman (not a bird watcher!!!) who informed that she had seen some that morning when with a friend (birdwatcher).  Got the details and next morning we were up before sunrise and driving down to Parry Farm. Waited for an hour after sunrise, in company with others who had heard the news, beside the end of the almost dry lagoon and eventually a large flock of Gouldians suddenly appeared.  Hooray!!!  Mostly juveniles, which is a good omen for the future, and enough well coloured adults, black and red headed.  100/150 birds at a guess.  So, a tick on the bucket list after years of searching.
Today we drove a long way down a dirt track (wheel tracks) to find a dam in the middle of an arid grassland.  Located it and it was a real hot spot for thirsty birds (but no Gouldians while we were there).Lots of long tailed, masked, double barred and zebra finches and many other species. On our return to Wyndham had a really nice lunch at the Rusty Shed Cafe.  Barra burgers, mango smoothies, and carrot cake. All goods  made on the premises.  Really hot for the first time on the trip today. We also did a trip along the King River to see the prison tree, which is an ancient Boab with a hollow centre.  Vast in size.  The police in the early days kept prisoner in it overnight.  Wouldn't have been too bad as it was quite cool inside the tree.

Dream time statues in Wyndham townsship

Don't know what this is but it is a large and lovely insect outside the van

Information re the Boab tree in the Wyndham caravan park

The Boab in the van park. Several hundred years old

The prison tree, even larger and older.

Bill sitting in "doorway" to the hollow interior of the prison tree. Police kept prisoners in here over night. Nice and cool inside.

Rock wallaby sitting on the edge of a sheer cliff at the 5 River's Lookout high above Wyndham where we went to watch the sunset.

Darwin to Kununurra

The flight back to Darwin was better than the flight to Sydney but not by much.  On the way back to Litchfield to collect the caravan we did a shop at Coolalinga.  First stop on the way to Kununurra was Timber Creek, then Keep River National Park, then Lake Argyle.  Along the way we passed through some very pleasant scenery, much more interesting than the Stuart Highway.  Imposing red cliffs and rivers and nice looking pastoral country. Keep River NP is very scenic with a gepology similar to the Bungle Bungles with beehive type rock stacks, gorges, grasslands etc.  We spent 3 nights here and made valiant attempts to locate Gouldian finches.  Not to be found though.  Up at dawn and staking out waterholes recommended to us by the ranger.  Did some very picturesque walks.  On one of these walks we ran into our daughter in law's uncle and his partner, Ken and Mandy.  Amazing coincidence as we could have missed each other by minutes.
Lake Argyle CP  turned out to be a real gem.  Spacious, clean, well run with a restaurant and a great pool as well as sweeping lawns and views of the lake.  We did the lunch time cruise on the lake and it was well worth it.  Delicious lunch, lots of information and very relaxing.  Lake Argyle has a surface area of 1,000 kms, 900 kms of shoreline and is 18 times larger than Sydney harbour. The figures on the vast quantities of water were mind blowing particularly in the wet season..  Now in Kununurra and heading for Wyndham tomorrow for a last ditch attempt to see Gouldians