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gemfyre18/3/2011
I was on the road from Port Hedland by 10 to 8. “Kate” told me that I was scheduled to get Point Samson by a bit after 10am. It really isn't that far.
Poor Kate must be so confused. Seems her maps of Port Hedland don't match the roads that are there now. In Cossack she kept showing me roads that just didn't exist (maybe they did in Cossack's heyday?) Anyway.
It was good to reach the Newman turnoff and leave the big road trains behind, turns out I would not be leaving endless mining vehicles and blokes in high-vis behind though. I don't think I could work on the mines, simply because I'd die having to wear long sleeves, pants and boots all day long.
Heading south to Roebourne oddly reminded me of travelling south in the Harvey area or roundabouts there. Fenced areas of low grassland, very few trees. This was interspersed with river crossings – most with plenty of water in them, lined with white snappy gums, beautiful. The Chichester Ranges loomed ahead and eventually the highway led through a pass to Whim Creek. Near the pass, on barely a bend in the road was a recently overturned car. I could tell it was recent because there were books and things strewn over the ceiling. No idea how the driver could have managed THAT.
Now, seeing as it was so early, and the turnoff was about 30km before I got to Roebourne, I was seriously considering doing Millstream today as a day trip, then heading back out to Point Samson to stay and then heading down the coastal highway. I figured I'd ask at Whim Creek about road conditions and maybe top up my fuel (I had only used quarter of a tank since Hedland, but I wanted plenty to do Millstream and back).
Turns out there is NOTHING at Whim Creek. Well, there is a pub and a motel, but it wasn't open. No fuel. Hrm. I moved on.
It didn't take long before I decided it was best to just go into Roebourne and then just head back out to the turnoff if that's what I decided to do. The clouds were clearing overhead and it was lovely to see sunshine and blue sky again! Once I got to Roebourne I did a quick weather check online and discovered that the forecast for the area was hot and a bit humid, but no rain (there were still storm looking clouds on the horizon, but apparently they were heading east).
So I pulled into Roebourne museum/visitor's centre to check things out. All of Millstream is now accessible! Great news. I enquired about accommodation options in Pannawonica and was informed that unless I was camping, I had pretty much no chance. Camping space was freely available at Millstream (but no showers, and I really do love a shower at the end of the day), and I later found out that Nanutarra has dongas if I'm desperate (no idea if they'll actually have any free though). I also found out that the road I intended to take is not the main, sealed road into Millstream (on my maps it implied that this main road was actually a mining road, with a permit required to drive it). That road was a little further south, so I wouldn't have to drive back the way I came to the turnoff. It didn't take long to come a decision, I would explore this area today and do Millstream tomorrow and end up in Millstream or Pannawonica or Nanutarra or even possibly Onslow depending on weather, miles covered, availability etc.
I took a quick look around the old Roebourne Gaol museum before heading off to Dampier. The plan was to go out there first then work my way back, getting lunch in either Dampier or Karratha.
Well, Dampier and Karratha are pretty much just big, scary, kinda boring mining towns now. I checked out the shopping centre in Karratha (pretty much like any Centro shopping centre in Australia), bought some fruit and finally found a sushi place across the road which did me for lunch.
Oh yes, between Dampier and Karratha I went out to the Burrup Peninsula to have a look at the North West Shelf gas project and to check out a place called Withnell Bay – I remember picnicking there once and it was a beautiful little beach. The road into Withnell Bay was very rocky and eventually I came across a tidal creek and decided not to go any further. I never got near the beach. I did find an engraved rock (there are many famous aboriginal engravings on rocks on the Burrup). I'm not entirely sure if the engraving I found was thousands of years old or only as old a few decades though. The gas project sounded like a jetplane perpetually coming in to land. And they want to build one of these on James Price Point on the Cape Leveque Peninsula north of Broome. I don't really know how I feel about that. Coming out of Burrup Peninsula I was treated to a great sight – 3 Black-necked Storks (Jabirus) soaring overhead.
Time was marching on, so I headed back to the quieter, more historical old towns to the north. First up was Cossack – an old pearling port that was hammered by a cyclone in the late 1800s and completely abandoned by 1940. Port Hedland and Dampier now take the big freight ships in, and Broome became the major pearling area of the state. From the top of the lookout hill I could see that there were waders on the mudflats, so I headed down to the beach to get a closer look. Unfortunately the wind and my tripod aren't a good match, I couldn't get a clear enough view through my shaky scope to identify many of the birds. While trying though, I was serenaded by a Pied Butcherbird in a nearby tree.
Oh the way out to Point Samson I took a quick detour into Wickham and realised it was completely uninteresting.
Point Samson on the other hand is nice. It's small and tourist oriented (although there are still workers everywhere, they all need a place to stay, and there are discussions to bring in MORE people from overseas to work the mines, no idea where they're intending to PUT all these people). The woman at Roebourne gave me a few options and prices for accommodation. Both caravan parks at Samson were pricey ($35). She recommended Samson Beach caravan park, only because The Cove was new and not as shady since the trees were still growing. I checked the location of both (pretty much side by side) and decided that yes, I would stay at Samson Beach. I went inside to enquire and the woman there just told me, “Yes it's $37, you want tonight yes? There are these sites available, you can go and have a look first.” I told her that the woman at the visitor centre had quoted me $35, but it didn't seem to matter. It also didn't seem to matter that I was one person with just a swag. So I went out to look at the two sites she mentioned. One was occupied, both were large, concrete sites designed for caravans. The ablution blocks also looked old and shabby and it wasn't THAT shady. I left and went on to the Cove, which looked new and shiny and not too bad despite the lack of big old trees.
The people at the Cove were much more helpful. They knocked off a few dollars because I was just one person with a swag. They explained I could take my pick of the tent sites along the fenceline. I chose the one with the most shade, under a lovely frangipanni and a palm tree – both were small, but they were shading a lot of the site). I immediately took a look at the camp kitchen and ablutions. Very tidy. Unfortunately the camp kitchen didn't have a stove of any kind (only microwaves and an electric frypan – there were BBQs outside). No good for steaming veggies in a pan (I didn't bring suitable dishes for microwaving veggies). Not that it mattered much, I was intending to eat out anyway. The ablutions were tidy, with piped music, which I've become quite fond of (not many caravan parks do it, but I've found a few do). The shower areas are huge with a big shelf for stuff in an area that doesn't look like it will get wet. I'm looking forward to utilising them very soon.
After setting up camp and chatting with Matt for a bit on Skype I got changed into my bathers and went for a swim at Honeymoon Cove. I think this should be renamed Dragonfly Cove. As I walked down there the air everywhere was filled with hundreds of dragonflies! Lucky dragonflies aren't interested in landing on you or biting you, and they have such good eyesight they aren't likely to crash into you, so it was fine to walk among them. Honeymoon Cove is flanked by layered rock formations. I'm not sure of the proper name for it, maybe a geology minded person can help me out? The water was beautiful. Seeing as it the sun was going down, I put my sunnies onto my head, then I floated for a bit on my back. Minutes later I went to put my sunnies back over my eyes as the sun had come out from behind some clouds and found they were gone. They must have fallen off my head while I was floating! Damn! The sunnies were a hand-me-down and for ages I hated them, but I've really grown a liking for them, the way they wrap right around and keep flies out. Seeing as the water was shallow and clear I spent a bit of time looking for them to no avail. I might go back in the morning just in case they have washed up, but I'll have to use my spare pair (horrible yellow-lensed things) until I can find a suitable new pair. This must be the third pair of sunnies I have lost at sea – the other two were due to wave dumpage though, not sedate floating on calm water. Darn and dagnabbit. Walking back to the caravan park though, I was treated to a vista with a near full moon over distant stormclouds, rock formations and the oceans. It kinda made it worth a pair of sunnies.
I took a drive around the town to try and find the famous fish and chipper I had heard about. I was getting a bit despondent, I had driven through most of town and not found anything even resembling a shop, then as I neared the caravan parks again with thoughts on how I would prepare my veggies, I saw a sign that said “restaurant”. Turns out the fish and chip place was below the tavern that I had seen earlier. They do much more than fish and chips, but I ordered a simple small Snappper and chips. Lucky I didn't order a large! Their small is almost the same as a regular serve in Perth. I had planned to take it back to the campsite and eat there, but the storm on the horizon, the moon reflecting on the ocean and Led Zeppelin playing on my car stereo made me stop overlooking the beach. I wound down the windows to let the cool breeze in while I ate fish and chips while watching the lightning. I tried to take a bit of video of it but all you can see is black.
So I'm now back at camp, about to take a shower. The insects are pretty good here, but there are a few mozzies about at night and a few flies during the daylight. Seems the more built up an area is, the less bugs there are. I'm not sure how that works, but it does. The breeze is still blowing and it is very pleasant outside. Hopefully inside the swag is just a nice and I will sleep well tonight.
18/3/2011 (Port Hedland, Whim Creek, Roebourne, Dampier, Burrup Peninsula, Karratha, Cossack, Wickham, Point Samson)
Australian Pipit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-faced Woodswallow
Black-necked Stork
Brahminy Kite
Budgerigar
Cockatiel
Common Greenshank (H)
Corella
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Reef Egret
Galah
Great Egret
Greater Sand Plover
Little Crow
Magpie Lark
Nankeen Kestrel
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Cormorant
Pied Oystercatcher
Rainbow Bee-eater
Rock Dove
Sacred Kingfisher
Silver Gull
Sooty Oystercatcher
Striated Pardalote (H)
Torresian Crow
Tree Martin and/or Fairy Martin
Variegated Fairy-wren (H)
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Welcome Swallow
Whimbrel
Whistling Kite
White-plumed Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow White-eye (H)
Yellow-throated Miner
Zebra Finch
See all of today's photos here.
I was on the road from Port Hedland by 10 to 8. “Kate” told me that I was scheduled to get Point Samson by a bit after 10am. It really isn't that far.
Poor Kate must be so confused. Seems her maps of Port Hedland don't match the roads that are there now. In Cossack she kept showing me roads that just didn't exist (maybe they did in Cossack's heyday?) Anyway.
It was good to reach the Newman turnoff and leave the big road trains behind, turns out I would not be leaving endless mining vehicles and blokes in high-vis behind though. I don't think I could work on the mines, simply because I'd die having to wear long sleeves, pants and boots all day long.
Heading south to Roebourne oddly reminded me of travelling south in the Harvey area or roundabouts there. Fenced areas of low grassland, very few trees. This was interspersed with river crossings – most with plenty of water in them, lined with white snappy gums, beautiful. The Chichester Ranges loomed ahead and eventually the highway led through a pass to Whim Creek. Near the pass, on barely a bend in the road was a recently overturned car. I could tell it was recent because there were books and things strewn over the ceiling. No idea how the driver could have managed THAT.
Now, seeing as it was so early, and the turnoff was about 30km before I got to Roebourne, I was seriously considering doing Millstream today as a day trip, then heading back out to Point Samson to stay and then heading down the coastal highway. I figured I'd ask at Whim Creek about road conditions and maybe top up my fuel (I had only used quarter of a tank since Hedland, but I wanted plenty to do Millstream and back).
Turns out there is NOTHING at Whim Creek. Well, there is a pub and a motel, but it wasn't open. No fuel. Hrm. I moved on.
It didn't take long before I decided it was best to just go into Roebourne and then just head back out to the turnoff if that's what I decided to do. The clouds were clearing overhead and it was lovely to see sunshine and blue sky again! Once I got to Roebourne I did a quick weather check online and discovered that the forecast for the area was hot and a bit humid, but no rain (there were still storm looking clouds on the horizon, but apparently they were heading east).
So I pulled into Roebourne museum/visitor's centre to check things out. All of Millstream is now accessible! Great news. I enquired about accommodation options in Pannawonica and was informed that unless I was camping, I had pretty much no chance. Camping space was freely available at Millstream (but no showers, and I really do love a shower at the end of the day), and I later found out that Nanutarra has dongas if I'm desperate (no idea if they'll actually have any free though). I also found out that the road I intended to take is not the main, sealed road into Millstream (on my maps it implied that this main road was actually a mining road, with a permit required to drive it). That road was a little further south, so I wouldn't have to drive back the way I came to the turnoff. It didn't take long to come a decision, I would explore this area today and do Millstream tomorrow and end up in Millstream or Pannawonica or Nanutarra or even possibly Onslow depending on weather, miles covered, availability etc.
I took a quick look around the old Roebourne Gaol museum before heading off to Dampier. The plan was to go out there first then work my way back, getting lunch in either Dampier or Karratha.
Well, Dampier and Karratha are pretty much just big, scary, kinda boring mining towns now. I checked out the shopping centre in Karratha (pretty much like any Centro shopping centre in Australia), bought some fruit and finally found a sushi place across the road which did me for lunch.
Oh yes, between Dampier and Karratha I went out to the Burrup Peninsula to have a look at the North West Shelf gas project and to check out a place called Withnell Bay – I remember picnicking there once and it was a beautiful little beach. The road into Withnell Bay was very rocky and eventually I came across a tidal creek and decided not to go any further. I never got near the beach. I did find an engraved rock (there are many famous aboriginal engravings on rocks on the Burrup). I'm not entirely sure if the engraving I found was thousands of years old or only as old a few decades though. The gas project sounded like a jetplane perpetually coming in to land. And they want to build one of these on James Price Point on the Cape Leveque Peninsula north of Broome. I don't really know how I feel about that. Coming out of Burrup Peninsula I was treated to a great sight – 3 Black-necked Storks (Jabirus) soaring overhead.
 |
Burrup Peninsula - North West Shelf Project The Heritage listed Burrup Peninsula sits beside this massive gas extraction project. This is what they want to put on James Price Point in the Kimberley. You can see why so many people are up in arms about this. |
| Burrup Peninsula Amazing, you turn around from the gas project and this is what you see. |
 |
Time was marching on, so I headed back to the quieter, more historical old towns to the north. First up was Cossack – an old pearling port that was hammered by a cyclone in the late 1800s and completely abandoned by 1940. Port Hedland and Dampier now take the big freight ships in, and Broome became the major pearling area of the state. From the top of the lookout hill I could see that there were waders on the mudflats, so I headed down to the beach to get a closer look. Unfortunately the wind and my tripod aren't a good match, I couldn't get a clear enough view through my shaky scope to identify many of the birds. While trying though, I was serenaded by a Pied Butcherbird in a nearby tree.
 |
Cossack - Bond Store One of the few buildings to remain standing. What remains has now been restored for the benefit of tourists. |
Oh the way out to Point Samson I took a quick detour into Wickham and realised it was completely uninteresting.
Point Samson on the other hand is nice. It's small and tourist oriented (although there are still workers everywhere, they all need a place to stay, and there are discussions to bring in MORE people from overseas to work the mines, no idea where they're intending to PUT all these people). The woman at Roebourne gave me a few options and prices for accommodation. Both caravan parks at Samson were pricey ($35). She recommended Samson Beach caravan park, only because The Cove was new and not as shady since the trees were still growing. I checked the location of both (pretty much side by side) and decided that yes, I would stay at Samson Beach. I went inside to enquire and the woman there just told me, “Yes it's $37, you want tonight yes? There are these sites available, you can go and have a look first.” I told her that the woman at the visitor centre had quoted me $35, but it didn't seem to matter. It also didn't seem to matter that I was one person with just a swag. So I went out to look at the two sites she mentioned. One was occupied, both were large, concrete sites designed for caravans. The ablution blocks also looked old and shabby and it wasn't THAT shady. I left and went on to the Cove, which looked new and shiny and not too bad despite the lack of big old trees.
The people at the Cove were much more helpful. They knocked off a few dollars because I was just one person with a swag. They explained I could take my pick of the tent sites along the fenceline. I chose the one with the most shade, under a lovely frangipanni and a palm tree – both were small, but they were shading a lot of the site). I immediately took a look at the camp kitchen and ablutions. Very tidy. Unfortunately the camp kitchen didn't have a stove of any kind (only microwaves and an electric frypan – there were BBQs outside). No good for steaming veggies in a pan (I didn't bring suitable dishes for microwaving veggies). Not that it mattered much, I was intending to eat out anyway. The ablutions were tidy, with piped music, which I've become quite fond of (not many caravan parks do it, but I've found a few do). The shower areas are huge with a big shelf for stuff in an area that doesn't look like it will get wet. I'm looking forward to utilising them very soon.
After setting up camp and chatting with Matt for a bit on Skype I got changed into my bathers and went for a swim at Honeymoon Cove. I think this should be renamed Dragonfly Cove. As I walked down there the air everywhere was filled with hundreds of dragonflies! Lucky dragonflies aren't interested in landing on you or biting you, and they have such good eyesight they aren't likely to crash into you, so it was fine to walk among them. Honeymoon Cove is flanked by layered rock formations. I'm not sure of the proper name for it, maybe a geology minded person can help me out? The water was beautiful. Seeing as it the sun was going down, I put my sunnies onto my head, then I floated for a bit on my back. Minutes later I went to put my sunnies back over my eyes as the sun had come out from behind some clouds and found they were gone. They must have fallen off my head while I was floating! Damn! The sunnies were a hand-me-down and for ages I hated them, but I've really grown a liking for them, the way they wrap right around and keep flies out. Seeing as the water was shallow and clear I spent a bit of time looking for them to no avail. I might go back in the morning just in case they have washed up, but I'll have to use my spare pair (horrible yellow-lensed things) until I can find a suitable new pair. This must be the third pair of sunnies I have lost at sea – the other two were due to wave dumpage though, not sedate floating on calm water. Darn and dagnabbit. Walking back to the caravan park though, I was treated to a vista with a near full moon over distant stormclouds, rock formations and the oceans. It kinda made it worth a pair of sunnies.
| Honeymoon Cove Was lovely to take a dip here. The moon was getting full by now, and you can see the high tide mark on the beach. |
 |
I took a drive around the town to try and find the famous fish and chipper I had heard about. I was getting a bit despondent, I had driven through most of town and not found anything even resembling a shop, then as I neared the caravan parks again with thoughts on how I would prepare my veggies, I saw a sign that said “restaurant”. Turns out the fish and chip place was below the tavern that I had seen earlier. They do much more than fish and chips, but I ordered a simple small Snappper and chips. Lucky I didn't order a large! Their small is almost the same as a regular serve in Perth. I had planned to take it back to the campsite and eat there, but the storm on the horizon, the moon reflecting on the ocean and Led Zeppelin playing on my car stereo made me stop overlooking the beach. I wound down the windows to let the cool breeze in while I ate fish and chips while watching the lightning. I tried to take a bit of video of it but all you can see is black.
So I'm now back at camp, about to take a shower. The insects are pretty good here, but there are a few mozzies about at night and a few flies during the daylight. Seems the more built up an area is, the less bugs there are. I'm not sure how that works, but it does. The breeze is still blowing and it is very pleasant outside. Hopefully inside the swag is just a nice and I will sleep well tonight.
18/3/2011 (Port Hedland, Whim Creek, Roebourne, Dampier, Burrup Peninsula, Karratha, Cossack, Wickham, Point Samson)
Australian Pipit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-faced Woodswallow
Black-necked Stork
Brahminy Kite
Budgerigar
Cockatiel
Common Greenshank (H)
Corella
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Reef Egret
Galah
Great Egret
Greater Sand Plover
Little Crow
Magpie Lark
Nankeen Kestrel
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Cormorant
Pied Oystercatcher
Rainbow Bee-eater
Rock Dove
Sacred Kingfisher
Silver Gull
Sooty Oystercatcher
Striated Pardalote (H)
Torresian Crow
Tree Martin and/or Fairy Martin
Variegated Fairy-wren (H)
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Welcome Swallow
Whimbrel
Whistling Kite
White-plumed Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow White-eye (H)
Yellow-throated Miner
Zebra Finch
See all of today's photos here.
