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gemfyre19/3/2011
My plans for this trip have been pretty maleable, never really more so than today.
I slept in two sections, a bit in the middle there I woke and was kept up by the rowdy happenings at the tavern over the road. They were playing decent music (Doobie Brothers and Eric Clapton among other things), but really, it was nearing 3am and I could hear it clear as a bell!
I got on the road by 10 to 8, the plan for the day was to do Millstream, travel out along the Millstream-Pannawonica road through Pannawonica and most likely to Onslow, possibly Nanutarra Roadhouse. I was running low on fuel, and had learned that Pannawonica would only be open for fuel until 1pm, my likelihood of getting there by then was slim. If I could fill up in Karratha, with my jerrycan I'd probably make it to my nightly stop though. The woman at the caravan park told me about a service station on the main road just before the turnoff – even better, I wouldn't even have to detour into Karratha for fuel. My car ran on the smell of an oily rag to get there, but it made it, I didn't even notice the fuel light go on, although the gauge cleared showed EMPTY.
The first stop in was Python Pool. To get there you need to traverse a bit of gravel and a winding, bitumen road. The road is narrow and you want to pay attention, lest you end up over the side and in a flaming pile of car wreckage on the spinefex. This is really hard because they have plonked this road among some of the most amazing scenery you will ever see. At one point I honestly thought to myself, “There are not enough superlatives to describe this scenery!” And as usual the photos are woefully inadequate. It did seem appropriate that I was listening to the Watchmen Soundtrack, and the scenery was accompanied by songs like Hallelujah and Ride of the Valkyries.
Python Pool is a “permanent plunge pool” at the bottom of a cliff in the Chichester Ranges. The pamphlet says to “follow the dry creek bed...” The creek bed wasn't dry today, it was a briskly babbling brook. Nevertheless I navigated my way to the pool to take a dip. I heard an unusual call in the trees and responded in kind until the bird fluttered out from cover – a Red-browed Pardalote. I have these as a “half-tick” from Gravel Pit in Broome, but this time I heard the distinct call and saw the red eyebrow. Full tick for me!
The water was beautiful, slightly cooler than the beaches. I didn't stay in long though because the fish kept nipping me! I took lots of photos of the fish, there were hundreds of them, and they seemed to be very curious about the large mammal swimming in their water.
I checked out the nearby Snake Creek campgrounds before backtracking. As I neared Python Pool again I saw an interesting looking bird, did a double take. That was a Spinefex Pigeon! I stopped and hunted around, flushing the bird and some its friends, getting a great view of two pigeons perched on a rock. These birds are the precise russet shade of the surrounding rocks and dirt. Perfect camouflage. Their tendency for sitting on roadsides makes them visible though, I saw many more before the day was out. That made me very happy.
The bitumen roads may be perilously scenic, but the gravel roads have a surprise of their own. They are wide, well kept roads, corrugated to hell and back, but that will happen to any dirt road that gets lots of traffic. Some floodways had a bit of water over them, or washouts, but again, they were signposted and when taken slowly were no problem. The issue was the ruts that sometimes appeared across the road. These seemed to jump out of nowhere while you're happily going at 70-80 down the road. There's not enough time to brake fully by the time you notice them so you just have to grit your teeth and hope your tyres and shockers hold out. Often you think you see one coming up, so you slow down only to find that it's nothing. It's the ones you don't see that are the nastiest.
Next up was Crossing Pool. There were a few people camping here. Not a bad little campground, with BBQs and hotplates provided as well as pit toilets. Some kids were swimming in the river, but I decided not to, it was very churned up and silty due to the recent floods and I didn't like the idea of swimming where I couldn't see the bottom. By this stage I figured I had 2 more hours available to explore Millstream, then I'd have to get moving and would make Onslow in good time. I've never been to Onslow before and it's been on and off my itinerary multiple times since I started this trip.
As I drove to the next section I crossed the Fortescue River. Just a few streams remained crossing the road, but the evidence of the recent flood was apparent. Barley a week earlier this floodway was impassable.
I drove around to Deep Reach Pool, where they are doing a lot of work jazzing up the place. The flooding damage was clear here too, as it was everywhere. Again, the river was way too silty for a swim. I figured I'd be back in the ocean (or at least a pool) soon enough though.
As I neared the Old Homestead, which has been converted into a vistor's centre, I passed the road out to Pannawonica. It had ROAD CLOSED signs on it. Crap. That really threw my plans for a loop. I would have to head back out the way I'd come in (about 120km down the road) and either stay in Samson again or Karratha or probably make my way to Fortescue Roadhouse if it wasn't too far.
Again, flooding had affected things at the Homestead too. The short walk around the famous pools, filled with lilypads and lined with palms was damaged (partial flooding and a bridge out), so I was only able to walk some of it. Many of the date palms have been removed (being a feral species, that guzzles water) and I think they have tried to control the lillies, but they are still abundant. Here the water is clear and babbling, but you are not allowed to swim here as it is a sacred site. Some of the pools were so amazingly deep and clear, teeming with fish. After walking as much of the trail as I could and getting views of Red-Backed Kingfisher, Grey Shrike-thrush and Variegated Fairy-wren I figured I'd better head back.
Once I got to the roadhouse I checked to see how far Fortescue was. Only 95km. No problem. Off I went. At 5:30 I pulled into the roadhouse and wandered in to book a campsite. The guy there told me, “Oh you can't have a campsite here.” At first I thought he was joking but no, as of this year Fortescue Roadhouse no longer has a campground/caravan park. All the maps and signs still say they do. Even the parking area beside the river has a large signing saying "No camping! Camping is available at the caravan park at the roadhouse" (which is about 100m up the road). I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I was good and ready to set up for the evening, and wind down before getting some sleep. Now I had to either drive 200km to Onslow or 160 to Nanutarra. Either way I would be driving at kangaroo o'clock and arriving after dark. After loudly expressing my dismay, and paying for a tank of the most expensive petrol yet I headed off again.
It was actually quite lovely, driving at sundown. The sunset was very pretty and the light was low enough that I could take my sunnies off (the spare pair, which give the world a yellowish tinge) and I was feeling quite awake and refreshed again, despite being worried about running into an errant roo or cow.
Just after 7pm I pulled into Nanutarra. Camping here is a measly $10, the cheapest yet. I'm on grass and the showers and toilets are nearby. The highway is not far away and road trains rumble along it every so often, and there is a generator running nearby (hopefully it gets turned off a bit later), but it will certainly do. There is no camp kitchen, the only downfall. I spent $20 on a burger and chips. The burger was pretty nice though. And despite the rumours of $2/L fuel here, it's actually cheaper than Fortescue!
It's not 9:30 and I am pooched. Time for a shower then sleep. Tomorrow I travel into uncharted territory – Exmouth! I wonder how many days I'll be distracted in that area. :)
19/3/2011 (Point Samson, Millstream-Chichester National Park, Python Pool, Snake Creek, Crossing Pool, Deep Reach Pool, Homestead and pool, Fortescue River Bridge, Nanutarra)
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-faced Woodswallow
Budgerigar
Caspian Tern
Clamorous Reed-warbler (H)
Cockatiel
Crested Pigeon
Fairy or Tree Martin
Galah
Grey Shrike-thrush
Grey-crowned Babbler (H)
Little Button-quail
Little Corella
Little Eagle
Little Egret
Magpie Lark
Mistletoebird (H)
Nankeen Kestrel
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Oystercatcher (H)
Rainbow Bee-eater
Red-backed Kingfisher
Red-browed Pardalote
Rock Dove
Silver Gull
Singing Bushlark (H)
Spinefex Pigeon
Torresian Crow
Variegated Fairy-wren
Weebill (H)
Whistling Kite
White-breasted Woodswallow
White-plumed Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-throated Miner
Zebra Finch
For more photos of distracting scenery go here.
My plans for this trip have been pretty maleable, never really more so than today.
I slept in two sections, a bit in the middle there I woke and was kept up by the rowdy happenings at the tavern over the road. They were playing decent music (Doobie Brothers and Eric Clapton among other things), but really, it was nearing 3am and I could hear it clear as a bell!
I got on the road by 10 to 8, the plan for the day was to do Millstream, travel out along the Millstream-Pannawonica road through Pannawonica and most likely to Onslow, possibly Nanutarra Roadhouse. I was running low on fuel, and had learned that Pannawonica would only be open for fuel until 1pm, my likelihood of getting there by then was slim. If I could fill up in Karratha, with my jerrycan I'd probably make it to my nightly stop though. The woman at the caravan park told me about a service station on the main road just before the turnoff – even better, I wouldn't even have to detour into Karratha for fuel. My car ran on the smell of an oily rag to get there, but it made it, I didn't even notice the fuel light go on, although the gauge cleared showed EMPTY.
The first stop in was Python Pool. To get there you need to traverse a bit of gravel and a winding, bitumen road. The road is narrow and you want to pay attention, lest you end up over the side and in a flaming pile of car wreckage on the spinefex. This is really hard because they have plonked this road among some of the most amazing scenery you will ever see. At one point I honestly thought to myself, “There are not enough superlatives to describe this scenery!” And as usual the photos are woefully inadequate. It did seem appropriate that I was listening to the Watchmen Soundtrack, and the scenery was accompanied by songs like Hallelujah and Ride of the Valkyries.
 |
Millstream-Chichester National Park View from the road. Terribly distracting. |
Python Pool is a “permanent plunge pool” at the bottom of a cliff in the Chichester Ranges. The pamphlet says to “follow the dry creek bed...” The creek bed wasn't dry today, it was a briskly babbling brook. Nevertheless I navigated my way to the pool to take a dip. I heard an unusual call in the trees and responded in kind until the bird fluttered out from cover – a Red-browed Pardalote. I have these as a “half-tick” from Gravel Pit in Broome, but this time I heard the distinct call and saw the red eyebrow. Full tick for me!
 |
Millstream-Chichester National Park Python Pool. The brochures say "Wander down the dry creek bed to Python Pool". It wasn't dry this time! |
The water was beautiful, slightly cooler than the beaches. I didn't stay in long though because the fish kept nipping me! I took lots of photos of the fish, there were hundreds of them, and they seemed to be very curious about the large mammal swimming in their water.
| Millstream-Chichester National Park Python Pool waterfall. |
 |
I checked out the nearby Snake Creek campgrounds before backtracking. As I neared Python Pool again I saw an interesting looking bird, did a double take. That was a Spinefex Pigeon! I stopped and hunted around, flushing the bird and some its friends, getting a great view of two pigeons perched on a rock. These birds are the precise russet shade of the surrounding rocks and dirt. Perfect camouflage. Their tendency for sitting on roadsides makes them visible though, I saw many more before the day was out. That made me very happy.
The bitumen roads may be perilously scenic, but the gravel roads have a surprise of their own. They are wide, well kept roads, corrugated to hell and back, but that will happen to any dirt road that gets lots of traffic. Some floodways had a bit of water over them, or washouts, but again, they were signposted and when taken slowly were no problem. The issue was the ruts that sometimes appeared across the road. These seemed to jump out of nowhere while you're happily going at 70-80 down the road. There's not enough time to brake fully by the time you notice them so you just have to grit your teeth and hope your tyres and shockers hold out. Often you think you see one coming up, so you slow down only to find that it's nothing. It's the ones you don't see that are the nastiest.
Next up was Crossing Pool. There were a few people camping here. Not a bad little campground, with BBQs and hotplates provided as well as pit toilets. Some kids were swimming in the river, but I decided not to, it was very churned up and silty due to the recent floods and I didn't like the idea of swimming where I couldn't see the bottom. By this stage I figured I had 2 more hours available to explore Millstream, then I'd have to get moving and would make Onslow in good time. I've never been to Onslow before and it's been on and off my itinerary multiple times since I started this trip.
 |
Millstream-Chichester National Park Crossing Pool. I figured I would take a dip here until I actually saw it. The Fortescue River recently flooded - until a few days earlier this whole area was closed to traffic and some of the road was still suffering bad flood damage. |
As I drove to the next section I crossed the Fortescue River. Just a few streams remained crossing the road, but the evidence of the recent flood was apparent. Barley a week earlier this floodway was impassable.
| Millstream-Chichester National Park Fortescue river floodway. This floodway is about a km long. |
 |
I drove around to Deep Reach Pool, where they are doing a lot of work jazzing up the place. The flooding damage was clear here too, as it was everywhere. Again, the river was way too silty for a swim. I figured I'd be back in the ocean (or at least a pool) soon enough though.
 |
Millstream-Chichester National Park Deep Reach Pool. In the same condition as Crossing Pool, so I didn't take a swim. |
As I neared the Old Homestead, which has been converted into a vistor's centre, I passed the road out to Pannawonica. It had ROAD CLOSED signs on it. Crap. That really threw my plans for a loop. I would have to head back out the way I'd come in (about 120km down the road) and either stay in Samson again or Karratha or probably make my way to Fortescue Roadhouse if it wasn't too far.
 |
|
| Millstream-Chichester National Park The old homestead at Millstream, which is now a visitor's centre. |
Again, flooding had affected things at the Homestead too. The short walk around the famous pools, filled with lilypads and lined with palms was damaged (partial flooding and a bridge out), so I was only able to walk some of it. Many of the date palms have been removed (being a feral species, that guzzles water) and I think they have tried to control the lillies, but they are still abundant. Here the water is clear and babbling, but you are not allowed to swim here as it is a sacred site. Some of the pools were so amazingly deep and clear, teeming with fish. After walking as much of the trail as I could and getting views of Red-Backed Kingfisher, Grey Shrike-thrush and Variegated Fairy-wren I figured I'd better head back.
| Millstream-Chichester National Park The pool near the Millstream Homestead is spring fed (no swimming, this is a sacred site). The pools here were crystal clear and babbling and just beautiful to look at. |
 |
Once I got to the roadhouse I checked to see how far Fortescue was. Only 95km. No problem. Off I went. At 5:30 I pulled into the roadhouse and wandered in to book a campsite. The guy there told me, “Oh you can't have a campsite here.” At first I thought he was joking but no, as of this year Fortescue Roadhouse no longer has a campground/caravan park. All the maps and signs still say they do. Even the parking area beside the river has a large signing saying "No camping! Camping is available at the caravan park at the roadhouse" (which is about 100m up the road). I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I was good and ready to set up for the evening, and wind down before getting some sleep. Now I had to either drive 200km to Onslow or 160 to Nanutarra. Either way I would be driving at kangaroo o'clock and arriving after dark. After loudly expressing my dismay, and paying for a tank of the most expensive petrol yet I headed off again.
 |
Fortescue Bridge This is right near where I was intending to camp for the night - Fortescue Roadhouse. But it turns out that they closed their caravan park down a few months previous. No signs or maps or brochures or info online indicates this fact yet. |
It was actually quite lovely, driving at sundown. The sunset was very pretty and the light was low enough that I could take my sunnies off (the spare pair, which give the world a yellowish tinge) and I was feeling quite awake and refreshed again, despite being worried about running into an errant roo or cow.
Just after 7pm I pulled into Nanutarra. Camping here is a measly $10, the cheapest yet. I'm on grass and the showers and toilets are nearby. The highway is not far away and road trains rumble along it every so often, and there is a generator running nearby (hopefully it gets turned off a bit later), but it will certainly do. There is no camp kitchen, the only downfall. I spent $20 on a burger and chips. The burger was pretty nice though. And despite the rumours of $2/L fuel here, it's actually cheaper than Fortescue!
It's not 9:30 and I am pooched. Time for a shower then sleep. Tomorrow I travel into uncharted territory – Exmouth! I wonder how many days I'll be distracted in that area. :)
19/3/2011 (Point Samson, Millstream-Chichester National Park, Python Pool, Snake Creek, Crossing Pool, Deep Reach Pool, Homestead and pool, Fortescue River Bridge, Nanutarra)
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-faced Woodswallow
Budgerigar
Caspian Tern
Clamorous Reed-warbler (H)
Cockatiel
Crested Pigeon
Fairy or Tree Martin
Galah
Grey Shrike-thrush
Grey-crowned Babbler (H)
Little Button-quail
Little Corella
Little Eagle
Little Egret
Magpie Lark
Mistletoebird (H)
Nankeen Kestrel
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Oystercatcher (H)
Rainbow Bee-eater
Red-backed Kingfisher
Red-browed Pardalote
Rock Dove
Silver Gull
Singing Bushlark (H)
Spinefex Pigeon
Torresian Crow
Variegated Fairy-wren
Weebill (H)
Whistling Kite
White-breasted Woodswallow
White-plumed Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-throated Miner
Zebra Finch
For more photos of distracting scenery go here.
