After a nice break in Karratha, we continued south-west for 550km to Exmouth on North West Cape. Miaree Pool on the Maitland River. Australian reed warblers were active. Low range at Fortescue Roadhouse Turnoff to Pannawonica and Tom Price Robe River has a long and lovely stretch of water Great egret with Little egret feeling … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 25 – NW Coastal Highway

Another morning rest today to recharge the batteries. Charging batteries is usually revolting but we had a great day. The Mulla Mullas are a distinctive natural feature of the Pilbara and street art sculpture in Karratha reflects this. Dampier salt has three solar salt operations at Dampier, Port Hedland and Lake MacLeod near Carnarvon. It … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 24 – Karratha and Dampier

Millstream Chichester National Park is accessed via Warlu Rd west of Karratha. The road was built and upgraded as it follows the coal train lines for maintenace access. It wsn’t long before we saw our first train of the day. There were many more seen throughout the day before the national park access roads. Sturts … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 23 – Millstream-Chichester National Park

Slower day today with sleep in, washing then a look around the Dampier and Karratha. Red Dog Statue Dampier. Red Dog (c. 1971 – 21 November 1979) was well known for his travels through Western Australia’s vast Pilbara region. Red Dog had a series of owners and lengthy periods travelling on his own, essentially becoming a beloved friend and … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 22 – Red Dog, red rocks

Desert walnuts (Turtujati) Owenia reticulata stands out with its very dark green leaves. We had seen them over the past two days but they were abundant south of Port Hedland. Other species of Owenia are found in rainforest and dryer scrubs on the east coast. Some of the branches have very twisted limbs give the … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 21 – The Road to Karratha (pm)

Port Hedland was named after Swedish-born mariner Peter Hedland who visited the area in 1863 and recommended it as a future port. The local Kariyarra and Nyamal people know the place as Marapikurrinya. The osprey was up early. The early bird gets the worm….sticks. We had seen a number of small flocks of budgerigars. These guys … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 21 – Port Hedland (am)

We pass the salt works with large evaporative ponds on the way out of Port Hedland. Marble Bar is about 200km from Port Hedland inland into the northern Pilbara. We were told it would be hot, no ifs or buts. But along the Great Northern Highway there were buttes. Buttes with Turtle Head near Marble … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 20 – Marble Bar

Today we travelled 420km on the Great Northern Highway to Port Hedland. The title should have read, “Trucks, trucks and more trucks.” Mulla Mullas (Ptilotus sp) outside our room at Tom Price Not far out of Tom Price, we encountered our first very wide load of the day. Luckily, they soon came to a stop … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 19 – Great Northern Highway

The contination of the range behind our accommodation in Tom Price Tassel tops (Ptilotus clementii) – one 0f five Ptilotus species outside our cabin RIP Lookout on the road from Tom Price to Karajini. There are thousands of tributes written on rocks around the carpark to the departed. Pilbara kurrajong Brachychiton acuminatus (centre of photo) … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 18 – Karajini Gorges

The view from behind our cabin of Mount Nameless (yes it is called that locally) although it has had an Indigenous name for thousands of years – Jarndunmunha. No-one asked the Aboriginal people what it was called. There are a lot of Little Corellas in Tom Price town area. Tom Price is the highest town … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 17 – Karajini National Park

Today, we enter the Pilbara with some of Australia’s most stunning ancient natural landscapes dating back 3.5 -4.3 billion years. It has significant national parks along with the iron ore industry, one of the leading contributors to Australia’s economy. Back to Radio Hill Lookout for the daytime view. Spinifex Mount Whaleback Mine has the largest … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 16 – Into the Pilbara

Today a 422km run along the Great Northern Highway. Commercial Hotel (The Commie to locals) at Meeka built in 1907 – our accommodation and dinner venue last night. Meekatharra Hill Lookout Ptilotus on Meekatharra Hill Open cut from the old Meekatharra Gold Mine On the way to Peace Gorge Peace Gorge was named after World … More Way Away in WA 2023 – Day 15 – “Hello… Newman”