Iron Ore, Salt, Birdlife and Trains.

Lesson for today: A place for everything and everything in its place!

Port Hedland-train carting iron ore - four locomotives and over two hundred wagons. (Andrew insists that there are exactly two hundred and twenty six wagons on this train.)

Great place to visit if you are into iron ore mining, salt mining and trains. We're off to meet the locals this morning, top up the larder once more and do a bit of sightseeing before we head north on our trek to Broome. Our destination for tonight: Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park.

Rio Tinto Minerals - world's largest exporter of salt.

This morning we're having breakfast with the birds at Port Hedland.

It's a bit windy today but not too bad.

The use of steel/iron in Port Hedland is reinforced in this garden sculpture.

We pulled into Port Hedland yesterday afternoon and left our run to the caravan park a bit late. No campsites remaining so had to pay a little bit more and settle for a camper van site.

On Thursday night we spent our second night at Karijini NP but this time at the Dales Campground which is run by a different entity to the Savannah Campground. Much better signposted too!

The two campsites are separated by the most corrugated red road we've driven on yet...thirty kilometres of it! Joy.

Both Honey and I had a bad night's sleep. The weather in Karijini is quite cool but the sun still streams down – the cooling wind deceived us both and we must have been so dehydrated and probably even a little sun and wind burned. Both of us were exhausted and I was asleep by eight. Headachey and sore, we woke during the night. Then the wind picked up and Andrew decided that the tent needed adjusting, at two in the morning! Finally got back to sleep and woke to a sunny, crisp morning.

Thursday morning explored gorges and visited lookouts in the park.

If ever you are in this neck of the woods, the following are a MUST SEE:

Starting from the Weano Recreation Area:

Junction Pool Lookout

Oxer Lookout

and if your are very fit, Hancock Gorge (we didn't complete this walk)

We did complete the Weano Gorge track but didn't particularly think it was worth the effort.

Starting from Dales Recreation Area:

Circular Pool Lookout

Three Ways Lookout

Fortescue Falls

Fern Pool

Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool are an amazing place to visit. The best in Karijni is below ground level. Above ground: beautiful snappy gums, red earth like you've never seen before and buff coloured spinifex grass. Some areas are recovering from fires started by lightening strikes. And not to forget the Hamersley Ranges...but they too are polka dotted with spinifex.

DON'T wear white in Karijni! You'll end up looking like a Corella from Paraburdoo if you do!

No showers at Dales' and no water, so a quick toe to top was in order

Boy was it good to wash off two days of red dust in the shower this morning.

We left Karijini around eleven thirty for Port Hedland stopping at Auski Roadhouse for lunch and to top up the fuel tank. Followed a house-on-the-move part of the way and arrived into Port Hedland proper just in time for the peak hour traffic – all heading home to South Hedland at the end of long day in the salt mine, on the railway, pouring concrete at the Port Authority. (I found out later that these people were in fact going out to work in the fields...twelve hours on, twelve hours off.)  And of course the million and one other jobs that need doing here.

Blue Skies, Nothing But Blue Skies.

Karijini National Park.  These colours are not exaggerated.  I repeat, not.
A cold start to the day.  There is so much light in these parts, squinting has become a habit!

Fortescue Falls, Karijini National Park.

This water wader posed for photographers.  
If you know what type of bird this is I'd be interested to know.

Fern Pool. Karijini National Park. 
Simply magical.

Dingoes Howl At Karijini

Nothing prepares you for Oxer Lookout and Junction Pool, Karijini National Park

Not even seven fifteen in the morning and we've already had breakfast. Watched the sun rise but not very spectacular...thankfully not much cloud around this morning and lots of blue sky.

Had a great sleep last night after the one generator, loud rock music and many giggling girls were switched off. No wind, no tree branches scraping the roof tent, no rain drops splattering above. Ah, but the sound of the howling dingoes...it's a sound to behold. Sometimes it was even quite comical as one or two of the dingoes clearly didn't have a musical bone in their body. Heard them about three times during the night, magical, then I went straight back to sleep each time. Both Honey Pie and I were awake before six. The alarm was set for six anyway as we want to get an early start today.

After two very hot nights just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, we'd packed away our plus or minus five degrees sleeping bags and our winter woollies only to find ourselves back in the season of winter. So out came the sleeping bag again, and, so I don't have to dig around in the back of the car for my winter garments, I'm wearing layers this morning. Three on top and two on the bottom! Despite the cooler temperature, both Honey and I had a very pleasant sleep last night. The tent was very cosy and this morning there was no dew on the tent.

(Andrew has just informed me he has a moth in the meth.)

And so I'm called to domesticity once more...dishes need drying up, car to be packed, as we start our adventure into the gorges of Karijini.

Weano Gorge