Broome to Tom Price

With people biting at our heals for our prime position at Roebuck Bay Caravan Park in Broome we packed up and rolled out only 20 minutes past check out. Our four nights of leisure had caused us to be a little slower then usual, we were also a little in denial that we were really leaving.

Once on the road we had a morning in the car we would rather like to forget. Maddi was angry, angry, angry about everything and everyone but Tig had a little cry. Thankfully after some kilometers and a very late lunch at Sandfire Roadhouse things returned to normal. During lunch we discussed our possible overnight options and decided to head to the nearest option, Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park due to the tough 'traveling with kids' morning. 

We weren't expecting it to be much, just a small pokey run down beachside caravan park. Instead we were blown away by quite a large van park nestled behind the sand dune with good facilities and very friendly people. With the sun soon to go down we quickly parked the van and headed to the beach with camera in hand. As soon as we started to walk away from our van a very friendly older lady with chair and nibbles in hand pointed us in the direction of the beach access. After she enquired how long we were staying, to which we replied one night, Tig asked her how long she had been here. She replied....since May. We instantly saw that she was heading to a small group of older couples all with chairs and nibbles for their pre dinner drinks social. 

We continued onto the beach path past the Vietnam Memorial and over the sand dune to gaze down at the most beautiful site. As we continued down the other side and stepped onto the beach, Thea enquired if we could stay a week here. We continued to the waters edge where the youngest two got their feet wet while Maddi collected shells from the vast array on offer. With the sun setting over the water and fisherman wadding knee deep with their lines, lots of photos were taken. We frolicked around the waters edge, watched the fisherman and collected shells all while the sun set in the distance.

We arrive at Eighty Mile Beach

Caravan Park and Vietnam Memorial

Sun setting at Eighty Mile Beach

Sea shells

Ella and Kai play on the sand

Kai Boy

In the morning Thea got up early to go for a run along the beach. With the beach almost to herself she headed up the beach and stopped to take some photos on her trusty iPhone. Eighty Mile Beach was just so beautiful. We did however probably only see it at its best. It probably would be rather hot and unprotected in the middle of the day. After Thea's run it was time to get everyone fed and dressed and on the road again. First we had a chat to our neighbours from Victoria who had three kids too. They had been there a few nights and had basically relaxed. They were not a fishing family (which was the popular thing to do here) and since you couldn't swim due to sharks and manta-rays the kids were a little bored. 

Thea's artistic photo

Eighty Mile Beach in the morning

Fisherman at Eighty Mile Beach

So it was on to Port Hedland where much of the Pilbara iron ore is loaded on to very large ships. The mounds of white salt are a stark contrast to everything else which is coated dark red from the iron ore dust. Just one night in Port Hedland but enough time to make it to Sunday morning church at the local Anglican Church, a BCA (Bush Church Aid) congregation that was very welcoming. From here it was into Karijini National Park. Our drive took us on the main trucking route from Perth to the Pilbara so we saw plenty of large trucks, the largest of which were two massive semis, both with large mining dump trucks taking up just about the whole road so we had to pull off until they passed by. We did not quite make it all the way to Karijini, as just outside the park is a Rest Area and lookout over Munjina East Gorge with fantastic camping spots (no facilities) a little further along the ridge. There was no way we were going to pass up this free camping opportunity. In fact the place was so good that Tig, Thea, Maddi & Ella camped out under the stars, while Kai stayed in the van. We simply spread out a tarp, dragged out our beds from the van and laid the canvas side of the annex over for a little extra warmth as it may have been 36 degrees on our drive during the day, but it gets quite cold overnight. Our satellite phone came in very handy in the morning as Todd and his wife, who had camped a little further up the ridge from us, couldn't get their car started. Todd originally asked us for a  jumpstart but it still wouldn't start. Thankfully the Auski Roadhouse was only about 15kms away so they called a family member in Port Hedland to arrange a pick up. We didn't say it but Todd did point out his car was a Nissan Patrol and that he wouldn't hear the end of it from his mates about being helped out by a Toyota Landcruiser. After leaving them to sit out their waiting game, with other campers still around further down the ridge who didn't look like they were leaving anytime soon, we continued into Karijini National Park. 

Port Hedland Salt Piles

Mining Dump Trucks

View from the Rest Area at Munjina East Gorge

Our camp spot for the night

Washing line in the wind

Cheeky Boy Kai

Munjina East Gorge Ridge Top Camp

Maddi helping with dinner

Kai Pilbara Red and his trains

Sleeping out under the stars

Our morning view

On arrival we almost upset the camp host by not stopping at his tiny sign informing us that it was allocated site camping. We thought it would be like most National Parks where it is self-registration & payment and choose a spot from those which are vacant. Once we had set up we decided to take a drive to the Visitor Information Centre to find out what there was to do in the park. The lady behind the counter was very helpful and we planned our two days activities. After lunch we grabbed our swimmers and headed off to Fern Pool for a refreshing dip. All the gorges in the National Park are approached from above and easily accessible to view from above. To get down into them can be a bit tricky with the kids as the steps can be oversized for little legs and the fencing from the huge drop below was pretty average. It was a little nerve racking with Kai at times. After we made it to the bottom and passed Fortescue Falls, where some people where taking a dip, we arrived at Fern Pool. It was quite crowded but very well set up with a two level viewing deck that lead down to a small pontoon with a ladder to get in. We quickly changed into swimmers and headed to the water's edge. It was a little chilly but we swam over to the waterfall and back. By the time we got out the children were shivering so we decided to get changed, have something to eat and watch the other people taking their dip. One older couple went in with flippers, snorkel, mask and camera but the chill was too much for them too and they didn't stay in the water very long. on our return to the campsite we had a boys verus girls challenge where Ella decided she wanted to run from the car park back to camp (only just over 1km). We had driven over so with the boys in the car and the girls on foot we took off. Now obviously the boys were going to win even if the girls had a direct walking track back to the camp and a had a head start but Ella was convinced the girls had a chance at victory. It was interesting to see Ella taking after her sister by wanting to go for a run. 

Karijini Visitor Centre

Dales Gorge

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off for a swim we go!

Fortescue Falls

Fern Pool

Ready to take a dip

Swimming Fern Pool

People watching after our swim

The next day we packed some lunch and headed around to the northern end of the park where there was a more expensive accommodation and camping option, the ‘Eco Resort’, and more gorges to explore. We first checked out Joffre and Knox Gorges from their lookouts and then checked out the Eco Resort. We made use of their knowledge about our next destination, Tom Price, and the mining tours available and ended up booking on a tour for the next day. We spent the afternoon visiting Junction Lookout and Oxer Lookout before grabbing our swimmers and heading down into Weano Gorge. We made our way along the gorge towards a pool called Handrail Pool. There were a number of little pools along the way which the kids and Thea swam through while Tig skirted around rock walls in order to keep our belonging dry. After some stepping stones through rocky river beds we climbed the last drop into Handrail Pool. The naming was quite obvious as the last bit had a 10 metre handrail bolted onto the wall so you could hold on tight while climbing along a slippery water course and down a rock wall. The pool was amazing but not really enticing to go swimming in as it was in shadow and therefore quite chilly. The circular cave that made up Handrail pool had only two entrances the one we came through and another that led further down the gorge but required some rock climbing and abseiling. We obviously didn't take the children there. After a short stop and some snacks, as that is what we seem to do with children, we reversed the order and stopped at a little swimming area just below the steps out of the gorge. We managed to convince the kids to make it quick as we still had to drive back around to the other part of the park on a pretty bumpy road. It was rather rough and rocky and we had witnessed our camping neighbors have a flat in the morning on the way there. Thankfully we returned back to camp with no difficulties and even managed to just keep Kai awake. The kids had a play with the toddler next door while dinner was cooked and our pack-up was contemplated. 

Joffre Lookout

Back up the stairs to the car

Spinifex clumps litter the red soil

Knox Gorge

Lizard we found at Knox Lookout

Knox Gorge the other way

Three cheeky monkeys

Follow our fearless leader kids

Tig and Ella entering Handrail Pool

Thea and Kai entering Handrail Pool

Handrail Pool

Exiting Weano Gorge

Kids had to wade and swim some sections

It was a little cool

Maddi leading us out of Handrail Pool

Kids swim before going up the stairs to the car

Our three water loving children

In the morning we managed to pack up and be on our way to the mining town, Tom Price, by 7.45am (a new record). On our journey we saw our first Rio Tinto iron ore train at a level crossing, which was a great delight to Kai, but more about that later. 

Till next time...

Tig and Thea