This morning we dropped the bikes from the van and headed in to see the cave 3km further into the property. Kieran ran, Karen, Bob and I rode and Sue unfortunately has an injured shoulder so sat this one out with Jase.

We were on the road just after 9am heading for Tom Price. Bob and I took the lead and let google tell us where to go. Around 50km or so up the road we realised google thought we should prefer a gravel path to Tom Price just as the intersection for a tar option loomed. Well, us ‘adventurers’ flicked on the indicator and went the tar after our experience yesterday, while the Scott’s barrelled straight up the throat of the gravel. Mav was always going the tar, we just hadn’t realised there was a decision necessary.

Upside of the extra 60km or so we travelled is we got to visit our first Pilbara mining town. Paraburdoo had streets lined with worker accommodation and large bus stops, ready for the mining buses to pick up the workers each shift. Interestingly, this town is where Red Dog (from the movie was born and raised before becoming an itinerant traveller of the Pilbara region. I read all the history and plan to watch the movie again now that I have a little more context of the locations.

Then it was through to Tom Price to pick up supplies for the next week at Karijini. A super friendly mining town where the shop assistants couldn’t be more helpful with our enquiries. Literally the best customer service across the board we’ve had in a town before!

Then it was time to head to Karijini. Jase and Sue spent some time at the visitor information centre seeking info on whether Mav was up for this first portion of the trip. They decided to give it a go and she performed so well. The dirt was red, the corrugations came and went and before we knew it we were at our free camp at Buddha Camp.

An update on crafting: Karen arranged for the girls to redo their anklets purchased from Daly Waters Pub two years ago. We have all finished our masterpieces now in time for the warm weather and are all macrame experts now 🙂 .

The scenery here is amazing. This afternoon we have got the inside info from Melissa and Doug who were here only a couple of weeks ago ready for our trip into Hamersley Gorge tomorrow. I am so excited for this one – it’s been on my list for years.

The temps have been really pleasant today, we’ve cooked our evening meal outside and I’m still sitting in front of the fire at 11pm doing the blog. A massive change to the weather we’ve had one the way here.