Today was casual explore day. We started the day with Scott’s Turtle 2 showing off it’s new home. Mitcho’s Turtle 1 is feeling jealous…. After a relaxed start we all headed out for an explore on the bikes. It was nice having some cloud cover for a change and not being overly hot and worried about sunburn. Then it was back to the vans for a Tani workout session. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve done one of these….
This morning we all left Cleaverville in dribs and drabs and headed for Karratha. The Scott’s exercised, the Allen’s fished and we spent some time dealing with a malfunctioning composting toilet…..we lose. Once on the road, Bob and I beelined for the only laundromat in Karratha and set multiple washing machines going. The reality of living off grid is we can put as much capacity electrically in the van so that we literally never think about our battery charge, but…
A relaxed start for us today – the blogging is taking longer and longer each night. Sort of like homework, but I’ll be so grateful for the records that I’ll never remember when we get home. The later the night, the slower the morning….. As per every other day, the Scott’s exercised early. Today the Allen’s fished on the beach, but no success. We caught up with the others – Karen planned to kayak to Cleaverville Creek after her recon…
No rushing this morning. Karen enjoyed the sunrise with a walk along the the beach, Kieran headed out for a morning run, the Allen’s headed out for a morning fish and we sat outside the van and soaked it all up. Once morning beverages were imbibed Bob and I headed out to explore in no wind! The tides are 5m here so a different landscape to yesterday when we hit the sand. The Scott’s headed out to Point Samson where…
Move day again today and I was really ready for a new outlook. While I’ve really enjoyed our Pilbara 11 days so far, I’m not going to lie and pretend that the red iron soil dust doesn’t become very tedious. It gets on and in literally everything, and with limited water there just isn’t enough to wash the caravan floor 3 times a day and the sheets and towels every 5 minutes once they go red as well. So it…
This morning we arranged to head off reasonably early on the bikes before the temps got too high. Our destination was Deep Reach Pool which was a 16km return ride along a gravel bike path. The wind once again picked up first thing so the ride out with the wind head on was a bit of work. I also have smooth tyres on my bike which keeps me on edge on the sandy/rocky paths given my history on bikes. Once…
We have definitely slowed the pace since Karijini – which I have to say I am enjoying. This morning the Scott’s headed out for their morning excercise which included Kieran running and both of them kayaking in the local waterway a few km away. Bob and I enjoyed a leisurely Saturday morning, caught up on world news, crafted and continued beavering away at trying to remove what seems like kilograms of red dust out of every item of clothing that…
Today was all about relaxing! After the frenzy of the hikes in the last week Bob and I were ready for it. No timelines to be up for and a cooked brekky once we started the day. Karen and Kieran went out running and riding and enjoyed the crisp early morning temps. The temps weren’t crisp for long though. The mercury was forecast to get to 33 degrees today and though I didn’t check, it was certainly warm. Bob and…
We all left the Karijini area independently this morning. Jase and Sue headed directly to Port Hedland where Sue wasted no time getting her obligatory ‘big’ photo with the Wedgefield Wheelbarrow. Karen and Kieran were early starters and headed back to Tom Price for a tour of the Tom Price mine, where they learned about the mining history of the town and were lucky enough to see a blast set off while they were there. We were lazy last night…
Today was our last day in Karijini. It’s been such an incredible week. Huge variety in the gorges and rock formations, and I think I can honestly say I have never hiked the elevations we have achieved this week in my life – some on steps, some on ladders, and lots scrambling and pulling up over rocks. Happily, I don’t have any sore muscles. I am feeling fatigued though and looking forward to some downtime (maybe) as we move on…