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Gunbarrel | Tanami | East Kimberley | North Kimberley | Broome Region

EAST PILBARA TRIP DIARY NOTES
DAYS 44 - 51

Day forty-four	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Saturday 4/8/01	80 Mile Beach	Carawine Gorge (via Shay Gap)	419km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Total time
2.4hrs	72km/hr	5.49hrs	8hrs

Having our maps in digital format on the laptop and the Garmin E-Map GPS made it easy to plot our way through to some really fabulous areas that we'd never heard about.

After leaving 80 Mile Beach we headed another 51km west along the highway and took a dirt track off to the left marked as "Boreline Road". At this point we were 414km west of Broome and 196km east of Port Hedland.

It was a very scenic drive as you can see in the photo below so I don't know why we haven't been here before! All along the route are subtle reminders that there are numerous mining operations in the area, in fact Shay Gap is an abandoned mining settlement that you come across after 57km.

The junction at Shay Gap is well sign-posted with an access track coming in from the north-west at Pardoo Roadhouse 68km away or Marble Bar 113km to the south-west.

The recent rains in Broome have certainly made an impact on the area and it is clear that this area would be impassable some of the year during the wet season. There is a concrete causeway at the De Gray River - a perfect stop but it is fenced off on all sides to deter campers.

After a total of 105km on the Boreline Road (or Muccan-Shay Rd) we came to an intersection clearly marked Marble Bar 59km to the right or private station road to the left... that's when our plan came unstuck. Our maps showed the track to the left as accessible to the Carawine Gorge but things have obviously changed. We were left with no alternative but to turn right and go into Marble Bar. This track is now called the Warrawagine Rd and on the left you shouldn't miss visiting Coppins Gap.

Warrawagine Rd meets up with the Marble Bar - Port Hedland Road close to the banks of a magnificent river (dry). Fromt his junctions its left 26km to Marble Bar or right 168 km to Hedland.

We figured we were now close enough to Marble Bar that we should take a look, although we still had to make our way back east to find Carawine Gorge.

Marble Bar was pretty much dead - 12noon on Saturday. Everything was closed except the Travellers Rest but other than frozen bread we couldn't get any food there. We fuelled up and then took a look around the area. Out the back of town is Chinaman's Pool and the Marble Bar, which are great waterholes with the distinctive flash of jasper stone that gave the town its name when it was originally mistaken for marble.

Camping is not allowed at these waterholes so we picked up our plan and headed back out towards Carawine Gorge. Oh - by the way I asked the locals about this gorge and they'd never heard of it.

Back out of Marble Bar the road is signposted Woodie Woodie and Telfer straight ahead or Nullagine to the right which then meets up with the Great Northern Highway at Newman.

We continued straight on towards Telfer on the Ripon Hills Road. We were so close the Ruddall River NP and if we had've been able to pick up some food in Marble Bar we would have gone but we followed the road as it swung around the back of the Telfer Mine and on towards Woodie Woodie.

Major roadworks are in progress and by now the whole road would be fully sealed. This is amazing for travellers wishing to go to Ruddall River.

Just after crossing the Mt Sydney Creek we found the subtly signed access track to Carawine Gorge. It had rained recently and the track was in a mess. We felt sure we'd be out on our own, having not seen a single tourist the whole day, however we pulled in and found about 10 camps set on the banks of a fabulous gorge, similar to Lawn Hill in Qld. A sheer limestone wall drops into clear water - no crocs just pelicans and lots of birdlife. This is a great place!!!

Day forty-five	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Sunday 5/8/01	Rest day	Carawine Gorge	0

The day was spent lazying about collecting quartz and other bits of coloured rock for our fish tank, swimming, fishing and birdwatching. A very enjoyable spot!

It's surprising what a secret Carawine Gorge is to all but the locals. The locals are from Port Hedland, 'cause its only a half day drive. Unfortunately, we timed it wrong by arriving on their public holiday weekend. Everyone was a bit loud!

 

Day forty-six	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Monday	Carawine Gorge	Eel Pool	54.8km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Total time
26mins	51.3km/hr	1hr	1hr 26mins

Heading back out of Carawine Gorge we joined back up with the track towards Woodie Woodie mine. The Port Hedland people don't come this way so hopefully we'll be on our own from here.

The track shows the majority of traffic goes to Woodie Woodies so if its mining traffic only we should be right. We turned right on the Skull Springs Road toward Nullagine and found an unmarked track off to the left that we knew to be our access into Eel Pool (thank god for digital mapping). 

The track was on open high ground at first, over a rocky limestone base but then we tracked down towards dense river gums and the track soon disappeared into mud, rockholes and slabs of rock requiring low range 4WD to negotiate. This track would deter most newcomers so we felt pretty sure we'd only find locals, if anyone, and sure enough after lots of bumps and scratches we found our paradise and did not want to leave.

This is probably the most perfect campsite we've found in some years. The main features were the thermal spring (a creek than ran for kilometres); a flying fox that some miner from the nearby Woodie mine may have erected - telling us this was definitely a locals spot; plenty of fish to eat; lots of shade; fresh water for cooking/washing etc;  and best of all it was peaceful!

Being just a short distance from Carawine Gorge to Eel Pool it was a very relaxing day. No rush to setup camp, plenty of time for fishing and swimming and especially for exploring this amazing creek. The flying fox has got me hooked! Feel like a little kid all over again!!

Day forty-seven	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Tuesday 7/8/01	Eel Pool	Eel Pool	-

Last night we ate Catfish Laksa!

All we did was catch a 2kg Catfish - fillet it and add it to a simmering pot of coconut milk and add a jar of laksa paste served in bowls over hot japanese noodles - not bad for being low on food. 

This morning we were enjoying our last few pieces of bread when we heard a vehicle approaching our camp - and they had the hide to drive right into our camp and get out of the car!

After introductories between ourselves and the four new arrivals we were quite happy to share our spot with them - they were after all workers from the nearby Woodie Woodie manganese mine and they had brought a picnic brunch that included eggs, bacon, steak, onions, bread etc.

We shared our fireplace, gave them some stubby holders and they left us with enough supplies for another 2 days - thanks Donna, John, Steve and Trev.

Donna worked in admin, John and Steve were operators and Trev was a "labbie". All from Perth, they worked two weeks on, one week off and fly in and out of work on Woodie Woodie's own jet.

We were just starting to all get along fine when Donna needed to return to work for the start of her shift. I think they may have come back to camp for the night only for the site regulation that company vehicles can't be taken offsite overnight and staff aren't allowed private vehicles onsite... reminds David and I a bit of boarding school!

So our new friends left and then another car arrived - but this on was a paddy wagon with 2 cops in uniform, but they were just out for a "road condition check up" from the local police station at Nullagine, some 3 hrs drive away. They kept their distance, toss in a line, cooked up a bbq and then headed back to town. We had a quick chat about what we should do for the census night since we were having in a bush camp and they suggested we drop into the cop shop in town when to fill out the necessary forms.

Here's a pic of Leah, showing how she has leant to crawl out of the tent. No obstacle too big! seems to be this little 9mth old's motto.

Day forty-eight	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Wednesday 8/8/01	Eel Pool	Newman	337.9
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Total time
2.04hrs	66.4km/hr	5.05hrs	7.09hrs

It was quite a long day of driving but most of the way was rather scenic, especially from Eel Pool to Nullagine. As we approached Nullagine it started to dawn on us that plenty of people knew of this region but came here for something else... fossiking!

This area is extremely popular with small time prospectors, with decent alluvial gold finds being discovered from time to time. Anyone can get a license from the office in Marble Bar and the main season runs from the end of the wet season to end of August.

"Legend" has it that not long ago one of the locals was walking down the main street of Nullagine when he kicked his toe, looked down and found he'd kicked a 20 ounce gold nugget! So being on the Great Northern Highway and easily accessible, it attracts an rare breed of tourist.

In our opinion, the secret gorges and delightful scenery is worth a 4WD visit but it seems to be little known by this group. We would highly recommend a few days spent exploring this loop rather than a blast down the tar if you're heading from 80 Mile Beach south towards Perth. So keep an eye on ExplorOz for a new trek on this area.

Found a terrible wreck by the side of the road however... check out these pics...

It's an 80 series Landcruiser with a Track Trailer that seems to have caught fire and been abandoned in a hurry. They had numerous jerry cans of fuel by the roadside and the trailer was stocked full of food - I think they may have been on the starting leg of a Canning trip. The vehicle was gas/petrol and the "accident' would've occurred only a day or two ago. We actually stopped to see if the rims were worth collecting.

Day forty-nine	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Thursday 9/9/01	Newman	Meekatharra bush camp	458km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Total time
1.08hrs	82.8km	5.31hrs	6.4hrs

We had planned to see if we could find some tracks into the Collier Range today, north of Meekatharra, but after a fair bit of scrub-scratching we backed out after not finding much at all to report about.

This stretch of the Great Northern Highway has some fabulous roadside parking/camping bays, with the best being 193km form of Meekatharra on the banks of the Gasgoyne River. We stopped here for lunch and debated staying for the night but we need to be home on Saturday morning and there's a long way to go yet.

I'm afraid we've come to the end of the journey and now it's a case of hitting tar for as many hours a day as we can manage.

Day fifty	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Friday 10/8/01	Meekatharra	Wubin	470.6km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Total time
0.38hrs	87.6km/hr	5.22hrs	6.01hrs

Second last day and just tar again. Weather is very cold and quite a shock after the last 7 weeks of a balmy days and nights. All today we've been on our only backtrack of the trip.

Day fifty-one	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Saturday 11/8/01	Wubin	Hillarys, Perth
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Total time

Well, this is it... our last day on the road. I hate trip endings, thoughts of work come flooding back in and all the trappings of a city existence... amazing how life goes on at home when you're away in the bush without a care in the world.

It's been raining a bit down this way so the scenery is delightful. Wildflowers are out and the farmland is green. In fact we had our first raining driving day about 30minutes from home and got to test out the weather-proofing of our Rack Sack (roof-rack bag).

Stay tuned for 7 new trek notes on all the areas we've just visited plus a detailed report on all our equipment and our thoughts on their performance/durability in the Features section of this site.

I think there's about a week's worth of washing, and the radiator busted as we pulled into our home street so give us a few weeks and we'll have everything up on the website for you.

Many thanks for all your support - hope you've enjoyed our trip diary.

Michelle, David and Leah