East Pilbara Day 48 - Eel Pool to Newman

Day 48 - Wednesday 8/8/01
Start - Eel Pool
Stop - Newman
Trip Odometer - 337.9
Stopped time - 2.04hrs
Moving average - 66.4km/hr
Moving time - 5.05hrs
Total Time - 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.