23 to 29 November Western Australia (North)

 Wednesday 23 November

Marble Bar - Karratha

I woke at 0630 and emerged from my tent only to discover that it was 0530 - explains why I saw the remnants of dawn!  I had slept quite well despite the constant sound of straining diesel engines from road trains hauling their heavy loads even though they were some distance away.  There had been a heavy dew and I waited for the tent to dry before packing up.  I left at 0815 and refuelled and had breakfast before leaving Marble Bar.  It was a refreshing 27⁰C.

It’s Daphne’s birthday.  An emotional morning flooded with good memories whilst riding. 

The first 80 kms I rode through interesting hills but the remainder of the road west was flat until I rejoined the Great Northern Highway. 

One feature of the Marble Bar road was the number of dead cows littering the roadside.  An animal even of that size is no match for a 60 metres long road train carrying iron ore.  I stopped in Port Hedland to refuel and eat lunch.  I had an interesting chat to an Irish guy who was born in Wexford.  He owned a plant hire business in Perth and was subcontracting to one of the mining companies.  He was staying in a workers’ village on the Marble Bar road which I had remembered seeing.  He explained that a pipeline was being built to bring water from a bore near Pardoo, where I had stayed a couple of nights previously, to a mine near Marble Bar, a distance of several hundred kilometres.  Two further pipelines are also being built running from the mine to Port Hedland, another several hundred kilometres.  The idea is that the water supplied to the mine is mixed with crushed ore and the slurry sent down the pipe to Port Hedland where the water is to be extracted and sent back to the mine in the parallel pipeline.  An incredible undertaking and a massive capital outlay but designed to save the constant stream of road trains currently employed.  There are a number of new roads around Port Hedland which confused my TomTom.  At one stage I could see the road I needed to be on only several hundred metres at the end of a closed troad.  The new road took me 2 or 3 kilometres in a circular route to get to that same spot!  At a rest area I met a guy on a bicycle.  He was a professional photographer and was cycling around Australia capturing images with the intention of publishing a book.  He had left Newcastle, just north of Sydney, in June and was on his way south.  He was due back in Sydney in March having also cycled around Tasmania.  His first name was Petar and his parents had migrated from Croatia hence his unpronounceable surname.  We had an interesting chat about life on the road and particularly his difficulties facing long stretches of wilderness at slow speed and limited resources.  I have subsequently looked at his Twitter account @petarbphoto and his photo clearly illustrates the amount of weight he has lost during his ride.  He also has a website petarbphoto.wixsite.com.  Oh, and he is deaf.  As I continued towards Karratha the landscape improved as I crossed several ranges and high plateaus.  Not far before Karratha was an interesting and attractive small town called Roebourne in which sat prominently the old gaol, once the second largest prison in Western Australia.  I reached Karratha at 1700 and booked into a good motel which was adjacent to a large pub.

432 kms travelled.

Thursday 24 November

Karratha

I phoned Northwest Honda at 0815 to enquire whether my tyre had arrived.  It hadn’t but I was advised to try again after 1030.  I walked the 2.5m kms into town and although hot under the sun with the low humidity it was reasonably comfortable.  I had a haircut and chatted with the middle aged female barber who at the age of 21 had worked for 18 months in Blenheim Palace as a housekeeper.  When I said that the village of Woodstock beside which the palace is situated is very attractive she said that I was the first person she had met in Australia who knew of it!  I phoned NW Honda again and discovered that the tyre had arrived and arranged for fitting that afternoon.  I had an interesting conversation with Linda, the owner, whilst the tyre was being fitted.  Yet again I heard stories of the conflict with indigenous people, and youngsters in particular which appears to cause so much bad feeling.  The dealership had only one mechanic and he dealt with all things Honda including motorcycles, outboard engines, generators among others.  Incidentally, the bill came to $275.45 (£154.40) made up of tyre - $176, Express freight - $25, fitting - $74.50.  I had loaded the washing machine in my room before departing only for it to leak water and start flooding the floor.  I had turned it off and placed towels on the floor.  On my return I discovered that the filter had not been reinstalled correctly and was loose in its housing.  I tightened it up and tried again.  Another flood!  So I did hand washing and rigged a line on the patio area outside to dry it.  There was a breeze and with the high temperature it was all dry within a couple of hours.  I ate the Marble Bar noodles for dinner.

Friday 25 November

Karratha - Tom Price

I left at 0820 @ 32⁰C and low humidity, a very pleasant start to the day.  Although half full I refuelled to top up the tank.  I joined the road to Tom Price and immediately encountered a sign saying that no fuel was available at Millstream, about half way and part of my fuelling plan.  TomTom said it was 385 kms to Tom Price but the roadsign stated it was 322 kms.  I debated over fuel capacity and consumption.  I carry an additional 5 litres, say 140 kms, so I decided to go for it rather than the safer in terms of servos but much longer route.  It was a really interesting ride through the Millstream Chichester National Park and finally the Karijini National Park, all part of the Pilbara.  I traversed a number of ranges with many different characteristics.  At least 2/3rds of the route is unsealed and most was very corrugated with exposed rocks.  I reduced the tyre pressures after a short while and followed previously received advice to travel between 60 and 80 kph which tends to make progress over the bumps less uncomfortable, this of course whilst standing on the footrests. 

I saw only two other vehicles on the road in 3 hours.  The road is flanked by the Rio Tinto railway, the longest private railway in Australia, for much of the way and I saw several very long trains carrying iron ore.  I heard from a Rio Tinto engineer that the first train of the day carries enough ore to pay for the day’s mining operation and the remaining trains' contents represent profit.  I reached a junction with confusing signage and fortunately chose the right road.  After Hamersley Gorge, about 50 kms from the end of the unsealed section, there was more traffic from mines with trucks creating enormous dust clouds which reduced visibility for some distance and covered me and the bike with a red blanket.  The final 25 kms to Tom Price was sealed.  I stopped to refuel and chatted with a guy who had been in the town since the beginning of the year.  He sang the praises of the area recommending in particular a visit to Hamersley Gorge and he offered me a room in his home.  I wondered what his partner would have thought of this and declined.  I checked into the motel, a budget room for $185!  Clearly in a mining area!

342 kms travelled.

Saturday 26 November

Tom Price

Back to the unsealed road for the 50 kms to Hamersley Gorge. 

Access to the gorge from the car park was by a very steep and uneven path but I was rewarded with amazing rock formations and a pool at the bottom, although I didn’t swim.

Sadly, there was very little water flowing over the waterfall. 

I stayed there for a while before climbing back to the car park.  I was impressed by three young women on a day trip from Port Hedland who were changing a wheel on a 4x4 having suffered a puncture.  I offered assistance but they had already completed 80% of the job. I rode back to Tom Price, and being a Saturday I was delighted that I encountered no trucks on the road to blanket me with dust again.  I rode down the Nunbarra road passing amazing escarpments and impressive scenery.

On return to Tom Price I checked the bike over and reinflated the tyres.  I booked accommodation in Exmouth.

200 kms travelled.

Sunday 27 November

Tom Price - Exmouth

Disastrous start to the day.  I appear to have lost my beloved Swiss army penknife!

I left at 0845 @ 33⁰C.  I selected a route which would be on sealed roads all the way.  I stopped at Paraburdoo to refuel (although only 79 kms since last topping up the next stretch is long with no fuel until Nanutarra) and for coffee.  As I started off again I glanced at TomTom and saw that I still had in excess of 500 kms to go.  I hadn’t worked out the distance for once and had merely glanced at the map to find Exmouth.  So, because I had already booked accommodation in Exmouth my average speed had to be increased if I was to make Exmouth before nightfall.  The landscape was very interesting with numerous escarpments and ranges separated by plains and plateaus. 

There seemed to be a never ending series of these ranges but they made for good riding with gentle bends and hills.  As I crested one hill something small and black was floating in the air behind the screen and beside the instruments.  Almost immediately it flew off to one side and as it did so I noted that it was round with a hole in the middle.  I looked down and saw that one of the screen well nuts was missing.  I retraced my steps, stopped, and walked down the road in the forlorn hope of spotting it. Needless to say I didn’t find it but I monitored the bolt as I rode and it didn’t appear to move.  I refuelled again at the Nanutarra Roadhouse and set off into a strengthening wind after joining the North West Coastal Highway.  The road crossed what appeared to be a series of large red sand dunes with sparse vegetation and approximately 1 km of flat land between each one.  After 115 kms I turned off on to the Burkett Road towards Exmouth and the wind seemed to be behind me for a short time.  The final one and a half hours was over rather bleak, featureless and what looked like moorland as the road descended to the arid coastal flatlands.  (The Carnarvon Xeric Scrub is recognised as one of the world’s 238 global ecologies for its important desert ecosystems.) 

By this time I was experiencing strong crosswinds and was concerned about fuel consumption despite the additional fuel I carry.  The temperature dropped quite rapidly from 42⁰C in Nanutarra to 32⁰C in  Exmouth when I arrived at 1750, three quarters of an hour before dark.

611 kms travelled.

Monday 28 November

Exmouth

I had a relaxed start to the day.  I went for a long walk to Town Beach and back.  I noticed that a number of bars/cafes/activities were closed for the summer.  I called into the information centre to enquire about snorkelling tours.  There were not many available the recognised season having ended at the end of October.  There were two likely activities which I selected, a half day kayaking/snorkelling and a full day to Muiron Island.  Both had minimum numbers to run so I had to await confirmation.  I visited the museum and Ningaloo Reef Centre.  All very interesting, particularly the growth of Exmouth as a result of the US ULF aerial site established at the beginning of the cold war to enable communication with USN submarines.  I booked a further night in the motel in anticipation of a Wednesday tour.

Tuesday 29 November

Exmouth

Fantastic start to the day. I have found my Swiss army penknife. As some will know, I can be like a dog with a bone sometimes. I had been fretting over losing the penknife and just couldn't believe that I would be careless enough to lose it. So I decided to dig deep in my tank bag and emptied it completely. The main compartment has a rigid removeable lining and lo and behold, the penknife had slipped behind it.

As I left the motel I spotted a couple of emus skulking in the shade of trees by the entrance.

I washed the bike at the local car wash and greased the chain.  I bought a pack containing M5 nuts to secure the screen bolt although it hadn’t appeared to have moved.  I rode to the end of the peninsula where the ULF aerials are sited, now operated by the Australian Navy, and continued to the other side.

I went to see the wreck of the Mildura, a ship carrying cargo and cattle, which came to grief in 1907.

A little further on I rode up to the Vlamingh Head lighthouse.  Interestingly this lighthouse was established as a direct result of the Mildura wreck.  On the day she went aground a committee deciding on locations for new lighthouses in Australia was on the last day of deliberating their final list.  Vlamingh Head was not on the list but on hearing of the disaster the committee added it and subsequently had to raise additional funding.

I rode further and turned back when I reached the Tantabiddi Boat Ramp.  I returned to the visitor centre for lunch and to enquire about the tours scheduled the following day.  Both had been cancelled due to lack of numbers.  I was offered a half day snorkelling tour with View Ningaloo in a semisubmersible glass panelled boat.  I opted for it and discovered it was due to leave Tantabiddi Boat Ramp at 0915 the following day.  I went back to my accommodation to check over the bike and adjusted the chain.  I had a long interesting conversation with a young couple who were visiting from New Zealand.  The bloke of Chinese descent and born in Perth is a medic conducting research into arthritis and his partner from Guyana has a PhD in economics and is conducting research in the same university.  I asked them how they were able to be on holiday when universities are still in session. Apparently, as they are researchers they are not tied to their university operating dates!  I went to an Italian restaurant attached to a nearby caravan park and was served the most enormous pasta dish.  Of course I ate it all but regretted doing so for the rest of the evening.