Day 52 – Mon, 30 Aug to Dales Gorge, Karajini NP

I broke camp early so that I could get down to the local Woollies before heading over to the bike shop to have my new tyres fitted. I only hope they are delivered.

I arrived at the Pilbara Boat & Bike just after 9am as planned and as I was walking in the front door the Toll Ipec truck pulled into the drive and delivered my tyres – what timing. The fitting took about an hour and I almost fell over when I got the bill – they charge by the hour and with old tyre disposal the fitting alone came to $172; that’s what you get in places like Port Hedland – no competition with high rents and wages. Everything is expensive.

So I paid the bill and headed out. The Great Northern Hwy continued SW for about 35km before turning S towards Newman. Newman is the town built at the large open cut iron ore mine that supplies Port Hedland, but I would not be going all the way there. The other North West Coastal Hwy followed the coast towards Karratha and Dampier, which I will be bypassing as I want to see the Karajini NP.

My riding involved continual slaloms in an attempt to rough of the polished surfaces of the new tyres. I got into a real groove doing this but I doubt whether I will need the tyre edges as the roads are almost straight with the odd kink – not bends – but the tyres are ready should any bend come my way.

The Hwy S was just amazing. First it was similar country to that I had been travelling down the coast – flat grass, mostly various Spinifex, and mulga scrub, giving way to treeless plains. The soil was a sandy red.

The further I went the drier it became and I crossed a number of small ranges. The soil became much redder, loosing the sandy red colour of earlier. The trees and shrubs sometimes gave way to Spinifex only and then it would change, with no grass and just scattered mulga scrub.  The soil – well rocks actually - was bright red and the escarpments were a similar colour.

At one stage I was crossing a rocky plain devoid of all grass and shrubs – just rocks to the horizon cut by the black and grey bitumen line.

This landscape continued until I reached the Hamersley Range which rose out of the plain with high escarpments. The road cut through one gorge up onto the plateau and then back down and continued S. I then took the W turn towards Tom Price and continued until I reached the entrance to the Karajini NP.

I found the Dales Campground near Dales Gorge. There was a tent where you check in with the camping host. The first site allocated to me was so hard that I couldn’t drive a steel tent peg more then 10mm into the ground.

I was allocated another site where I am now camped – a newer site not yet compacted. The red dirt is everywhere – no grass, no water and long drop toilets.

By the time I had done all this it was too late to check out the Gorge – will do that tomorrow. So only travelled a little over 330km today, not so bad given the late start from the bike shop. I don’t like travelling after 4pm – I want to avoid the wild life.

I sat having dinner with the setting sun to my back, the colours of the blue sky and clouds (the first clouds I have seen since, well I can’t remember, maybe Atherton, QLD) were such a delight and I had a real peaceful evening – it is so quiet and still now that I am lying in my tent writing this post. I feel as though I am totally alone in the wilds of the Pilbara.