Chris's space

This was a drive into the unknown, I asked around and checked Main Roads and Google Maps but could not get consistent information on the route. Anyway I set off and very quickly saw that the Gmaps route 297 km was sending me down roads that were private property with locked gates so followed the signs which were few and far between. The first 150 km was a winding road and 60kph top speed if that, good dirt with occasional bad patches and a Grader crew working on it all year round. I eventually came to the Ashburton Shire boundary and a sign that said “Road Closed”, I definitely was not going back and making a 1000km detour so I continued on with a little trepidation thinking it may be a river crossing washed away and I could somehow find my way across. I am carrying 44 litres of drinking water and enough food for a couple of weeks so no worries. The road turned out to be very good, the best so far with again a Grader and crew working on a section. I came to a gate while passing through the Ashburton Downs Station but there were no signs on it and it was not locked so the normal procedure in this case is to go through and close the gate behind you which I did. And continued on uneventfully until I reached Nanutarra road which had a short section of paved road. On the way I overtook one vehicle towing a camper and three other passed me going in the other direction. Arrived in Tom Price completely bypassing Paraburdoo after 442km in 5:20 hrs. The lady at the Visitor’s Centre said the road is officially closed due to road works but she had only heard about it the day before, puzzling because there are no other roads through that area and work on them is continuous, probably typical Shire bureaucracy.

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The drive from Gascoyne Junction to Mt.Augustus was the most interesting so far, winding dirt roads, a few corrugations, many Dips, Floodways and a few dry river crossings added to the fun. Mainly a good graded surface sometimes not so good, easy to maintain 100 kph. It took 3 hours to cover the 288 km. I met another couple who took 6 hours and were doing 50 kph, at that speed you feel every bump and corrugation, at 100 kph you skim over the top of the corrugations, a much smoother ride.

Mount Augustus – A very large rock. I followed some of the trails and saw some Aboriginal scribbles, not one of the talented.

I flew my drone at the Cattle Pool, it was deserted, click on the link below.

Goolinee Cattle Pool Views from a Drone

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Carnarvon to Gascoyne Junction 175 km on a good paved road but after this it will be all dirt roads, we are in the outback now.

Gascoyne Junction – population 149, a one roadhouse town and they have a brand new caravan park. Most people stop here to visit the Kennedy National Park.

The Park was deserted and I flew my drone at Temple and Honeycomb Gorges for about 10 minutes each which is how long a battery lasts and I have two batteries. Edited videos shown below. The originals are in HD but these have reduced resolution to have any chance of being uploaded from here .

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Steep Point to Carnarvon, after the first 30 km of the sand track an easy drive in fine weather.

Carnarvon – population 4,400, the biggest town in this area, famous for its Bananas and Mangoes. It has a Woolworths, Repco, AutoPro, three tyre places and four Caravan Parks for the tourists. It also had a Tracking Station built by NASA for the Gemini, Apollo and other Space Programs, this site is now an interesting museum.

I noticed my car drifting to the left and a shake in the steering wheel so I took it in for a wheel alignment and balance which fixed the problem.

The caravan park I stayed in had a large number of people stranded there when the government closed regional borders, one a Sax player put on a free concert once a week while she was there, very nice. And there were also a group of young French and Italians on one year working holidays stuck as well. They all started leaving this week.

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Steep Point, the western most point on the Australian mainland. The first 130 km from the main road is a good graded dirt road and you can maintain 110 kph most of the time but the last 30 km of this track goes through sand dunes, along the beach and some hard limestone corrugations, not for the fainthearted though the locals come here to fish hahaha. Once again you need a vehicle with good ground clearance and you must lower your tyre pressures to 20 psi or lower. You also need to carry your own compressor to reinflate your tyres on the way out.

There was one hill that I bounced down with huge potholes and getting back up it would have been a real problem so I asked the Ranger about this hill when I registered and she said going back the road went around that hill, it was one way only hahaha relief.

Closeup

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The night was completely black, no moon, no clouds or any artificial light and the stars were out in force with the Milky Way and Scorpio clearly visible. Look at the photos in complete darkness on a big screen to get some idea of what I experienced, absolutely amazing. I put the camera on the roof of my car and used the self timer and a 6 second exposure.

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The hill

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I managed to get packed and leave just before the rain started and it rained on and off all the way from Gregory to Monkey Mia, 435 km in 4:40 hrs easy drive. I got soaked when I stopped to fill up and a rain cloud decided to let go at just that moment with a downpour which lasted for 5 minutes, Zeus and Indra playing with us mortals.

When I first visited Monkey Mia on my bike in 1981 it could only be accessed by a dirt road from Highway 1, after that 2 more visits with the ankle biters, the last one in 1999. Since then they have levelled the place and built a huge resort with the most expensive rooms going for $568/night, my tent site cost me $38 with the RAC 20% discount. This has to be the worst campsite I have stayed on, no trees, no grass, rock hard ground and blowing a gale hahaha but the facilities were the best I have ever seen definitely 5 star, very organised and fast Wifi. In 5 years time once the trees grow it should be much better.

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Interacting with the dolphins has also turned into a real circus, no more just wandering down to the beach, there are specific times and you have to get a ticket and a token and form a queue, etc. They have commercialised and ruined what used to be a very simple and natural experience that has been going on since the 60’s and there are fewer dolphins. It is still a unique experience.

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I went for a drive to Point Peron about 50km of sandy track 4 wheel drive only as the sand is deep in parts and if you don’t have the ground clearance your vehicle will get beached. You have to drop your tyre pressures to 20psi at the start and there is an air pump to reinflate them when you return. There is a Museum at the start of the track where there used to be a Sheep Station.

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After eight months of hibernating I am finally on the move again. The coercive travel restrictions imposed by governments around the world are slowly being eased as they realise life must go on regardless and ultimately Nature will prevail. Unfortunately some of the most restrictive have been implemented by the state of Western Australia where I live and only since 6 June have we been able to leave our region and travel intrastate but interstate travel is still banned.

So in anticipation of Freedom Day (stage 1) I bought a 4 wheel drive Mitsubishi Pajero and equipped it to be self sufficient in the bush. It’s winter in Perth and I prefer warmer climates therefore I headed North towards the Kimberley region and once the state borders open up continue on to the Northern Territory taking it one day at a time.

First stop Gregory, 527 km north on the coast an easy drive. This place does not even have its own mobile phone tower and I had to go to the beach or on top of a rise to get a signal, no Petrol Station and one General Store, yes such places do exist. I visited Horrocks a few km to the south similar to Gregory but with a phone tower and Kalbarri to the North which is a very popular tourist spot with all the amenities. The last day here was spent hiding from a storm, packing up a wet tent and then erecting it somewhere else is not nice.

Gregory – population 64

Lynton Convict Hiring Depot

Horrocks – population 138

Kalbarri – Tourists per year 200,000