THE PILBARA...Karratha- Dampier - Cossack - Pt. Samson 24.9.12 - 1.10.12

Our first day in Karratha was spent filling in time with some retail therapy while the car was being serviced. The shopping area was surprising...a large centre in a mining town expected to reach a population of 50,000 in the near future. We spent a small fortune on the car service, bought a few Christmas gifts and treated ourselves to snorkeling gear in anticipation of Ningaloo Reef and it's pleasures. We also bought a fishing book so we can identify the numerous fish we plan to catch.. ( not in the marine park of course)!

Blogger at work.....actually very time consuming. Maybe I will learn to touch type!

We are now in Dampier In the Transit Camp, a pleasant small park which looks straight out to sea. The air is cool and relatively dust free. What a joy!

There is a lot to see around this area. We went to the North West Shelf gas project where there Is a very informative Visitor's Centre explaining how the gas is extracted and from a nearby lookout we could appreciate the enormity of the onshore operation. There is a lot more offshore where Woodside and Partners have another three rigs.

Very large sculpture which stands outside the Visitor's Centre showing two workers helping a third, injured man.

After that we spent a few hours walking through a series of small gorges looking for the petroglyphs cut into the rock faces. There are literally thousands of them there.

Along the roadside were Sturt's Desert Peas bravely flowering right on the edge of the gravel road, and sometimes in the middle of the road. They are prolific at this time of the year and so colourful.

Dampier is also home of the famous 'Red Dog' which has a sculpture in his honor near the entrance to the town.

On our final day here, Sue and Brian, friends from the LadyM cruise arrived. We went to the sailing club for an excellent seafood dinner with a crisp white wine, a beautiful sunset, and a good yarn.

27.9.12 CLEAVERVILLE.

As we were limited to 3 days in the transit park, we drove north about 30kms to Cleaverville, a bush camp managed by the council, overlooking the ocean and widely recommended by fellow travellers, where we paid $7 pn. to caretaker Jim, a friendly, helpful man. The facilities are limited to a dump point and garbage bins, so a chemical toilet was a prerequisite. On the negative side were strong winds, rocky beaches and 'the night of a trillion midges'! On the positive.. interesting company at the nightly happy hour, campfire cooking and shade. At high tide the swimming was great and the shells and stones on the beach very colourful. There were a lot of sea cucumbers on the reef at low tide, a large clam and coral.

Our van was tucked in under the shade of one of the few trees. The coast is harsh and dry.

The entire area is dotted with campers who can stay cheaply for three months until the end of September. After that is the cyclone season and the exposed coast offers little shelter.

COSSACK.

The rebuilt school house.

While based at Cleaverville (there is no 'ville'), we drove further north to the historic town of Cossack, the first port of the North West established in 1863. It thrived for 50 yrs. as a pearling centre and then serviced hundreds of prospectors seeking their fortunes in the Pilbara Goldfields. Eight buildings have been beautifully restored and house informative exhibitions detailing everyday life in the town. The gaol was cool and white-washed and the cells surprisingly large ..and dare I say.. inviting in the heat of the day! The harbour eventually proved unsuitable for larger vessels which transferred to the new jetty at Pt. Samson. Other enterprises moved from Cossack and the town was eventually abandoned completely by the early 1950s.

A highlight of the day was watching a group of young Aboriginal boys, on the last afternoon of the school term, launching themselves from the jetty into the cool channel below. One teacher was videoing them as they leapt and the other was talking to us as he kept a close eye on them as well. One reluctant, chubby boy, sporting jocks with 'HORNY' on the waistband, had many false starts before he finally gathered enough courage to make the leap. All the others applauded him and it was a joy to see his face shine with the achievement. This went on for a good hour by which time they had tired enough to lie on the hot concrete to dry off. Then drinks and lunch and back into the bus. Great entertainment for us!

PT. SAMSON 29.9.12

We drove to Pt. Samson in search of a swim, a shower and of course a large T.V. screen on which to watch the AFL grand final. We found the first two at the pretty beach area and then went to The Tavern for lunch and the game. The crowd was rowdy and well-oiled as expected and the game was great with a 'Swannies' victory. That warmed our NSW hearts of course.

View from the verandah of the Tavern

AFL Grand Final.

The next day we swam while the tide was high at Cleaverville and a turtle kept poking his head up to check our whereabouts while he foraged on the reef for food. It was a beautiful morning. Then we drove into Pt. Samson to watch the NRL grand final at The Tavern again. This time there were about 20 people watching. There isn't the same interest in the west as there is for AFL.

Lamb roast on the campfire for dinner was delicious.

We have been watching the Common Sandpipers as they rush around our caravan looking for food, bobbing their heads up and down. They don't take much notice of us providing we stay still.

More snorkelling today, and the usual campfire gathering. We will be sorry to leave these new friends when we move on tomorrow, but expect to meet some who are travelling the same way south.