17 May to 5 June 2023

It’s official, it has been 2 months since we left Busselton on March 17^th. We have traveled many kilometers and managed to not argue (too much) all while traveling together, just the two of us, something that we have not done before. I think that deserves a celebration!.

We spent 12 nights at 40 Mile Beach (Gnoorea), 60km south of Karratha. This camp spot is extremely popular, particularly with the grey nomad community from May to September each year. The City of Karratha has introduced a booking system and maximum night stay this year to ensure everyone can stay for a little while. This camp spot is where the mangroves and ocean meet. We’ve never been here before so booked a cliff side ocean view site away from the mangroves (and the worst of the midgies). The site itself was really big, but a big bush in the middle made it a bit awkward getting the van in. The winds here can get pretty strong so we set up ready for the upcoming windy weather. Each day we drove to the mangrove side of the camp to fish. The cliff side can be a bit hard to fish from, particularly on the low and outgoing tides. We did ok with the fishing and caught garfish, whiting and yellowtail bream. Peter had to teach me how to tie a new fishing knot after I kept getting my line tangled, far too many times. It’s not the best place to swim so was a bit hard to be at the beach and not be able to jump in for fear of the sharks (yes we saw some) and murky tidal waters. We also had to look out for the huge prickles which would pierce through your thongs, hermit crabs, lizards and the always dangerous butterflies. We met a lovely couple Peter and Pandora who were camped up next to us. They were full of family travel stories from their younger years after immigrating from South Africa about 30 years ago. On our last night we all had a lovely dinner together around the fire to say our goodbyes.

Next we moved on to Millstream Chichester National Park for 4 nights. It was a 2.5 hour drive from Karratha, through many kilometers of road works. We had been told about the really corrugated roads into the National Park, but we need not have worried. The road is now sealed so is only 5km of gravel with a couple of minor corrugations at the entrance to the camp areas. We booked our spot at Stargazers camp site quite a few weeks ago (nearly all of the sites were already booked) and had no idea what to expect. The camp itself has 15 sites, a couple of drop toilets, a gas bbq, sheltered tables a big tank of non-potable water, and no phone or internet reception which is everything we need. On the day we arrived, we hiked to the cliff lookout, a fairly easy 6km return walk. The views of the ranges were amazing. The next day we hiked to Deep Reach Pool (along the Fortescue River) for a swim. This hike was a little shorter (5km) through spiky, scratchy spinafex. The pool was beautiful, with palm trees lining the river. The water was surprisingly not icy cold and perfect for a swim after the walk in the sun. The next day we drove the 60km to Python Pool. There are a few hike tracks and lookouts to explore. We hiked the class 4 trail to McKensie Spring, where Pete had a cheeky dip. We hiked back and then climbed Mount Herbert. The views from the top were phenomenal. After a bite to eat, we drove and had a swim at Python Pool. The water was freezing, but so refreshing as it was getting pretty hot. The colours of the water and rock walls were so vibrant and well worth the visit. Another hike to Cameleer’s Lookout completed our visit to this part of the park. It’s hard to believe that camels and bullock teams used to traverse these rocky hills back in the day. A fabulous gift given to me when I stopped work was an Anaconda voucher. I bought a pair of hiking boots which have been the best investment ever with all of the walks and very uneven terrain we have been traversing.

The final day we spent exploring the Millstream Homestead. It was such a great place to try to understand the remoteness of the station and the families that lived here over the years. We have seen some very pretty wild flowers in the Pilbara including Sturt’s Desert Pea and Mulla Mulla, along with many hawks, eagles and budgies.

After 4 weeks off grid, out exploring some new camps we are in Karratha for a couple of days restocking, washing everything we can, refueling and having more nanobots injected into our bodies (aka COVID shot number 5). Next we move on to Cape Keraudon 180km north of Port Headland for another 2 weeks off the beaten path.