Day 65
Thursday
6 September
Tom Price – Paraburdoo – Nanutarra - Onslow
It was a later than usual start to our day. We lounged about in bed reading our respective novels, but by 8 I was ready to get up. Paul went off for a shower, while I set breakfast. After I ate, I went off for my shower and by the time I returned the van was ready to move. Paul put the car up on the trailer and we were finally on the move, but not before realising that yesterday’s trip through the rough stuff had managed to smash off the two tyre sensors from the car. Great!
After a quick stop for fuel, we made our way towards the small mining town of Paraburdoo, about 50km down the road. It was a long trip, as there were so many bridges with works happening. Only one lane was open and you had to wait your turn, willing the red light to turn green.
We did eventually make it to Paraburdoo, skirting the outside of the small town and continuing on our way. It wasn’t until 11am that we reached the Nanutarra road, still 340km away from Onslow. This road took us 220km. It was relatively easy, with very little traffic to bother us along the run. I enjoyed looking out on the landscape; flat, long plains, jutting hills and carpets of flowers.
The closer we got to Nanutarra the more flowers we saw. In some areas, the floral carpet resembled Pro Hart may have painted. Splashes of white, silver, yellow, gold, lemon, purple, lilac and pink swirled in among the base colour of orange and the varying shades of green foliage.
At 1.10pm, we pulled into the Nanutarra Roadhouse, where we filled up once more and settled in for lunch. The last time we were here, Paul took the car and trailer off the van and I drove them, all while following Paul to Karratha to have the tow ball and undercarriage repaired. How much we have done in that time!
At 1.40pm, we returned to the North West Coastal Highway and made our way north, if only we could just keep going. I am not liking the idea of returning to the cold. As it was, it was only 24 in Tom Price yesterday and a jumper had been required. Same with most of this morning.
At 3pm, we finally arrived at the Discovery Park in Onslow, checked in and then attempted to enter the designated bay. We had no luck, pushing our little trailer across the gravel site and in the end had to go back and ask for something else. Number 5 was far more accommodating and Paul was able to get in with no hassle.
We set up base, had a drink, read the paraphernalia and then went for an explore of the park. It is quite obviously a miners’ camp, with a full rec room, dining hall, pool and volleyball court and plenty of dongers.
Once we were back at the van, we jumped in the car, ready to check out the rest of town. Our first stop was the groyne, just behind the caravan park. We stopped in a sandy patch and then walked out the length of the groyne. Paul stopped to a local and ask about the fishing, while I watched small waves reach the shore.
We made our way back to the car and then followed the road into town, driving down the main street and checking out the various buildings. It was a quick drive. We took the road as far as it went, ending up at the top of a small hill that overlooked the water, the salt company jetty with a large carrier waiting to be filled and an inland salt mine.
I was happy to leave the rest of the exploring for tomorrow, so we trundled back home for the afternoon. I was glad to see we had good internet cover and it could be accessed from the van, so I got busy uploading the Facebook albums which were complete in no time flat.
When I was done, I got into putting dinner together and then we ate. We’d been keeping an eye on the first AFL final between Richmond and Hawthorn and after washing up we wandered over to the rec room to watch the second half. They had a massive TV and plenty of comfy couches to sit on, so we made ourselves at home and watched The Tigers do away with the Hawks.
When it was all over, we returned to the van ready to call it a night once again.
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