Way into the WA wilderness

[JohnM]

Awesome trip... Seeing some of Australia's great routes. How did you go for Fuel? It would be bit of a guess to how much you would need because of all the 4WD action

I think I did mention upthread that the Troopy with its 4.2 L V8 TD averaged about 15 L/100 km at both highway speed and at the varying speeds on the track - which was quite interesting. I was expecting that it may be greater on the track - but a lot of the track driving on the flat was at quite low revs, so it averaged out with the heavier action in the dunes - of which there are about 1000 (of varying size, obviously).

I left Wiluna with the two 90 L tanks in the vehicle filled to the brim, plus 60 L in jerrycans. At that stage, I was thinking consumption might be higher on the CSR than the highway. It was a little over 1000 km to Kunnawarritji, so I arrived there with a comfortable reserve. It was then 900 km to Halls Creek. I topped up the vehicle tanks and, just to be on the safe side, filled one 20 L jerrycan.

 

[JohnM]

Day 23, Tuesday 25 July.

Day 20 (and final day) on the CSR.

Stretch Lagoon to Halls Creek (225 km) via Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater and Tanami Road.



Do not plan to sleep in at Stretch Lagoon - the abundant bird life is raucous very early!

 

[JohnM]

Day 23, Tuesday 25 July (Cont.).

Day 20 (and final day) on the CSR.





An astounding place! A few corrugations to finish on. Then past Billiluna community, the end of the actual CSR and on to the Tanami Road.



Turning left. This road’s a bit different than the last three weeks. Turn off to Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater.





And then it was back to the Tanami road and a right turn for the run into Halls Creek (I did want to turn left and go back to the CSR!), stop at the bitumen 17 km S of town to pump up tyres, get out of 4WD and watch three weeks’ worth of emails come flooding in.

Overnight Halls Creek and the start of the week and a half meander back to Perth tomorrow.

 

[RooFlyer]

More meteorite crater, please. Not seen on-the-ground pics of it before.

 

[JohnM]

More meteorite crater, please. Not seen on-the-ground pics of it before.

About all I can offer. We didn't go down into it.

 

[RooFlyer]

Phwoar! Thanks. Love the concentric vegetation anomalies

 

[JohnM]

Phwoar! Thanks. Love the concentric vegetation anomalies

I just knew you would....

 

[JohnM]

Day 24, Wednesday 26 July.

Halls Creek to Broome (c. 700 km). Uneventful drive to Broome. Time to replenish supplies, get a new tube fitted to replace the one that punctured around the valve stem at Well 49 and go to the famed Matso’s Brewery for some beers and dinner.

 

[JohnM]

Day 25, Thursday 27 July.

Broome doesn’t do a lot for me, so I was out of there in the morning and heading for 80 Mile Beach.



Along the way.



80 Mile Beach. Plenty of people fishing but nobody swimming – too many bitey things.



Sunset-viewing is a ritual.

 

[JohnM]

Day 26, Friday 28 July.

80 Mile Beach via Marble Bar to camp near Karajini NP.

 

[JohnM]

Day 26, Friday 28 July (Cont.).

De Grey River.





Marble Bar (‘Australia’s hottest town’) is an interesting place. Unfortunately, I omitted to take a photo of the famed Ironclad Hotel. The ‘Marble Bar’ is actually an outcrop of red jasper-dominated rock across the river a little way out of town that people initially mistook for marble. A nearby memorial to a local identity had a very fitting saying attributed to him.

 

[JohnM]

Day 26, Friday 28 July (Cont.).

Some pretty plants and sights on the way through to Great Northern Highway and overnight camp at a 24 h rest stop N of Newman. Empty iron ore train heading back for another load as the sun went down.

 

[JohnM]

Day 27, Saturday 29 July.

Most of the day in spectacular Karajini National Park in the Hamersley Range.



Cloud came in overnight to result in a spectacular dawn.



Great Northern Highway cutting through the Hamersley Range.

 

[JohnM]

Day 27, Saturday 29 July (Cont.).

 

[JohnM]

Day 27, Saturday 29 July (Cont.).

 

[JohnM]

Day 27, Saturday 29 July (Cont.).

 

[Steady]

Some wicked sunsets JohnM

 

[JohnM]

Day 28, Sunday 30 July.

Hamersley Gorge section of Karajini NP, Millstream and then to an overnight camp on North West Coastal Highway.



Rio’s Marandoo mine lies just to the SW of Karajini. The mine now extends below the water table and the extracted water is used in the large centre-pivot irrigation systems of the Hamersley Agricultural Project to grow stock feed. Good to see integration of mining and agriculture.



Hamersley Gorge is a stunning example of folded sediments.

 

[JohnM]

Day 28, Sunday 30 July (Cont.).

More Hamersley Gorge.





Beginning to move west from the Hamersley Range.





FMG railway.

 

[JohnM]

Day 28, Sunday 30 July (Cont.).

Then to the serenity of Millstream – a series of large lagoons on the Fortescue River.



Hamersley Range backdrop.



Old Millstream Station homestead and the cut-off tropical vegetation at this oasis.