Pausing in the Pilbara

After two nights free camping on our way south from Broome we turned south-east and headed to Marble Bar, passing through Coongan Gorge, a twisting and undulating route through the hills, where we were instructed to announce our passage on the CB radio. In the afternoon we explored the little town, nestled in a hollow completely surrounded by spinifex-covered hills. Marble Bar is known as Australia’s hottest town, but we enjoyed a pleasant 28 degrees and a cooling breeze.

Marble Bar Welcome

We admired the old stone government buildings – police station, courthouse and mines department – built in 1895 after gold was discovered four years earlier. We poked our heads into the bar of the famous Ironclad Hotel, which is indeed clad in corrugated iron, then drove a short way out of town to the Coongan River where it is crossed by a ‘marble’ bar – which is actually jasper – and threw water over the colourful rock to enhance the red and blue bands of colour.

Marble Bar

Another two nights on the road and a brief stop in Port Hedland brought us to Karratha, which we hadn’t visited since 1982 when we travelled with a tent and a one-year-old baby. The town has expanded massively with the mining boom, and the town centre now features a streetscape which could have been transplanted from any inner city suburb, with very modern seven or eight-storey apartment buildings with offices and shops at street level. A new high school and recreation centre have recently been built and a health campus and library are currently under construction. However the downturn in mining has left property values much reduced and 600 homes are now vacant.

On Monday we drove out through the ruggedly beautiful spinifex-covered hills and rocky outcrops into Millstream Chichester National Park. The large patches of Sturt Pea and Mulla Mulla carpeting the road verges were magnificent.

Sturt Desert Pea Chichester NP

Our first stop was Python Pool, an inviting swimming hole at the base of a high cliff face.

Python Pool

Next we visited Millstream Homestead where we had a look through the old house and walked around the spring-fed stream, the water clear as crystal and filled with lily pads, which was used to water vegetable gardens and groves of date palms.

Millstream Homestead

Millstream

During our drive we saw seven or eight iron ore trains, each pulled by three locomotives, making their way to and from Tom Price. We were stopped at the same crossing twice, and counted 236 wagons on one train, giving it an estimated length of 3km. There is certainly still plenty of iron ore being mined in the Pilbara, downturn or not!