Karijini to Shark Bay 2017

 A short trip through the Pilbarra and Gascoyne in July 2017. 

 

Participants:

Me, "the misso" and two doggos in the GU Patrol + 11ft Coromal Caravan

Mum, Dad, sister, brother-in-lawin the Mu-X + hired forward fold camper trailer

Day 1: Setting off from Perth

We left Perth at dawn, up the Great Northern Hwy and making it to the New Norcia roadhouse for breakfast. The roadhouse breakfast menu is extensive and caters for all diets and tastes. They don't publish it on the menu board so I'll include a copy here to for your convenience: (a) toast, or (b) bacon, eggs and toast. 

Payne's Find for lunch; the doggos were already bored of the long drive.

We camped the first night 70 km north of Meekatharra at Bilyuin Pool, on the upper reaches of the Murchison River. We arrived just after dark, so there wasn't much to see in the evening.

I have been using the Android app 'Memory Maps' loaded with the ExplorOz EOTopo maps downloaded for offline use on my old Nexus 5. A great (free) app that is simple to use and super handy for navigating to little spots like this. The EOTopo maps cost money, but there are many other free maps covering Australia at reasonably good detail that you can download. It would have taken ages to find this spot after dark (if I ever found it at all) without being able to track my GPS position on the map - I won't be going touring again without it. 

Day 2: Meekatharra to Karijini

Our campsite at Bilyuin Pool in the (bloody cold) morning. This is a great campsite, perfect for overnighting on the way up from Perth.

 

Mum and Dad slept in the swag to give the newlyweds some space in the camper. Must have been cold because it only lasted a night - they were sleeping on the camper's lounge bed the next night.

Continuing on we stopped in at Newman in time to catch up with a friend for lunch. Top tip: the Dunnings Shell service station in the industrial area has cheap fuel but also an easily accessible tap for refilling water tanks, which we gladly utilised.

We made it to Karijini shortly before dusk. Our plan had been to camp just outside National Park, off the Weano Gorge Rd on a track that heads north in the direction of Bee and Wittenoom Gorge. We have explored these tracks on a previous trip, and there are some great and secluded areas to bush camp. Being outside the park we figured a) We could stay with our dogs, b) we could have a camp fire, and c) we wouldn't be crammed in with 1,000 other campers at Dales Gorge, the only "official" permitted camping area. 

But wouldn't you know it, a park ranger is parked across the entry to the track, in no mood to let us through. Talking with us he advised that they keep people out of the track (which is completely outside the National Park) because it accesses Bee Gorge, and the Traditional Owners have requested that campers stay out to protect it from littering and damage. I can confidently say that the road down into the gorge has eroded away and there is no way a vehicle can get down in to the gorge without literally driving off the edge. I considered querying how the Traditional Owners faired accessing the area via that track, especially with the boulders DPaW have placed accross the entrance, but figured it was getting late and I didn't want to get in the bad books with the politburo.

I've heard people have been sustainably free camping in Western Australia for tens of thousands of years - good thing white man came along and put a stop to that. I think we can all agree there is no room for camping outside of designated official camping spots in such a small, densely populated country as ours.

Anyway, instead we found a camp just to the west of the Park, in a creek bed off a dirt road. This turned out to be an excellent spot.

Day 3: Karijini Gorges

As said above, our camp in a creek bed to the west of Karijini was a cracker.

We dropped the dogs off at the Shire's kennel facility in Tom Price for the day, and headed in to the National Park to check out Dales and Kalamina Gorges. Several dozen fruit bats  were hanging out (literally) in the trees along the track to Fern Pool.

The Karijini gorges were beautiful as ever. We had a swim at Fern Pool, which was pretty chilly, however the waterfall water was warmer and quite nice to sit under.

The wife and I moved on to Kalamina Gorge. The gravel road that links to the northern gorges of the Park was, as usually, awfully corrugated and horrible to drive on. DPaW must have recognised the persistently terrible condition of this road, and appear to have responded by designating these roads as "4WD only" on the brochures. Problem solved! Anywho, Kalamina was nice, not as spectacular as some of the other gorges, but worth a visit.

We headed back to Tom Price in the arvo to pick up the dogs. I was hoping this little trip to the pound would 'scare them straight' but no luck, they were still naughty little doggos. While in Tom Price we fuelled up and drove up the short 4WD track to the top of Mt Nameless. Nice spot with great views.

Day 4: WA's Highest Mountain

Few know that the highest point in Western Australia is not Bluff Knoll in the south of the state but actually Mount Meharry in the Pilbarra. We rose early (9 am) to set out on an expedition to the southern extents of Karijini NP, taking a track starting near the Ranger's Residence running down accross a mining railway and past a few abandoned FIFO camps to find the start of the Mt Meharry track. This makes for a really great day out, and I'd highly recommend it for anybody visiting Karijini with a 4WD and a little bit of offroad experience. The track up is rocky, extremely steep, and is a real challenge in some sections. 

The auto Patrol with standard size highway tyres and 30 mm of lift had no trouble reaching the top, though a front diff lock would have made it that little bit easier on some of the big jump ups. I was impressed that the brand new unmodified Mu-X made it up, though it did struggle a bit on some of the bigger jump ups. Watch out for sharp rocks, because if you get a bad puncture half way up one of the steep sections there is literally nowhere safe to change a tyre. 

Views from the top are amazing, and you get a good sense of achievement reaching it. Even though it was the middle of the July school holidays, we had the mountain to ourselves and didn't see anybody else the several hours we spent ascending, eating lunch and descending.
 

When airing up back at the main road I noticed a small puncture in the sidewall of a front tyre that would have been a victim of the sharp rocks on the Mt Meharry track. So a quick tyre change was completed. I'm looking forward to replacing these cheap highway tyres that came on the Patrol when I bought it with some decent all-terrains.

Day 5: Wittenoom and Yampire Gorge

Sunday was time to explore the northern most gorges in the area, and have a quick poke around the ghost town of Wittenoom. Driving up the Hamersley - Mount Bruce Rd we were impressed to see an irrigated cropping installation on Hamersley station, complete with huge stockpiles of hay bails presumably harvested for cattle feed. Apparently the water for  irrigation comes from dewatering operations at the nearby Marandoo mine, which allows the mine to go deeper and extend its operational life some 20 years without wasting good groundwater - more info here.

Heading east on the Nunutarra Rd in the direction of Wittenoom (now removed from most maps) we stopped in at Hammersley Gorge briefly, and then carried on down the road through the scenic Rio Tinto Gorge. Arriving at Wittenoom, we skipped through the town and headed down Bothillo Rd into the Wittenoom Gorge. The asbestos mining operation, which ceased in the 1960s, was based in the upper reaches of the gorge. Amazingly, huge stockpiles of asbestos tailings still remain piled up the sides of the gorge, gradually making their way downstream during flood events. Multiple signs on the way in warn of the asbestos health risk, and you do take a risk entering the area. There is a small water crossing required a few km into the gorge.

I can't begin to imagine the cost to clean up and fully remediate the site - probably why it has been left as-is 50 years on from the closing of the mine. Not keen on the idea of mesothelioma, we didn't go to close to the actual mine site, going no further than the site of the (now demolished) mine manager's house. 

It's such a shame that this gorge has been permanently contaminated by the mining operation, it's one of the most beautiful and accessible in the area. The water is clean and blue, and there are some awesome waterside campsites that have to be some of the best in the Pilbarra. This place would be an amazing oasis in the warmer months, shame about the asbestos. We only stopped for 10 minutes to let the dogs have a swim, as we were keen to minimise our time in the area.

 

After the gorge we took a drive around the post-apocalyptic streets of Wittenoom. I remember staying here in the mid-1990's on a family holiday, when there was still a caravan park and shops in town. Now there appear to only 10 habitable homes remaining that look at least partially occupied. You have to admire the persistence of these people who still live there receiving no government services whatsoever. With the backdrop of the Hammersley Ranges it wouldstill a beautiful albeit depressing place to live. 

On the way out of town, we noticed a large road sign saying "Karijini National Park via Yampire Gorge Road" directing us east along the Munjina Rd. Great, a northern access route into the National Park!

Yampire Gorge Road was once a well maintained gravel road that provided access into Karijini from the north. That was in the 90s and, although some road signs and maps still show the road, it certainly has not been in use for many years.The route travels along the bottom of the spectacular Yampire Gorge.

 

Wet season water flows and healthy vegetation growth have removed most signs of a formed road through much of the route, and turned it into a challenging but beautiful 4WD track. There was a short-lived asbestos mining operation in this gorge prior to Wittenoom opening up, and as such there are signs warning of asbestos risks. We kept the windows up as recommended when in these areas.

This track looks rarely used and is overgrown along much of the route, resulting in a bit of pinstriping or worse if you're not careful. You are pushing through bonnet-height grass for a few kilometres and there are rock-crawling hill climbs, big washouts and no less than 57 water crossings. Unfortunately I didn't think to stop and take photos during the best bits so the photos don't really look that impressive.

The lush green trees and undergrowth at the bottom of the gorge gives way to a rocky hill climb as the track climbs out of the gorge onto the high ground of what is/was the Doug Francis Scenic Drive.

The track finishes not far from the visitor's centre.
Amazingly, Google Maps will navigate you along this route, as the road is still shown on maps, but the 1 hr 20 min journey time it estimates is a bit of an underestimate. Allow 2 - 3 hours and make sure you know what you're doing.

This track would be up there with the most "extreme" overland 4WDing I have done, on par with anything in the Kimberley, just shorter (only 30 km long). It is an inaccessible and difficult track that I wouldn't attempt solo, and if there was more water in the gorge it would not be passable, but it's a rewarding drive. Also don't be a drongo and get stuck out there, or litter, or be a general nuissance - whilst entry to he track is not barricaded at the northern end, if people cause trouble out there authorities may well consider it.

 Day 6: Tom Price to Mt Augustus

 
After Karijini we parted ways with mum, dad, sister and brother-in-law who continued on their own to Exmouth. We stopped in at Tom Price to replace the punctured tyre ($380 - ouch) and then proceeded westward down Nameless Valley Drive and then along then Nanutarra  Rd. This whole route is quite scenic, and the gravel sections of road are well maintained.


The quickest way to get to Mt Augustus from the Karijini area is actually through Parabrudoo and via a station track that directly links to the Ashburton Downs - Meekatharra Road, but apparently Mininer Station does not permit access. Putting a public road through this route would be sensible, as it cuts almost 100 km off the route and would open up the area for easier tourism access.

Alas, we left Nautarra - Munjina Rd heading south down the Ashburton Downs - Meekatharra Rd, which curves its way through low ranges and dry river beds. It's an impressive landscape, maybe more of a moonscape in places, and we passed only a handful of fellow travellers on the way. An abandoned haulpack and an old car (something British from the 40s is my guess?) are features along the way.

Road conditions were good enough to average 70 - 80 km/hr, but we needed to keep an eye out for sharp rocks and fat cows.

The final 200 km to Mt Augustus is via Pingandy Rd, which is a smaller, more serpentine single lane track in most sections, so the going is a bit slower but nevertheless easy. We made it to the caravan park at Mt Augustus before nightfall with the caravan still in one piece. Almost 500 km of dirt road covered today.

At camp I noticed the back left tyre had a leak in the tread and I successfully complete my first tyre puncture repair. Success.

 Day 7: Mt Augustus to Shark Bay (almost)

We showered, cleaned up and did some laundry at the caravan park. The park is adjacent to the station homestead and has the big rock as a backdrop. Diesel and ULP are both available at reasonable prices. Fires are permitted and bathroom and laundry facilities are adequate. It's off the beaten track and reminds me of places like Mount Elizabeth Station in the Kimberley. Camp sites are very spread out, so even in peak season it wasn't crowded.

We didn't stop at any of the Mt Augustus attractions due to time constraints and not being able to have dogs in the National Park, but we drove a loop around the rock which is very impressive. Typical; we missed the big event by only 17 years:

The drive south west through Landor Station and then down a section of the Carnarvon - Mullewa Rd is fairly uneventful rangeland country. Crossing from the Shire of Upper Gascoyne into the Shire of Murchison on the Carnarvon - Mullewa Rd saw road conditions immediately change from average to superb - a testament to WA's smallest (by population) Shire's excellent reputation for road maintenance. 


Fun facts: The Shire of Murchison has a population of just 112, 11 of whom are Shire employees and 6 of whom serve on the Shire Council. That means almost 20% of the population either works for or is an elected member of the council. They don't teach you that at school.


We cut west accross the Byro - Woodleigh Rd, which is basically a well compacted 200 km sand track that links to the North West Coastal Hwy, and found a camp for the night off the side of the road along the way. Over 600 km of dirt roads traversed today.
 

Day 8: Shark Bay with a surprise trip to Carnarvon

In the morning I dumped a jerry can of diesel into the Patrol to see us through to Overlander Roadhouse. We were on the road early and on track to reach our next campsite on the shores of Shark Bay by noon.  

Nope. Five minutes up the road the car lost half its power and the engine light came on. Checking the fault code revealed it was a fuel system fault, and I guessed that the fuel filter had been blocked by dirty fuel from the jerry can. Very glad I put a copy of the ECU fault codes and reading procedures in the glovebox. Not so glad that I didn't have a spare fuel filter, or to discover that the Patrol doesn't have a drain plug in the fuel tank like the old GQ had. 

Carnarvon would be the closest place with an auto parts store, so we limped along the final 100 km to meet the NWC Hwy. We then ditched the caravan and slowly drove north in the direction of Carnarvon at half power, shamefully being passed by road trains and 1HZ landcruisers towing boats. 

By the time we made it the extra 170 km to Carnarvon the main tank was almost drained and the old filter almost completely blocked. Changing the fuel filter did indeed fix the problem, and I grabbed a second one as a spare. By late afternoon we had made it back to pick up the caravan, stopped in at Overlander Roadhouse for fuel, and were on the Useless Loop Road on our way to Tamala Station.

Picked up the gate keys from Tamala homestead just before closing time at 6pm, and found our campsite at 'Three Bays North' just after dark.
 

Day 9: Tamala Station

The first morning at Tamala brought with it a rare (for WA) sunrise over the sea, and it was clear that we were on to a winner with our site at Tamala.

We had the entire bay to ourselves, and spent the first day swimming, relaxing and generally doing bugger all. Having lived my whole life in WA, it was eerie to be camped 10 m from the ocean and not be blown away by wind. The water remained dead flat all day, not a single wave.
 

Day 10: Steep Point & The Zuytorp Cliffs

A quick daytrip up the peninsula to the future Edel Land National Park, where we found the magnificent Zuydtorp Cliffs. As usual, track conditions become awful as soon as you pass the entry fee pay station, with some of the worst corrugations we've ever encountered. Even with tyres at 18 psi a light on the bullbar and a tail light on the bumper both rattled loose but I caught them before they were lost. All part of the experience I guess and this area is still definitely worth a visit.
 

A good swell was running and the blowholes north of Thunder Bay were fully functional. The power of the waves pushing and sucking air through the natural chasms in the rock is awesome. Don't fall in - death is certain.

Day 11: Back to Perth

The last day was a drive back to Perth. Uneventful but for the emptying of the chemical toilet which was, of course, my job. Top tip: if the toilet smells a bit and you don't think you added enough Sodium Percarbonate chemicals, resist the urge to add extra chemical if the toilet is near full. Substantial gasses are released by this reaction, with explosive consequences when you open the emptying spout a couple of hours later. Also don't wear thongs while emptying. A change of pants and a good wash of my feet was an unwanted final step in the emptying process.

We made it home to cold, rainy Perth just after dark. A great little trip with a lot of ground covered - 4,760 km to be precise. Fuel economy averaged 15.6 L/100km with a mix of roughly 75% towing, 25% not towing. The Patrol didn't miss a beat.