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Woke up early this morning (just me) so took my phone outside to enjoy and capture the stunning sunrise over the rocks near Meekatharra where we were camped. It already felt quite hot and the flies were out in force. The road trains were steadily passing by on the nearby highway heading both north and south.
Came back inside, had a shower and we set off early, stopping to make breakfast about an hour and a half north in a rest stop - toasted sandwiches made in the frypan. Yum!
We continued driving, enjoying the arid mid west landscape with its red, gold and even the occasional green in the landscape. We continued our audio book to pass time and we stopped at the remote road house of Kumarina to fill expensive fuel, go to the toilet and stretch our legs. I stopped to say hello to the resident corella perched in a large
cage and he promptly asked if I'd like a scratch, turning his head around up close to the bars for me to give him a scratch.
We continued driving all afternoon, listening to our audiobook and watching the scenery whizz by. We saw lots of what I think were wedge tail eagles flying overhead,with their large wingspans soaring high above us searching for prey. We also twice saw this majestic bird on the side of the road sitting on top of a road kill animal and strutting to let anyone passing by know that this was his kill - very impressive.
We ate lunch (which I made when we stopped for brekky) as we drove and didn't stop until we reached the mining town of Newman, which took us out of the mid west and into the Pilbara. The Pilbara is a large, dry area of northern WA below the Kimberley rich in iron ore deposits. We stopped at the visitor's Centre in Newman, really feeling the mid afternoon heat at 32 degrees. We spent some time there, then stopped at Woollies to do a shop before heading further north to find a place to camp for the night. We passed several mine sites including the vast Hope Downs 100km north of Newman, owned jointly by Hancock Prospecting (Gina Rinehart) and Rio Tinto. As the sun got lower in the sky I found it really hard to see on the road as we counted down the km to the campsite. We were sitting behind a truck and two other caravans, which made it easier to keep straight on the road and concentrate as we headed towards Karijini National Park, with its mountains, gorges and rock formations. It was a relief to finally reach our campsite at the base of Mt Robinson, which was filled with other caravans and camper trailers - something we haven't yet experienced, as each night on the trek north we have been alone. We found a spot to back into and quickly introduced ourselves to our neighbours. We sat with them by their campfire gazing at the star filled sky (after an easy dinner of BBQ chicken courtesy of Woollies in Newman) and a tossed salad. This was a lovely way to end the evening and we crashed into bed tonight with our minds filled with the gorgeous rock formations around our camp, and wondering what new scenery tomorrow will bring.
Good night from the Pilbara xx
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