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Rolling Southbound out of Port Hedland on the Great Northern Highway we had loads of company, literally dozens of Road trains hauling Iron Ore and heavy machinery. Doubles, triples and “quads” nearly blowing us sideways at times. Everything here is stained red including our motorhome “Pixie” now. The rain of the past several days has washed the red iron ore from the trucks onto the highway and Pixie looks like a heavy haul Kenworth. Stopping at the Auski Roadhouse before entering Karijini National Park we settled in to a green campground and did our daily setting up the RV for the night dance. Joy jumps out guides me into the site, jumps back in as I jump out to quickly get the electric hooked up and get the a/c going, Joy bangs twice from inside tells me that the electric is good. Then Joy puts the windshield screen in place adding coverings to the side windows that I hold in place till she gets the doors closed. Next I pull out the patch of carpet for the side door from underneath so we don’t track in mud and gravel in and then Joy hands out the chairs from under the bed. Next up I get inside Joy cuts the engine and I hit the button to slide out our extra room slide out.
Okay every bodies asleep. Heading over to check out the oversized loads out front we met up with a dozen or so Drivers and Pilot car drivers. The pilot car drivers head out in front of the oversized loads and warn the incoming drivers of the obstacle heading their way. We have a CB radio so we hear these calls as the Pilots tell us of the size of the load coming at us and warn the driver of what is heading his way. Typical, “Southbound Winnie (RV) got a 8.2 meter coming at you” that means it’s really big. Anyway, these characters can’t drive at night so they and us are LAIDED up in this Roadhouse together, once they spotted us tourist they called us over and we spent three hours being “Shouted” (means given free beer) beers and given tours of their loads and trucks. Really genuine people and in the morning when we woke they were gone.
Rained poured on us all night and since we were touring Karijini National Park the next day with its water falls we were stoked until we traveled 50 km into the park and found that the area was closed due to the heavy rains. Okay I got it but put the sign at the beginning of the park not 50 km in! Back to the Highway we were Southbound to Newman a iron ore mining town everything is rust colored and we are fitting in just great. We did our ritual at the campground and settled in for some tacos. These mining towns run 24/7 so half the town is asleep at anytime. Quietly miners are walking past our campground about every hours as shifts change. Miners walk out and 30 minutes later miners walk in very rusty looking and tired. They work one week day shift then one week night shift then one week home. But what’s cool is how respectful of each other’s sleep time as they walk silently to their cabins, the mine trucks have back up alarms so they don’t park in the campground and where they do park they can leave without backing up.
Farther south we end up in Mount Magnet an old Gold mining town, seeing the old closed storefronts of the heyday of gold mining is like being in the old west. There is only one town hotel/pub still open and the IGA grocery store has limited hours, but the people here are happy as can be and glad we stopped in. Our plan is to make it to Kangaroo Island which was devastated by the fires but we are trying to be someplace fun for Australia Day January 26th. Overnighting in Sandstone WA one of my favorites Kalgoolie is our next stop.
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North coasters Are they going to be racing in Kalgoolie when you stop? When is “Pixie” going to get her bath”? Not long and you will be headed East. Sounds like you have set up down. Almost like a pit stop. Travel well...