Drive, cut wood, drive, find camp, start fire, drink beer, eat, sleep (repeat 5 times)

 It’s just over 2000km from Collie to Pardoo Station up in the Pilbara. For us old people that’s a 5 night run from the jarrah forests of the SW to the red dirt of the Pilbara. Linda and I have made this trip several times now, so it was a lot of familiar camps and sights for us but on this trip we had Linda’s sister Wilma and her hubby Ian accompanying us and for them it was all new once we passed the Shark Bay turnoff.  We try and limit our daily runs to less than 400km but more than 300km so our camps were on average about 350km apart which allowed us to arrive between 2-3PM to try and secure a flat spot where we can have a fire. Ian unfortunately had problems with his car overheating and boiling on two occasions – so we were all a little stressed at times. But every cloud has a silver lining!  – apparently there have been ongoing overheating problems with some models of Mitsubishi Challengers and Tritons and at the time of posting this blog it looks like Mitsubishi will completely replace the motor at no charge. 

There is a Pajero at the end of every rainbow

Night 1 – was at Cliff Head (again) just south of Dongera. Nice spot but the local shire has decided in its wisdom to now charge $20/night per van (policed by a lovely Lady Ranger) so out of principal we won’t be stopping there again noting there are nice spots for free not far away. A bit of excitement for us on the way there was - in the famous words of Kenny Rogers – “you picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel” – a dual axel van in front of us lost one of its wheels which went careering out into the bush. We called many times on CB, flashed lights but despite listing 10 degrees to port they drove on regardless and we never saw them again. 

At the Billabong Hilton

Night 2 – was at the back of the Billabong Roadhouse not far from the Shark Bay turnoff. This is the second time we have stayed here and its not a bad option for a one-nighter with free camping, free shower, and the cheapest fuel this side of the black stump. Not flash and close to the main highway but surprisingly quiet.

Night 3 – was at Minilya River free camp (again) 140km north of Carnarvon. This had been closed for weeks after the cyclone but was once again well patronized and is a comfortable stopover heading north.

Hunting budgies - Robe River

Night 4 – was at Robe free camp (again) – very busy so we secured the scenic spot opposite the toilet dump point 😊 – surprisingly odour free thanks to the prevailing easterly wind.

Made it!

Night 5 - was supposed to be at the Turf Club at Port Hedland so we could do final shopping before heading out to Pardoo Station but because we had to wait four hours in Karratha to see if some testing could be done on Ian’s car we were late on the road and ended up staying at Yule River free camp 60km south of Hedland. Never stopped there before so something new – not a bad spot if your fully self-contained (only bins no toilets or dump points) – and from a walk I did with the hound in the morning there looks to be options well away from the road. A good spot to consider as an option to Port Hedland next time we are heading north.

Now a little story on odds – according to Google there are around 24 billion trees in Australia and each tree has at least 3 branches. So there ae roughly 72 billion options for a goanna to choose from for a hollow branch to hibernate in. So - what are the odds that an aging grey nomad would stop at an abandoned gravel pit, jump a fence and walk up to that tree with his chain saw and cut you in half? Found the bottom half of the lucky goanna but never found the other half!

A video record of our trip north can be found HERE

My Town

The old Electric Shovel at the mine lookout

Collie is a town of around 7000 people with a history in Coal Mining and Power Generation dating back to circa 1890’s for coal mining and the opening of the first coal fired power station in 1931. Coal mining and power generation are still dominant forces in Collie’s economy but with transition to “green” power accelerating at unprecedented levels there will be a needed shift in focus for the years ahead. 

Our place - plenty of room for vans

We moved to our “new” (circa 1955) house in Collie in February 2017 and have slowly become locals meeting lots of great people and joining some of the community organisations. Linda has been an active supporter of the RSL (volunteer bar person before her hip got worse), Vinnies (volunteer staff on Wednesdays and Thursdays), and a significant financial supporter of the Collie Football Club Bingo night 😊. Likewise, I have been providing some support to the RSL (sampling Linda’s bar goods), learnt the manly art of “wooding” out in the jarrah forests, and acquired skills in the cementing, tiling, painting, brick laying, and general renovating areas - all of which were required to make a 1955 house and yard look a little more presentable. 

Hard work in the coal  mines

Collie is a small town but is packed with facilities and services - Coles, Wollies, hardware shops, numerous pubs and bottle shops, small restaurants and coffee shops, more churches than you can poke a sinner at, lawn bowling club, swimming pool, library, mountain bike trails, sections of the famous Bibbulmum Track, numerous lakes, dams and camping grounds, RSL, multiple primary and secondary schools, doctors surgeries, modern hospital, footy and sporting clubs, speedway, motorplex, trotting club, race course, swimming holes in the river and a lot lot more. Only thing we are missing is Bunnings – but that’s only 40 kilometers “down the hill” In Bunbury and a good excuse for a day out. 

Recently a Collie Mural Trail was established which is an extensive outdoor art gallery with 40 mural sites around town and the surrounding district https://www.colliemuraltrail.com/ . This was my incentive to do a quick blog and video around my hometown. I haven’t covered all the Murals so come and have a look next time you are this way! Short video is HERE