July 30- Aug 5

30th July Sunday
This morning we walked over to the caravan park to see N&R and sort our drive plans today. Dampier is only 13km from Karratha so we are off to take some photos of Red Dog with Billy.

Coffee at Hullabaloo then onto sightseeing Dampier. Driving past at least four blocks of disused units once housed miners when the boom was strong. Now standing desolate and run down and for sale.
We drove up to Seafarers information centre at Dampier and again very run down in the need of repair. The views from the veranda were spectacular of Dampier boat ramp and blue ocean.
We went for a drive out to Wickham a small townsite located North of Roebourne in the Pilbara region. The majority of the residences and facilities in town are owned by Rio Tinto.
After here we continue onto Port Walcock which is a large open water harbour located on the Northwest coast of WA, located near the town of Point Samson.

We drove down onto the beautiful beach next to the yacht club where Billy enjoyed a swim and we had lunch. Billy had fun with his frisbee until it drifted out with the tide and he couldn’t get it.
 From here we drive to Point Samson a small coastal settlement 18km north of Roebourne in the Pilbara region. History states from 1938 to 1966 blue asbestos was carried here by rail from Wittenoom for ship loading. This is a very popular holiday location for families and nearby mining towns including Wickham, Karratha and Dampier.


The last town we are visiting today will be Cossack located 15km from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of WA. The decline of the township was due to the pearling industry to Broome and the gold rush. Cossack is an historic ghost town with refurbished bluestone buildings including police quarters, cookhouse which is now budget accommodation.
Today at Cossack there was a cultural art exhibition with free admission running from 23rd July to 13th August which we had a look at whilst there.
The afternoon was starting to get late and we had about 85kms so time to head back to camp.
Sue made scones for afternoon tea, and as luck had it there was motor racing on for Russell to watch.
Also Sue's favorite two shows were also on being The Block and Survivor.

31st July Monday

Our two day stay at Karratha RV site ends today so we plan to drive onto a place Miaree Pool 24 hour rest stop not that far from town actually. The track we took down to the river was fairly steep with washouts, but the Bushtracker did it very easily for a big van. It took a bit of time to work out and level the van as the ground was not flat at all but we finally were able to secure a safe spot.


The river was great being close as Billy was happy to walk in and out as he pleases for a swim. We used our hoses to pump up creek water for showers etc. The day was just beautiful and such a pleasant outlook over the river with little whistling ducks sitting on a pontoon of rocks. There are also barking owls here which we heard last night.
We have mobile service when we walk up to the hill but no TV.

1st August Tuesday
This morning the wind was gusty picking up the dirt and leaves in every direction. Had a few other cars with camper or caravan coming past where we are looking at the river.

N&R arrived this morning from Karratha to spend a restful day or two here with us at Mairee Pool.
A lovely fire tonight to sit around and catch up on our days events. We all decided to stay tomorrow as we cant get enough of this relaxed lifestyle.

2nd August Wednesday.
After breakfast we went for a walk to see another part of this river and followed the hills up to some nice view points as well. Back at camp we enjoyed a lovely morning tea of pancakes made by Neville served with lemon and sugar, maple syrup.
 Through the day many people arrived either to look for a camp or passing through. As we were just camped off the track other people still could drive past but with a squeeze, some had to reverse back up the hill behind us when they realised their van would not fit. We had a lady come down to have a look at the river she had been ten years prior.
Tonight another small fire to sit around just to use some timber up before we all go off to sleep. Billy has been asleep on his bed beside the fire for an hour or so and hasn’t moved. He had a big day of running and we think he has bruised paws, sore muscles and legs. Sue and I carried him on his bed back to our caravan and he didn’t move.

3rd August Thursday
Unfortunately we are moving on today after breakfast, it has been such a lovely spot for three days rest.
Billy got let in early this morning as it was quite cold and noticed Billy was still very sore….he jumped up on our bed snuggled in close to me shivering and went to sleep for about an hour. I know his fur is filthy and full of dried dirt, grass and mud but he is so tired and not often he stays that still for long enough.
Packed and ready to go we make our way towards Onslow today for another camp. We have travelled 277kms from Mairee Pool this morning so not a big day of travel at all. We passed iron ore trucks hauling the ore and drove down to a rest stop next to the mine to get a closer look. These trucks are just massive on scale and up close. This mine is one of Rio Tinto’s most Westerly according to the information at hand.
These are photos of our camp at Old Onslow on the Ashburton River. The dirt track goes for 5 miles with scattered camp spots along the river, and a few people already here and still driving looking for one.

We had another nice fire to sit around down beside the river, and Sue also cooked a puff pastry apple pie using the coals.
4th August Friday
Slept in this morning till almost 9.45 so must have been tired. The wind is here again and we are off for a drive to look at Old Onslow township and what remains. There is a cemetery, a police quarters and prison. We continued a bit further on the sandy track towards the Wheatstone gas refinery but the track deteriorated somewhat, so we turned back and continued out towards Onslow.

It was only about 20kms to Onslow town where we located a small supermarket for milk and bread. We also bought some chips to eat beside the beach. Billy had a run on the beach while I collected shells.

These are some of the shells that were collected at Onslow beach. As we got back to camp Neville had some savory damper waiting to cook on the fire for afternoon tea. We had a brown cow come down to the river with four calves drinking water and chewing leaves. Again a very relaxed day which we are all getting used to.
5th August Saturday
This morning we are staying back at camp and Neville and Robyn are driving to Old Onslow town before taking a drive to Onlsow for supplies and a day out. Sue made scones for morning tea with cappuccinos made from the Aldi coffee pod machine.

So this week has been about ' stopping to smell the roses ' type of week. Next week we move onto the tourist coast areas of Monkey Mia, Exmouth, Carnarvon etc. 

Till then that's all from us.