Week Three: Red Dog, Red Dirt and More

 

Famous Red Dog in Dampier

Red Dog, red dirt and more red dirt should be the title of this week’s report. It has been blowing a gale here all week up in the Pilbara and we are over it. There is red dust everywhere and the Cubby de Wheels MK 11 is covered in a fine layer of it. I have given up wiping, sweeping and washing down surfaces, as it is a thankless task. I don’t think I could ever get used to this incessant wind and the ensuing dust but that’s part of life in this rugged part of the country this time of the year.

Not Happy Jan

My aversion to the dreaded red dirt was compounded when we got bogged in the bloody stuff. We set out to enjoy a picnic on the banks of the Ashburton River after exploring the ruins of Old Onslow. The original town was moved 18 kilometres east to its present location in 1925 as the port facilities at the mouth of the Ashburton were affected by the silting up of the river causing problems for loading and unloading of ships. 

We followed the tourist map out to Old Onslow and pulled over to read one of the sign posts that explained what was previously on that site in the old town. It looked a bit ‘loose’ but as it was on the trail we thought it would be all right. Wrong! We decided to not risk it and started to turn around when the back wheels disappeared up to the axle in the red dirt, which was as fine as talcum powder. We tried to dig ourselves out to no avail as the wheels kept spinning, sinking further in the dirt. By chance I found a bit of old tin in the bush, which we placed under one of the wheels and we managed to get out. (Kelly called me ‘MacGyver’). Lesson learnt. Don’t always trust the map.

Ah! The serenity.

We abandoned our plans to visit Old Onslow as we spat the dummy, threw the shovel in the back of the car and literally left in a curl of dust to have our picnic by the river. It is Twiggy Forrest Country up here and we were on his cattle station ‘Minderoo’. It was very peaceful and we soon got over the drama of the ‘bog’ and settled back to enjoy the serenity and read our books.

That evening we decided to celebrate my birthday at the local Mantra Beach Resort in Onslow with a nice meal and a few drinks overlooking the beach. We thought we would have it to ourselves, as the town always seemed deserted when we walked around during the day. Wrong again. When we entered, the restaurant was ‘heaving’ as the kids say. Luckily we had a booking, as every table was full with workers from Onslow Salt and the Wheatstone Liquefied Gas Plant. The manager of the resort later told us that they did over 170 covers that night and it wasn’t unusual to do that many most nights. Who knew?

Happy Birthday to me!

Of that 170 there were only about ten other women apart from the wait staff. Everyone was very well behaved and well dressed. No High Vis to be seen. They were all fed and watered by eight o’clock and got up and left. Shane explained that they could only have two beers without ‘blowing numbers’ on the mine site the next day so they were off back to camp for an early night. It suited us as we had a beautiful meal before wandering back to the caravan park. Another birthday done and dusted.

Beautiful sunrise in Onslow

Fantastic memorial in Onslow.

Onslow is one of the only places in Australia where you can see the sun come up over the ocean at its front beach and set over the ocean at its back beach. I got up before dawn to take a photo of the town’s very impressive Anzac Memorial, which is a stylized Rising Sun which features on the Australian Defense Forces badge. It is placed geographically so you can capture the sunrise through its arch. I joined a dishevelled group of fellow early birds who were as impressed as I was with this patriotic and moving sight.  Well done Onslow. Your memorial is an absolute credit to you and a fine tribute to our Anzacs.

Lovely picnic area in Dampier

Later that morning we packed up and headed to Dampier. The cross winds provided us with a roller coaster ride and a plummeting fuel gauge. It was a relief to pull into town in one piece. We stayed at the Dampier Transit Caravan Park, which is near the port. We learnt the hard way that the port operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We could hear the rumbling ore trains, reversing trucks and the tooting tugboats all night long. The caravan park has a sign that says it has a maximum stay of three nights. I think you would have to pay people to stay any longer, as you would be so sleep deprived.  

Despite our exhaustion we did all the touristy things around Dampier including taking the obligatory photo of the famous Red Dog statue. There have been two movies made about his life and it is claimed this lovable wandering canine was a member of Dampier Salt’s Sport and Social Club, the Transport Workers’ Union and even had a bank account with the Bank of NSW. He was certainly well loved and the statue is one of the most visited in the Pilbara.  

Karratha is a now a bustling city by Pilbara standards and as well as modern entertainment, educational and community facilities, it has the largest and most diverse shopping centre in the Pilbara. It has Kmart at one end and Target Country at the other with a huge range of shops in the middle. We are not interested in retail therapy this trip so just did a huge grocery shop at Coles to stock up before going bush for nine days. I did a big ‘cook up’ back at the caravan park and the freezer, fridge and pantry are well stocked and we definitely won’t starve. Heaven forbid although we could both do with losing a few kilos or ten. 

Headless GK raging at the Whim Creek Pub

Eating pizza at the Whim Creek Pub wont help our weight situation but we had booked in on a Friday night expecting a wild night of country and western music and people watching – two of our favourite past times. We were sadly disappointed as the place was as dead as a dodo. It proves you can’t pick it after our unexpected great night in Onslow to a real fizzer in Whim Creek. We had paid twenty dollars to park out the back of the pub (it is free out the front on the highway) and we had the whole yard to ourselves. On the bright side we had a very sound sleep and were well rested in the morning.

The iconic Whim Creek Pub

We are now at Pardoo Station, which is a working cattle station in the heart of the Pilbara. We stayed here last year, as it is a little oasis in the desert. There are 150 grassy powered sites, bowling green, pool and a restaurant. They light a fire every night so everyone can mingle and swap yarns. We missed it last night as I was glued to Harry and Meghan’s wedding. GK’s points are up for sitting through it with me. He picked up the vibes to remain silent after the initial inane questions like “Who is he?” and “What is that on her head?” They say that over two billion watched the wedding and we were just two Aussies in a caravan on a cattle station in Outback Australia glued to our screen. Well I was anyway.

The store provides a snake bite kit if you need it (!!!)

We don’t know if we will be able to watch telly tonight as a gust of wind has just blown our satellite dish over. GK is once again muttering and cursing trying to set it up again. I am sure some old bloke will stop to help/give advise/get in the way. Ho hum. Nothing is easy. Time to go for another walk and build up my steps. Until next week, stay safe and love to all.

Footnote:
Yep. Told you so. GK's new best

friend helping with the dish. They had no luck and have to watch the footy on the big screen up at the restaurant. I haven't been able to watch the 'post mortem' on the wedding and don't know all the goss. Frustrating. Have to buy the

New Idea this week. :)