MONDAY 2 OCTOBER KARRATHA
Another hot day.
We were now free to do some tourist things and to get out and about some more.
We went to the shops. Mailed John’s letters.
Found a Landrover agent to try to arrange for the Truck air-con to be repaired. They sent us to a specialist air-con place and Truck was booked in for Wednesday.
I made a doctor’s appointment for Wednesday.
Refuelled truck – $1-18cpl.
Went to the Tourist Information Centre and collected material about things to do in these parts.
We drove out, exploring, past the bowls club and found the back beach area. John decided to try some fishing off the rocks there, and caught a mackerel on a lure. He was most surprised!
It is notable that the sea colour is different in these parts to further north. The beautiful turquoise colour of the Broome and Kimberley areas, has changed here to a duller, more opaque green/blue. It looks sort of thick, rather than light and sparkling.
Lunch was a late one.
After that, drove out to Hearsons Cove, on the Burrup Peninsula, for a look. The long and narrow Burrup Peninsula extends to the NW from Dampier. It looks as this part of the Pilbara did, before all the industrial development. The colour contrasts of the Burrup Peninsula are dramatic – deep red rock jumbles, pale spinifex, glimpses of green sea. It is a distinctive landscape.
We turned off the road to Dampier, just after the salt pans, and drove a little way to the north, then on a track to the Cove.
There were some wildflowers about – the mulla mulla in particular.
Hearsons Cove was noted for having a Staircase to the Moon phenomenon – a bit like Broome’s. But not at this time of the month.
It was also supposed to not be missed because of being a site for rock art – petroglyphs, etched onto rock surfaces, this time.
The Cove was pretty enough, but we could not get at all excited by the rock art. I much prefer the sort of thing we saw in the Kimberley.
Back to the van after that burst of activity. It did feel so good, to be out doing things again.
Tea was cold roast lamb, and salads.
R phoned, in a mood, and that upset John. She still had not acknowledged his birthday!
