A few pictures of our travels so far

Karratha

16^th August 2006

Since I sent the last edition we have motored three hundred plus km north up the Tom Price railway road.  This dirt track runs alongside the railway from the Hamersley mine to loading port on the coast.  Two engines pull 203 car trains loaded with 100 tonnes of iron ore per car at a steady 40km per hour.  Apparently this red gold fetches $200 per tonne.  The road was dirt and at times the corrugations were bad but the countryside was interesting and the water coarses were mainly dry.  Plumes of dust showed the odd approaching vehicle long before one saw any sign of the machine itself.

Here in Karratha we are staying with Tim and Judie Pettitt, the parents of one of Nicholas’s best friends in London.  Tim is a keen amateur pilot and the owner of a small low winged monoplane that is a joy to fly.  Yes he has taken me for a trip and I found some of my old skills while landing on a dirt strip and flying at low level round the coast, below the height of the already low cliffs that abound round here.  So now I will put in some pictures that I have taken in the last few days.

The wild flowers at this time of year are a sight to behold.

View from our tent.  For about ten minutes as the sun tracks

Down the sides of Mt. Nameless the rocks are a rich red

This was taken at 0610am.

Sunset over the Hamersley ranges

Sturt’s Desert Peas are one of the many blooms

We have come across.  How they manage to grow in

This harsh environment is a wonder.

Iron ore port taken from Tim’s aircraft.