Driving to Tom Price in the Pilbara felt as if we were driving through a huge Aboriginal painting of spinifex and the endless Hamersley Ranges. We were in awe of the scenery as we hadn't driven through a mountain range similar to the Drakensberg for years.
We took a very short detour into Paraburdoo which I have always wanted to visit just because I love the name!!
I am so glad we are travelling in the dry season as we don't have to look out for cyclones which this area is prone to experiencing.
When we arrived at Tom Price we could not believe what an oasis the caravan park was. We stayed for 3 nights as it was so inviting. Tom Price is almost completely maintained by Rio Tinto - a good Coles, the greenest sportsfields we have ever seen, a great visitors centre and the nicest, friendliest people. Almost everyone is a part of the Rio Tinto workforce.
Our new neighbours (we have had SO many great neighbours!) at the caravan park were a family of 3 children with a lovely mum, and a radiographer dad who was doing work all over outback Western Australia. We really got on well with them and were invited for a piece of cake for the mum's birthday. Again we swopped some music and chatted lots. They were great and were off to Broome for 6 months once the dad's stint as radiographer at Tom Price hospital was over. They were thrilled to have him as there was no resident radiographer - a pity for all the climbers who fall in Karijini! Apparantly there had been a few recent accidents that required a radiographer.
We also had great fun driving to the top of Mt Nameless - the highest vehicle accessible mountain in WA. It was a pretty extreme 4 wheel drive track but the car was great. From the top we could see amazing views and the huge Rio Tinto open cut iron-ore mine which we visited the next day. Chris was not too keen to visit the mine but found it very interesting once we got beyond the front admin offices. Seeing the huge trucks reminded Chris of real, giant Tonka toys and me of mechanical dinosaurs!! We stood together in the bucket of one of the excavators and realised how minute we were in comparison to the equipment used by the mine. There was red dust everywhere!!!
It was sad leaving Tom Price as it was so green and well maintained. I did all my washing and Chris was able to measure and fill our water tanks with enough water for 3 days bush camping in Karijini. The journey continues!
