20/6/16 0n to Onslow

   Well it’s been a couple of days since we left Cape Range , spending the weekend in Exmouth , then packing up and going for a 400klm drive to Onslow .

  It was hard leaving Cape Range and then Exmouth , but we’d had the best week there , today there is a little sadness , but also anticipation for what we might find next.

  On the road from Exmouth out toward Coral Bay , there were the sheep near Learmonth RAAF Base , the termite mounds , then we moved into the red sand dunes . These dunes appear to run adjacent to the road for quite a distance , untill you turn slightly and drive over the top of them , which brings you to the next one - which you then follow for a while etc etc. The red colour is quite stunning . 

Before reaching the Northwest Hwy again , we found an area that obviously had been burnt out by bushfires , revealing the red sand . All the spinifex grass that was growing on it had gone , and there were a lot of blackened shrubs still surviving .

  The threat of rain was always with us , dark clouds hovering overhead . That’s also another reason we are headed further north , trying to get away from the rain . 

 We turned onto the highway and straight into 90 klms of roadworks , a lot of which have already been done , so we went from 60 - 80 klms/hr for most of it . 

 The evidence of previous rain was there beside us , puddles of water in the gutters beside the road . At one stage , we must have just missed the rain , but the photo tells the story .

  We stopped at Yannarie Rest Stop for some lunch and a driver change - we hadn’t planned this , but we’d stopped here on the way south last year .

 Reaching Nannutarra Roadhouse , we could see mountains starting to appear , they were the Parry Range and we followed them for a while before turning off to Onslow .

  We had some showers as we drove in , some very heavy , others just nuisance value , as we got to the turnoff for Old Onslow , it absolutely bucketed down - wipers on flat out , 60 klms/hr , and fortunately not much other traffic . That storm passed over and within a few kilometres it was dry again . 

 On the approach to Onslow , you drive through the salt concentrating ponds of Onslow Salt Mine , and there is a gas pipeline that runs for 60 or 70 klms from near the highway beside Onslow Rd .  

  Not sure what we’ll find in Onslow , but we’ll have a look , weather permitting !!

Here’s a map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q69HmC5l6ckP6Gp-JoDjyrZUw1o&usp=sharing