18/9/21 Karratha WA

   We left Cossack and moved down the road to Karratha , where we'll probably see out the school holidays . 

 I also have my 2nd jab booked in at the health campus . At the campus there's a mural on the entry wall which looks sensational . 2nd jab completed , it was time to catch up with John & Julie . We first met them here in Karratha a few years ago and have been bumping into them at various locations around the state . This year we weren't sure where they were , but as it turns out , we were only a few hundred metres apart when we were in Broome , they did a cruise , we did a cruise , they rang us on our way to Cossack and told us they would be in Karratha on Saturday - same day we were arriving , then they were also having their 2nd jab on Monday at 10:30 & 10:45 - I booked in at 11:15 !! talk about coincidences . We caught up for a few hours on Sunday , then again on Monday after the jabs .

     Next few days were spent staying out of the sun and the mid 30's heat . Sunsets were at a premium , and I wandered up the street to get these shots .

     Yes another one  a few days later .

     Just for a change we headed in to the information centre , this little fella was on the bridge and scurried down the side and off to safety , very colourful .

      Views from the lookout over Karratha city centre - the red/brown building is the Red Earth Art Precinct , which incorporates the library , a theatre for plays etc or movie nights , an outdoor performing area as well . It's shape was designed to fit in with the surrounding hills .

   Heading out to Dampier , we went out to Withnell Bay and had a cooling swim at high tide , the gas plant was right beside us and it's that large that you can't fit it all in the photo , I took this one to give you some context of how big it is . In the photo you can see a twin cab ute nearly in the centre of the photo , the gas plant extends both sides , several hundred metres both ways , and is about 500m wide as well - that's an awful lot of pipework and steel !!!

     Another day we headed out to Hearson Cove as it was Stairway to the moon again . First stop was at Deep Gorge , there has been a lot of work done to improve access to the site . There's now concrete paths so it's accessible by wheelchair now . The paths lead to some outstanding rock art , this is the biggest area of rock art - Petroglyphs - in the world ! 

     We found that we had been very fortunate in previous visits , as we could access the areas beyond the decking , which is now locked off and only accessible when doing a tour with the local indigenous .

    There is an area around to the left , which is also accessible via a path and decking . The decking is really good as you can now stand and look without worrying about tripping over a rock or bush , and you can see so much more . This is a Spotted Quoll , which is no longer found in this area , there are plenty of other pictures there as well .

     This is the deck area , they actually cut out sections of the mesh decking to fit around the rocks , no rocks were moved to install the decking .

     Hearsons Cove at low tide was interesting , reflections of the surrounding hills were great .

    i love this photo of people walking around the sand at low tide , reflecting in the water and all being in pairs . You can see a couple that are off in the distance , indicating how far the tide goes out .

    While waiting for the moon , the sunset behind us was looking good as well .

    We were a bit concerned about the amount of cloud that was hanging around , we didn't see the moon untill it rose high enough to clear the cloud , it made for interesting photos .

    Another day goes by and we find there's a bit of cloud around for sunset , so we headed into town and went up to an aerial that gives a good view over town to the west . The cloud was fairly thick , but we stayed around to see what would happen , glad we did .

    The sky started to colour up , even though the suns blocked out by a bank of thicker cloud .

     The 6:15pm Qantas flight came in to land .

     The next 20 mins was the most amazing , clouds were changing colours , glowing brightly as the sun disappeared and the city lights came on .

     We were amazed at how that turned out , it would have to be one of the most amazing sunsets we didn't expect anything of .

     The Red Earth Arts Precinct was awash with colour , so we headed down there before heading back . The lights on the side of the roof change colours , from purple , blue , red , orange & green .

    This is the back of the building that faces the main road , it resembles the hills around Karratha as well .

    The sign at the side of the precinct is also lit up and does look cool . 

     I managed to get in a game of golf as well , the golf course is in great condition and now has 6 grass greens and another 3 coming in to play very shortly , meaning half the course will be grass greens and the other half still sand , but they will be gradually changed to grass as time permits , it will be a great course when they get it all finished . I played really well , untill I started to tire a bit - I'm not golf fit at the moment and it showed on a couple of holes - I finished with 79 - that included 13 on one hole !!! 

     And there you have it , we haven't done a lot , but have seen some sensational sunsets and other sights as well , see you soon .
 

15/9/21 Cossack WA

 

     Leaving Port Hedland today and going to Cossack , which is just out from Roebourne . Cossack has some fame before it's demise . It's the first place in WA to set up a pearling industry , unfortunately the depth of the river didn't allow for larger boats & ships , so the industry moved itself to Broome . 

  We booked a site for 3 nights at Settlers Beach , not such a bad spot !

    Views were easy to take , we relaxed for the afternoon with a nice sea breeze keeping conditions comfortable - it was nearly enough to keep the midges away !

     Jarman Island sits about 2klms offshore and was the site for a lighthouse and the keepers residence , both of which are no longer in action .

    Sunset from the lookout above us was worth while , we even had a clean windscreen !

The sun sets behind the ridge , which hides the iron ore operations of Rio Tinto at Cape Lambert .

    Next day we headed around to Port Sampson , just for another look . This is the main swimming beach below the tavern & one of the caravan parks . You can see the loader at Cape Lambert in the distance with 3 ships docked .

     The old jetty fell to pieces long ago , so they've recreated it ( sort of ) and it takes you to a viewing platform . There is are fixed binoculars at the viewing platform so you can check out anything in a 360 degree view .

 

   Saw our first Sturt Desert Peas here as well .

     This is our van on the beach , as viewed from Honeymoon Cove .

    We went round to Wickham for a few supplies , before heading back . 

    Next day we headed out for a walk , as you can see the tide was out and we made it round to the rocky point with the thin sliver of sand in the middle of it . Harding River goes back in on the left to Roebourne .

    Settlers Beach is very shallow and you have to go out a fair way to get anywhere near a metre deep , we settled with 600mm of water and sat down and enjoyed it .

    The tidal ripples in the sand went on forever .

     When we got to the sandy strip in the rocks , we discovered it was more shells than sand , and there were many colourful shells there as well , not to mentioned tonnes of broken shells .

     We went back and had drinks with the neighbours Bruce & Jayne , and another couple that came over briefly before their friends arrived to camp beside them - they were both in camper trailers , don't know how that qualifies them here as you have to contain all water coming from your van etc .

    We were heading off next day , but weren't in a rush , so had a relaxed pack up , before heading back through the village , where we stopped and had a wander through the museum . It was the courthouse , and the courtroom is still preserved as such .

  In the adjoining rooms were cabinets and artefacts on display like these , there were old door locks & padlocks , rifle & pistol remains and lot's of other interesting stuff .

    This is outside under one of the verandahs .

    These rooms can be rented to stay in .

    The smaller building is the Bakehouse , and the larger is the old Post Office

     The building to the right is the old gaol , with 2 old solitary cells behind the gum tree.

   This is Galbraith's Store - an old general store .

     And with that we headed in to Roebourne to empty our tanks and continue on our travels .

Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1DC34SoDRaz9T-2GhYtXv7hK2aKuoh8gN&usp=sharing