Tag Archives: Cyclone Narelle

Moving on

We left Karratha early with a plan to camp at the Port Hedland Golf Club in South Hedland. We remembered staying there a few years ago. Unfortunately, as it is still Cyclone Season, the club wasn’t officially open, but they said we were welcome to camp there as long as we knew it wasn’t set up properly. We would have power and water, plus the key to clean showers and toilet so we were happy. We booked in for two nights to let John have some down time.

We were the only campers there so it was lovely and quiet. The golf course was open and so was the bar so we enjoyed a drink in the air conditioning before cooking dinner at the caravan. It was 36 degrees both days but only dropped to 25 during the night.

From our van we could watch the three, four or five trailer road trains drive past in the distance as well as the long trains, all carrying iron ore from the mines. Some of the trains are seven kms long and very heavy. Apparently, there are seven flights a day from Port Hedland taking mine workers to and from work. It is a busy, industrial town.

It may be industrial, but it has the most beautiful sunsets. On both nights, we watched the sky grow more and more orange as the sun set. Unfortunately the photos do not do it justice.

On day two of our stay, the golf club was closed so it was very quiet. A few golfers came out to play. Sadly, John was reluctant to play because there were no golf cars available  and he had a very sore back, but he did have a very inexperienced caddy who agreed to follow him around for a few holes. A young miner was out playing alone so he joined us which was nice. It was very hot so John only played four holes. But at least he got to play. It would have been very hard for him to camp at a golf club and not have a game.

A long day driving

Our plan to do a short drive and camp at Nanaturra Roadhouse was thwarted by an issue with our car not charging the caravan battery while we are driving. After lots of phone chats with Kyran, he suggested we go on to Onslow as he has a friend who could check out our rig for the problem. We were happy to do that, but Onslow had no camping areas available because of the damage done by the cyclone. Kyran has friends in every town so he told us to keep going to Karratha where he has another friend who could help us out. So, our plan to drive no more than 400 kms a day was stymied on day four!

It was a long but pleasant drive. Yesterday we passed into the Tropic of Capricorn and it is certainly a warmer autumn here – 41 degrees. We very nearly missed our turn off due to the mangled and fallen signposts Cyclone Narelle pushed over. Luckily John was on the ball and stopped to check a right hand turn with no obvious signpost. (It was was lying on the ground out of sight!)

Today we drove through the Pilbara. There were a few signs of the Cyclone but not many. What surprised me were the number of dust storms and Willy Willies we passed, considering the area was soaked just recently. Lunch, such as it was, was at Nanaturra Roadhouse, a quick stop and then it was back on the road. We left Coral Bay around 9am and arrived at Karratha around 4pm. A long day of driving (mostly by John) and knitting (all by me).

We camped at a 2 star caravan park on the edge of Karratha that I remembered staying at before. Not one I would particularly recommend but it is just for one night. Funnily enough, we arrived with caravan power on full so not sure if that was the solar or the car. Maybe there is nothing wrong after all. Or maybe between Kyran and @lets_be_adventurers_australia fixed it at Wooramel. I guess we will find out.