What Tradies Want — August-September 2017

44 WHAT TRADIES WANT.

44 WHAT TRADIES WANT.

44 WHAT TRADIES WANT.

Hidden gems and

coastal magic

There’s always a hidden gem or two in the Pilbara. But

you have to work hard to get away from the crowds along

the coast, as Ron and Viv Moon discovered.

H

ow does the saying go when

you are in trouble? ‘Up S&%t

Creek without a paddle’?

In fact, I was in a creek up

to my crutch in quicksand. And the slop was

getting deeper as I tried to drag my feet from

the suction of the sand. That wasn’t working,

so I threw myself as flat as I could onto the

slurry and wiggled like a demented snake, still

trying to keep my camera gear out of the muck

around me. A minute or so later – it seemed

longer – I was on dry land again, thinking,

“Geez, that was fun!” or words and thoughts

to that effect.

TRUE GRIT

We were on our way to Coppin Gap, north

of Marble Bar and south of the deserted

township of Shay Gap, and had stopped to

take a photo of the Patrol and Trakmaster

camper going through a shallow creek. It

wasn’t deep or anywhere near being a 4WD

challenge, but flowing water in the Pilbara is

always nice, so I’d wandered upstream to find

a spot I could step across without getting my

feet wet. I found myself in the deep doggie

do-doos. Quicksand was probably the last

thing I was expecting in the Pilbara.

A few minutes later I was standing in the

creek at the track crossing, stripped off, buck

naked, washing sand from clothes, boots and

other hidden places when the only vehicle

we’d seen for two days came along. The

women laughed as they drove by.

Why was that? I didn’t think it was that funny.

BOBSWIM WATERHOLE

We’d been wandering around the Pilbara for a

few weeks by then, our journey really beginning

when we headed inland from North West Cape

and the coastal delights of Ningaloo to find

quieter more remote places to enjoy.

At the relatively small mining community of

Words and images: Ron and Viv Moon