What Tradies Want — August-September 2017

(Axel Boer) #1
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
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