WHAT TRADIES WANT. 45WHAT TRADIES WANT. 45Bobswim is a picturesque stretch of water
in Turee Creek, an impressive tributary of
the mighty Ashburton River. The track out
there isn’t difficult, but gets a bit tight with
a camper in one or two places.Paraburdoo we stocked up with supplies and
then tried to get to Ratty Pool, from what we
were told, west of the town through a narrow
gap in the rocky range. We never did find it. But
we did discover a natural spring gushing water.
After spending a few hours of the afternoon
floundering around on the track, which was
really a fast-flowing creek, we gave up and
camped nearby on higher, drier land.
Not to be deterred we went looking for
another gem a friend of mine had told us about
tucked into the hills. This time it was east of
town in the very southwest and little-visited
section of the Karijini National Park. Most
people know Karijini from the magnificent
gorges in its far-northern section (more on
them later), but only a few locals know of
the hidden delights elsewhere in the park,
including Bobswim Waterhole.
The main road between Paraburdoo and
Tom Price basically follows the iron ore railroad
and roughly 30km north of Paraburdoo you
take a dirt road south-east past Mallee Station,
a siding on the rail line. About eight kilometres
from the siding along the dirt road you turn
onto a well-used track that strikes east across
rolling hills covered in spinifex and dotted with
scrub with each small, ephemeral creek linedwith green, spindly trees. It’s not a particularly
hard or difficult track, although if you have a
camper on the back it gets a bit tight and steep
in one or two places. Especially as you get
close to Bobswim and about 25km from the
blacktop, – don’t get caught out!
Bobswim itself is a picturesque stretch of
water in Turee Creek, an impressive tributary
of the mighty Ashburton River, which it joins
much further south. Bordered by low, red
cliffs on one side and lined by shady gums
on the other, the waterhole is a permanent
oasis in a rocky and often dry, heat-blasted
landscape. It’s a top spot to camp and while