What Tradies Want — August-September 2017

46 WHAT TRADIES WANT.

away a couple of days or more, and for the
energetic there are more tracks to explore and
waterholes to discover.

HOLIDAY HOARDS
Once we tore ourselves away our next stop
was Tom Price, a town we hadn’t visited
since the mid 1970s. A 4WD track up nearby
Mt Nameless attracted my attention and that
evening we sat on its lofty crest as the sun
dived to the horizon. The town has grown a
little bigger than it was in the ’70s while the
mountain that feeds the mine has shrunk quite
a lot. One day in the not-too-distant future,
Mount Tom Price will be a hole in the ground.
Resupplied and with our dose of civilization
behind us we headed north into Karijini

National Park, checking out a few of the

gorges. It was getting to the end of the school

holidays and the park, and each and every

defile and canyon, was crowded with visitors.

The difference with Bobswim Waterhole was

stark. We’d only seen one other camp there

and that was a group of local motorbike riders

exploring the area.

We thought of going back, but with the

holidays ending in a day or two we opted

instead to head for the Millstream Chichester

National Park and a gorge I knew about just

outside the park.

But I was stymied again! Access to

Gregory’s Gorge – an important cultural

place for the local Aboriginal people – is now

only from the north via the Ngurrawaana

community where you pay your $15 to the

ranger and get direction into the gorge

camping area from there.

So close and yet so far. But it’s a top

spot. Just don’t try and get there from the

Millstream end.

DISAPPOINTED

As it was we stopped a couple of nights in

the national park, but I wasn’t impressed with

either of the camping areas established since

camping was stopped at Deep Reach and

Crossing Pool. After a bit of walking among

the palms and along the flowing channels of

the Fortescue River that are such incredible

features of this park, we moved on, heading

back to the coast for a change of scenery and

hoping with the school holidays over the coast

would be a bit quieter.

PASSING GAS

We first checked out the mouth of the

Fortescue River, the turnoff being about 30km

north of the roadhouse of the same name. The

access road passes the massive Sino Iron

project, one of the biggest developments on

the WA coast, and while it’s a blight on the

landscape it’s easy to ignore once you’re at

the mouth of the Fortescue. There’s a rough

boat ramp there and it’s popular with long-

term campers, most camping a kilometre or

so inland away from the mangroves, mozzies

and sandflies. Those who come here come

mainly for the fishing, as there are no long-term

attractions for anyone else. Still it’s not a bad

spot to spend a day or so, even if you don’t

throw in a line or launch a boat to go fishing.

46 WHAT TRADIES WANT.

Cleaverville is a beachside camping

spot about 25km north of Karratha.

You can launch a small tinnie off the

beach at a couple of spots.

Crossing the Fortescue River on Snappy Gum Drive. Easy.

HIDDEN GEMS AND COASTAL MAGIC