- Part 1: The Universe Gives Me A Nudge
- Part 2: Bangkok & Rest & Realisation In Koh Lanta
- Part 3: Singapore Slings & Bali Tranquility
- Part 4: A Trip To The Place Where Oceans Collide
- Part 5: Geraldton, Woodchopping & Kalbarri Majesty
- Part 6: Monkey Mia, Ningaloo Reef & A Deep Sense Of Dread
- Follow On Instagram
The sense of foreboding and heaviness completely evaporated as I headed further north.
The landscape changed with mesas – isolated flat-topped hills with steep sides – rising high from the ground and the sand a deep red.
I’d not wanted a really long drive like I’d had from Denham to Exmouth so I’d booked a night at the Nanutarra Roadhouse.
It was the day of the AFL final between the Geelong Cats and Brisbane Lions and the Countdown to Bouncedown got more intense by the hour.
I did a dry run putting up my tent, which seemed to go okay and settled my nerves.
I woke to find the Brisbane Lions had won the AFL and set out on the road to Tom Price, an Outback town in the Pilbara region which is the gateway to Karijini National Park.
I turned off the North West Coastal Highway and headed east. The soil was a deep, deep red and the rocky hills were rugged and there was hardly anyone else on the road.
I pulled in to take on some water and did a 360 – there were hills all around and total silence and the heat was intense. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something glistening: maybe it was a piece of glass or mirror reflecting but I didn’t try and rationalise it, I just jumped in the car and headed off.
There was no traffic at all and I loved the sense of isolation. It was just me driving through the vastness.
The landscape changed from rugged to vast swathes of red soil and spinifex. What I assume were farm tracks led off the road – where did they lead? How long was the track? 50km? 100km? How do people get their post? Provisions?
On I drove through the silence. I didn’t think of putting the radio on, I just loved the quiet.
On Through The Silence To Tom Price
On through a mining town called Paraburdoo where I stopped. It’s the birthplace of Red Dog, who travelled thousands of miles around the Pilbara and who became immortalised in book and film.
Off again. There were cattle alongside the road – how do the farmers keep track? – and as I neared Tom Price the landscape took my breath away. Vast stretches of red earth, towering escarpments, mesas and spinifex-covered hills – all under a cobalt blue sky.
I reached the Discovery Parks campground and chose my site and with no trouble at all, my little tent was pitched and my eye-watering bright pink sleeping bag rolled out.
Just by the campsite rose Jarndunmunha or Mount Nameless – the highest point in the Pilbara – and I watched as it changed colour in the late afternoon light from orange to red with flecks of pink through to deep purple.
I had a walk around and there was a very large bull hanging around the entrance which turned to stare at me.
People arrived with their motorhomes: some were 4WDs, others were caravans, some pitched their tents on top and all of them were well equipped. None of them were little two-man tents that cost about 50 quid! But I was really happy.
A Close Encounter With A Bull
I chatted to a few people, swapping our ‘where have you been and where are you going?’ stories. There were recommendations of places to visit and equally what not to do.
I felt a real kindness and sense of community and retired to bed at around 830pm.
Not long after I lay down, I heard the loudest moo which seemed to be coming from feet away. It was more of a roar and split the silence and stillness.
After freezing for a split second, I grabbed my torch and jumped out of the tent and into the car.
It was pitch black and I shone my torch around and about 20 metres away was the bull, looking in the direction of the light.
I stared back and wondered what the hell do I do now? Am I going to sleep in the car? It’s my first night of camping and here I am, sat in the car, with an empty tent to my right. And I was really unnerved.
I knew the tent offered virtually no protection from an animal the size of Beau Vine who was very large and very solid, and given he was black I couldn’t pick him out in the darkness, despite the light of the moon.
I grew really tired. Another bellow came from farther away and I figured he was moving away and therefore I was safe to get back into the tent.
I fell asleep straightaway but when I got up the people either side of me told me they’d looked out of in the middle of the night and seen the bull wandering around, just metres from my tent.
I was lucky, no doubt about it. I’d have panicked had I known which could have triggered a response. I tried not to think about what that night would bring.
The Majesty of Karijini
I headed to Karijini National Park, passing close to Punurrunha/Mount Bruce and the Hamersley Range.
The track to Weano Gorge was flanked on both sides by orange sand and charred trees which stood out against the blue sky.
I noted the warnings about hypothermia at Handrail Pool and headed to my left as the crowds took a right. I was alone among the stillness and picked my way down the gorge, a little wobbly.
I walked along the bottom, it was quiet as can be, and cool as well. I scrambled over boulders and through narrow passages and made it to Handrail Pool although I didn’t dip my toe or slither down to the wide of the pool.
There were people of all ages exploring there from children scampering through to get to the pool and older adults giving it a go and everyone encouraging everyone else.
I’d already noticed in Australia that everyone gives it a go and everyone else encourages them.
Soup for the Soul in the Tom Price Pool
After a bull-free night, I headed into Tom Price. It’s a mining town and a hub of Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations and at 747m above sea level, the highest town in Western Australia.
I wanted to go for a swim so headed to the Vic Hayton pool. It cost about £2.50 to get in and there before me was a 50m six-lane pool with just one other person swimming.
There was a babies’ pool and a playground with plenty of shade from the covers and some boys shooting basketball hoops.
It was absolutely freezing but I got into my rhythm and cruised up and down before hopping out to dry off.
After a second swim and with the young club swimmers arriving, I headed off.
It had been like soup for the soul. I felt totally energised physically and mentally and was gob-smacked by the fact there was such a facility for a town with a population of less than 3,000 people. Not only that but it was named the 10th best public pool in Australia by The Guardian in 2022. To me it was heaven.
It turns out there were also two town centre ovals for AFL, cricket, rugby and softball, a skate park, outdoor enclosed basketball and netball courts, a community recreation centre with sports hall and a tennis club with three outdoor courts.
Straying from the Path at Dales Gorge
I paid another trip to Karijini where I visited Dales Gorge and Fortescue Falls. At some point I strayed from the path and had to backtrack, scrambling down boulders, until I was back on the right path.
It had been another beautiful day where I just enjoyed being in my little bubble in nature and hanging out at the campsite.
I was in my sleeping bag, checking emails when one caught my eye. “Silver Medalist Ben Proud Joins Enhanced Games,” roared the subject line.
It took me a few seconds for it to register. Ben Proud, winner of world, European and Commonwealth titles and the silver medallist in the 50m freestyle at the Paris Olympics. He was joining the Enhanced Games? What the hell?
The Enhanced Games is a multi-sport event, which allows athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in mainstream sport.
I was absolutely sideswiped. I’d spoken to Ben many times over the years and always really enjoyed our conversations. During one interview his description of training in the Pacific Ocean almost brought me to tears. I’d interviewed him ahead of the World Championships and then in Singapore the previous month where he’d won 50 free silver.
I sat down cross-legged on my pink sleeping bag and started writing an article for Swimming World.
I didn’t go to sleep until about 3am and the following day was spent at the camp kitchen where I could sit and write, in contact with many others who were similarly shocked.
It was my final day in Tom Price and the following day I packed up my tent. It had been my first camping experience of the trip and not only had I survived it, but I absolutely loved everything about it.
I drove away thinking ‘hell yeah, you go girl.’ On to the next adventure.