Big drive to get to the Maus..

We left Port Hedland quite happily and camped just 50 km out of town at a stop called Dog Rock just near the Marble Bar turn off and were quite happy to be the only people there behind an impressive rock.

 Although we were not far from the road, we couldn't hear the traffic and we had the most impressive sunset that we have had for a while. 

The kids had a great time climbing up and down the rock and playing imaginative games there for the evening and in the morning.

We left in the morning for Port Hedland again as we realised that we didn't have enough food to last for a couple of weeks and didn't want to stop in Broome to shop.  It didn't take too long and we were on the road again.  We stopped that night (a fairly windy night) at a rest stop called Stanley Rest Area and were very excited to find our friends Bubi, Line and baby Samuel there.  It was great to catch up with them for the night.  Bubi (Serbian/Danish) seems to be Matt's long lost brother he never had.   It was sad to say goodbye to them the next morning. 

Doing the toilet paper dance

We headed off to get to Quandong Point where our friends Maus and Brigitte were as Maus was turning 40 the next day (1 July) and we wanted to be there for his birthday.  On the way we dropped into and Indigenous Community, Bidyadanga, and were blown away by the most incredible art there.

On the way into Broome, the skies opened up and bucketed down on us and we saw Broome in all its glory as we filled up on fuel, water and got out of there as quickly as possible to drive the extra 50 km on dirt road to Quandong Point.

We were met with hugs and kisses by Brig and Maus with dinner cooked for us.  The sun was shining there.  Yay!  Time to relax again.  5 days of travelling, time to stop for a bit.

Port Hedland - moving big things and salt

We got to Port Hedland to find out that there was no room at the inn.... There was one caravan park that would "allow" us to come in, if, and only if we only put up the little tents and locked up the trailer outside.  Matt agreed.  When we got in, all around us was camper trailers, and I have no idea why we were not allow to put ours up.  Maybe it was too dirty, maybe we were.  It took us 1.5 hours to get all the stuff out of the trailer to get set up.  It's tricky when the trailer is your home, kitchen, and bedroom... We actually had to unpack it in the middle of the road, anyway,  I have moved on, really I have.  Luckily, we have 4 little 2 man tents to get into.  Squeezy, but fine. 

Staircase to the moon.  What can I say.  Clouds.  It was a long way to come to see a cloudy sky!  Anyway, our friends, the Brieffies, and Bubi, Line and baby Samuel were there, so we did have a lovely evening.

On our way out of town the next day, we were priviledged enough to see this amazingly wide load that took the entire road.   Big Things, and Salt Piles, all in a picture.  Port Hedland.   

It's a busy town, not really a place to sit and relax (although it seems that a lot of people book and stay for months on end in the caravan park - go figure). For us, it ended up being a place to stock up on food, fuel, get hinges on glasses frames bent back into shape, sort out stuff, and get outta there!

From Karijini to Port Hedland

We left Karijini after changing our plans from originally going to Millstream-Chichester National Park to go to Port Hedland in the hope to catch the stairway to the moon (a natural phenomenon where the full moon rises reflecting on the mud flats) on one of the last days of the full moon.  It was a family choice (perhaps a little influenced by the fact that friends who we were camping with at Karijini were going to Port Hedland, and the kids were keen to keep hanging with them, and to see to the staircase). 

We drove through some incredible cuttings to get out of the ranges, and the pictures that Matt tried to take offer it no justice.  All I can say is that it was awesome to look at and I am sure that the guys at Top Gear would love to race any car around there in any weather. 

Lunch at a roadside stop where, as usual we had to hide behind a spinifex to wee!  Fine for the boys, prickly for me...

The boys learnt how to get the trucks to toot their horns and thought that it was the best while we had our lunch...then on to Port Hedland to try to find a place to rest... but that's another story!