Karratha
I’ve been hanging out with some family for the last week in Karratha. It’s a big mining town with lots of big machinery and infrastructure in the area and high vis is everywhere. I’ve enjoyed a week off the bike. Beds, couches, showers, and home-cooked meals are great. It’s been awesome hanging out with my nieces and nephews; watching movies together, checking out red dog, and going fishing amongst the mangroves. One of the highlights was the disco party I had with the kids after finishing the last hole in glow in the dark minigolf! Whilst exploring the historical town of Cossack I got a chance to see some awesome paintings that were part of the Cossack Art Awards happening at the moment. There’s some great talent in the Pilbara and surrounding areas. The Roebourne Cup provided me with my first experience of the races. It was a great day out and the fierce bouts of two-up after the races finished provided quite a spectacle.
I’ve had a chance to get the bike back up to scratch including replacing my two month old chain that was stretched to the point of ruin by the time I’d got to Karratha, probably because of all the weight the bike has had to carry. The next stage of the trip will take me to the Kimberley. There’ll be a few days of riding to get to Port Headland and I’ll be pushing on to Broome after that. There’s only one road between Port Headland and Broome so I’ll be sharing the bitumen with everyone else that is heading up that way. There’s very little on that 600km stretch apart from a few roadhouses and stations. I’ve dreaded this section since I first started planning the trip and my expectations are still fairly low, however, I’m excited about where I’ll be ending up. I’m calling on the wind gods to be kind on this leg. Bring on the Kimberley!!