Day 65

Sunday 10th May 2015

Beasley River to Tom Price

 A lone bird sings us awake. The inside of the van is a sea of dead bodies, a film of tiny black dots and bits of wings. It must have been a bugger of a night.

Once more the road winds gently through the red rusty hills. Water courses are marked with white trunked ghost gums. As we approach Paraburdoo high carved hills come into view. The town is very suburban except for a large green 1600 HP haul truck on display beside the road. It must get very hot here as every house has an industrial air conditioner attached.

The carved hill tops are even higher at Tom Price, hundreds of feet of iron ore. The town has lush green lawns and parkland and plenty of palm trees, not really what we had expected to see. It is pleasing to the eye. Everything is tinged with red, roads, paths, walls, floors, cars and corellas.

This is WA’s highest town and we decide to take the Jeep up the 4WD track to the top of WA’s highest driveable peak, Mt Nameless. A Mitsubishi comes down the track and the driver declares it as not being too bad. Thus, the challenge is on. I can see the boys fair bristling, if a Mitsubishi can do it then so can we. I sit gritting my teeth in the back terrified while the boys discuss the use of Low Range, like there’s a choice! The road rears up in front of us at a frightening angle and it’s all rutted from the recent rains. I’m just about looking for rosary beads and the boys are having a great time and the Jeep, well it is pretending that it’s in a TV commercial. We finally reach the top 1016 metres, WA’s highest road. The view of the town and mine is fantastic. Woody is so pleased he’s grinning from ear to ear. Shirley wants to do it all again. 

Never again will I say that Woody is “no outback Jack.”

Accom: $46.00 Tom Price Tourist Park

Travelling Kms: 110Kms