So today, the 28th of December, almost two months into the summer wet season, the tourists passing through Karratha have dwindled and the pesky flies have landed. Even the appearance of food trucks at Dreamer's hill has stalled, but despite the quiet surroundings we have been using the time off work to explore more trails on the mountain bikes. Setting out from the power line track directly behind the neighbourhood, we ...
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The weather has shifted in the Pilbara and unlike the warm sunny days during winter, summer can be humid and stinking hot with the rare possibility of tropical lows turning into cyclones. Early Saturday morning, before the oven door is left open and the morning really begins to roast, the plan was to cycle on the road bike to Karratha airport, a 20km round trip from town. As I cycle through the neighbourhood towards Millstream road, ...
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Perth the capital city in Australia's largest state, Western Australia, famous for its natural beauty and biodiversity. Also my hometown. Save the binge partying for Thailand because Perth's lifestyle incorporates outdoors, foodie pursuits and over recent years, fitness and authentic mother nature based adventure. I was super excited as the plane touched down onto the runway in Perth and could hardly contain myself. Eagerly anticipating for the seat belt sign to ...
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Somewhere in the Pilbara, I race home from work to meet my other half. We hurry ourselves and the bikes out the door, rolling down the driveway with one hour before sunset. Our destination is short travelled through the neighbourhood to a series of hills on the edge of the City of Karratha. We're going for a mountain bike ride, a push bike ride where exercise is just an added bonus to ...
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In the vicinity of Karratha there seems to be many more four wheel drive (4WD) tracks than hiking trails, understandably so when taking into consideration the vast distances between locations in the Northwest of Western Australia, as well as, a lengthy summer that prevents most hiking activities. With Murujuga National Park within close proximity we made some vague plans to hike a not too long 4WD track from Hearson's Cove through the park ...
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Friday night we prepare the mountain bikes and backpacks, I spend a little bit of time cutting some KMART fake flowers for a fascinator that will hopefully be easy to fix onto the helmet. Race 7 for the Burrup Mountain Club is one like no other, actually all rounds so far have been like no other with a touch of Pilbara uniqueness. This one though, is ladies day at the races, incorporating a ...
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Karratha's unsung surroundings offers a chance to discover the sprawling Pilbara region with all the modern conveniences close by. A town developed on the back of a strong resources industry, some 1,550kms north of Perth, might not be the regular tourism destination, however the town does present an opportunity to venture to less journeyed places where you might find yourself with a slice of the Pilbara all to yourself. I'm sharing with you all, in this ...
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A mountain bike race to cure all ailments known to man including sleeplessness, anxiety and mountain bike withdrawal symptoms. Sounds like a bit of fun to me, I thought weeks prior, as I filled out the race form for Yara's Dr Baynton's 6 hour race in Karratha, a Pilbara town in the northwest of Western Australia with an enthusiastic local community of mtbers. While the thought of six hours of trail cycling ...
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Having the pleasure of a free Sunday, we happily took the opportunity to visit Millstream Chichester National Park for a hike and swim. This West Australian National Park is a achievable day trip or weekend stay from Karratha. Leaving the Pilbara town, very quickly the landscape transits to arid plains stretched to the horizon and random rocky peaked hills dissected by Rio Tinto's Iron Ore train line. In any one drive it's not uncommon to spot ...
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As the week draws to an end it's also an important milestone for us, being six months living in the Pilbara. A first adventure. A defining experience and I share some thoughts in this post about uprooting and venturing into the temporary space of unknown. It hasn't exactly been all peaches and cream and while the chaos of pulling together a bold move in a matter of weeks is now a distant ...
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