Point Samson, the Burrup Peninsula & Red Dog (The Pilbara)

20^th August

Lovely morning for a run and a swim in Honeymoon Cove at Point Samson. Crystal clear water and plenty of fish to look at.

Left Point Samson and drove past the Karratha salt flats towards the Burrup Peninsula which is part of the newly formed Murujuga National Park.  The word Murujuga in local aboriginal language is thought to mean ‘hip bone sticking out’, referring to the peninsula’s alignment on the Pilbara Coast. As well as being the WA’s 100^th National Park, it is also unique in that it is the first jointly managed park in the state (managed jointly by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Department of Parks and Wildlife).

 People obviously have a sense of humour in Karratha!

The colours of the Pilbara are just amazing and in such contrast to each other – red dirt, white salt, blue sky, yellow sand, turquoise water, numerous shades of green in trees and bushes. It truly is an incredible place. This was evident once again on the Burrup Peninsula. We drove through to Withnell Bay and Hearson Cove and the water was a blue colour like nothing we’ve seen before. Spent some time exploring the 4WD tracks around these spots and then visited Deep Gorge.

Deep Gorge is another amazing place. This area has been recognised as the most prolific Aboriginal rock art site in the world and has been listed by the Heritage Council of WA. There are reportedly 50,000 plus petroglyphs (rock carvings) in the Burrup Peninsula and approximately 10,000 can be seen at the Deep Gorge site. There are no absolute dates for the petroglyphs but they are estimated to have been produced from 25,000 – 30,000 years ago up to the 1860’s. The petroglyphs here represent the longest know sequence and greatest number anywhere in the world and have a diversity of subject matter. We wandered around here for ages and marvelled at these wonderful pieces of history.

In sharp contrast to Deep Gorge was the North West Shelf Project which also occupies a large space on the Burrup Peninsula.  North West Shelf Project facilities constitute Australia’s largest operating resource development and currently accounts for more than 1/3 of Australia’s oil and gas production. For the past 30 years, the North West Shelf Project has been WA’s largest supplier of domestic gas. It is one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas producers. The Project’s operations and development create jobs and injects millions of dollars annually into Australian businesses however; I couldn’t help but feel it was a real eye sore in this otherwise magnificent part of the world.

Feeling a little deprived of pug love, I insisted that we stop in at Dampier on the way out of the area and patted the Red Dog memorial statue. Many of you will have seen the movie ‘Red Dog’ about the Pilbara Wanderer – a cross Kelpie/Cattle dog that was well known for his travels through WA’s Pilbara Region. His nickname of Red Dog has been attributed to the red dirt of the Pilbara (it gets into everything!!). Three books have been written inspired by Red Dog. Apparently a prequel ‘Blue Dog’ is being currently filmed on Karratha Station – keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Some of that Pilbara red dirt!

Tonight we bush camped at the mouth of the Fortescue River, about 20km off the North West Coastal Highway. The dirt road in was maintained by the mines so all good and we got out to the river mouth in no time. A few fishermen had long term camps out there as the fishing is meant to be first class. We found a secluded spot right near the river and enjoyed a quiet evening with no neighbours or generators to bother us and magnificent night sky.