Tyred out in Karratha

So we ticked off the items on our 'must do' list, time to commence the long slow journey along the coast back down to Perth.

We left Derby thinking about our options for the night - we could head into Broome and pay for an expensive caravan site or camp a few kms out of Broome and head into the town for a day's sightseeing.

We decided on the latter option, and stopped at the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse, booking in for 2 nights.

That night we went over to the roadhouse for a meal, Panfried Barramundi with salad and chips x2.

The next morning we headed down the road into Broome, only 40kms.

We stopped at the information centre and learnt that there was nothing special happening in town at the moment, we were a week early for the 'staircase to the moon', which would be visible at the weekend; This phenomenon occurs in the northern region of WA when the full moon reflects on the mud flats at an extremely low tide.

We drove out to the 'town beach' area and checked out the museum.

A very nice little affair with some lovely little exhibits and a good history of all aspects of the town. 

After the museum we drove into town and parked near the Paspaley shopping centre on the edge of China Town.

We walked around the streets and shops and grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out to Cable Beach.

We walked along the paths in park overlooking the beach and paused to thank Lord McAlpine for his foresight in the 1970s, opening up Broome to become what it is today.

Then it was time to head back out to the caravan park at the roadhouse.

The next morning we had our usual slow start and were delighted and amazed to see this Frill-Necked Lizard also watching the other campers pack up.

      

Then we too were back on the road, now heading south.

We stopped early in the day, around midday at a 24 hr rest area, Stanley. We set up next to a shelter and table and relaxed watching others roll in. By early evening there were quite a few vans, caravans and tents spread around.

The next day, we carried on southwards.

We got fuel at the Sandfire Roadhouse before turning off the main road to travel about 9kms along a gravel road down to Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park. We pulled up sharp at the entrance to read all the rules and were astounded to see that the rate was $49 a night.

We drove in to see how good it was for that price – it was crowded, and was what appeared to basically be, a farm paddock. There was a queue of 4WDs and caravans waiting at the reception, we did a U turn and drove back down the dirt road to the highway.

We stopped at the next 24 hr rest area, on the DeGrey River. A huge area with plenty of room for everyone. Some hardy souls headed off down some steep dirt tracks to camp down by the river but we settled in among a few other motorhomes up on the flat level ground.

The local cattle wandered down through the caravans and motorhomes in the early evening to make their way down to the river for a drink.

The next morning we continued on, driving into Port Hedland and the information centre.

We had heard that there was an option to camp at the Turf Club, but this year this is only available when the caravan parks are full or if you have an oversized rig or pets. We had neither and also there's a race meeting this afternoon. The caravan parks are our options in town. The one in Port Hedland is now part of the Big 4 chain and charges $49 a site. The Black Rock in South Hedland only charges $35 so no prizes for guessing which one we chose.

We stopped at the Don Rhodes Mining Museum on the main road and then went over to South Hedland.

We had just set up when who should walk by? Terry from Kununurra and the Horizontal Falls trip.

They were having a little break in Hedland before heading down the inland road through Newman, to Perth and beyond.

We had a little rest and then decided to go for a swim. There was no one else around the pool despite the heat and one dip of the toe into the water and we realised why…. The water was freezing.

We had got this far so both braved it and did a quick couple of lengths, before getting out to warm up.

The next morning we were on the road by 9.30 and stopped for a morning coffee near Whim Creek.

We turned into Roebourne and stopped at the information centre which is housed in the Old Gaol.

We paid the little admission fee and had a look around.

 The Roebourne lockup was proclaimed a gaol in 1884. It was quite depressing to see the old photos of the aboriginal inmates, with their neck chains and leg shackles.

Before we left the building I went to the ladies toilet and found it poignant that as I sat on the toilet, next to my left ankle, in the wall, was a ring – to attach the chain.

Then we drove out of town, out the the coastal 'ghost town' of Cossack.

We had both always wanted to visit Cossack since the 1970s when we was a programme about the town. It was just an abandoned town then, now it has been officially declared an 'Historic Town' with interpretive walks and some restored buildings. 

 

We parked on the old wharf and had lunch then went on a short drive around the old streets. We went out to the Japanese cemetery past the old Chinese market garden lots and the Malay Section.

Then we drove up to the lookout before leaving Cossack and returning to Roebourne and the main road south.

We were intending on staying at another 24hr rest area or a roadhouse for the next couple of nights, bypassing Karratha and heading on to Carnarvon. The best laid plans etc……..

About 45 kms south of Karratha we heard a very loud slapping noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. Expecting to see a flat tyre we pulled over – no, all 4 tyres fully inflated.

So we drove on, after a short distance the noise started again. We stopped again and on close inspection I noticed that the rear left tyre had strips of rubber hanging off it on its innermost edge and could see the metal core of the tyre sticking up!!

Wondering where we could safely stop and change the wheel I spotted a little, square blue sign just ahead, that meant that there was a parking layby 1km up the road. Hoping that it was a bitumen sealed surface there, we crept along. It was a sealed flat surface so we were now safely off the road.

 

The spare wheel on the camper is stored underneath the back of the vehicle and the fitting is, quite frankly, a bugger. Neither of us could release the spare wheel. So, it was time to use the most valuable tool you can carry when travelling – the mobile phone.

We barely had a signal, just one bar if I faced a certain direction, but enough to call the RAC.

After just over an hour our help arrived, not in a fancy 4WD truck but a little red car. 

Anthony took an hour to finally release that spare from it's carrier and change the wheel.

This is the offending tyre - 

 Then we were heading back to Karratha for the night.

It was dark by the time we arrived and had to phone the after hours number to get someone to come to reception and check us in.

The next morning, luckily Monday, not on a weekend, we drove around to Beaurepaires Tyre Shop. They were extremely helpful, and we actually got a suitable tyre, that matched our spare, for $150. (The one that had disintegrated had cost over $300).

Soon we were rolling again, before leaving town we went to the shopping centre to have a look around, get a few items of food and then continue south.

As we walked back to the van, we both thought, 'that's funny, the van seems to be at an angle'.

The spare that had been fitted on the road side was as flat as a pancake. (Not the one just fitted by Beaurepaires.)

Out comes that valuable tool again, this time I phoned Beaurepaires directly and they sent out their truck to put air in the tyre so that we could drive back to them to see what went wrong.

The tyre really didn't hold much air so we drove very slowly, with the truck following, and made it just as the tyre started to deflate again.

The problem was not with the rubber this time – the actual rim had a long crack in it.

A disaster waiting to happen, what could have happened if that crack had caused the tyre to burst, either when under the vehicle in the carrier, or just now when on the road, is not something that we wanted to think about.

But that left us without a spare wheel altogether. The motorhome vehicle is a Fiat, the dealer is in Perth, Karratha is 1,600kms north of Perth. 

Nothing to do but order a rim, get it freighted up to Beaurepaires and wait. The estimated delivery time was Wednesday afternoon.

So we went back to the caravan park, extended our stay until Thursday and waited.

All over the caravan park people were 'waiting'. One couple with a camper trailer, had no vehicle - it was in the garage. Another couple with a caravan were waiting to find out how serious their gearbox problem was on their big Ford F150 (it wouldn't get out of 'park'), someone else was trying to get a replacement rear window for their tow vehicle and another couple had to wait whilst Telstra sorted out their phone problems. The park seemed to be the place to 'wait' in Karratha.

This is where we are now.

We've made the decision to head directly home without detours to Exmouth, Coral Bay, Monkey Mia and other places. We will go home and thoroughly check all tyres and rims. We can always 'do' this area another time, we've done the distant places and the NT so feel okay to call it a day.

In the meantime there is still the adventure of the drive from Karratha to home so there will be one more post to do. We just have to pick up the new rim and spare tyre – tomorrow?!?