Millsream Chichester National Park & Cossack.

All set up at the Pilbara Holiday Park.

A good look at the
Super Moon at Karratha.

Leaving Marble Bar we arrived at Karratha, and checked in at the Big 4 Pilbara Holiday Park, where we had stayed before. We enjoyed the wide open park and friendly helpful staff, and this time got a lovely big corner site, and quickly settled right in. First job was to call the Toyota dealer and see if we could get a new fuel filter fitted. Our warning light had come on, a sure sign we had picked up some "dirty" fuel, when we topped up at one of the Roadhouses along the way. It is a common problem, as they often run their fuel levels right down. This is our second time, and the Toyota dealer was very obliging, and informed us we were the tenth fuel filter job in 2 days!! Once sorted, we headed down to the Visitor Information Centre, to collect our information on the two things that had brought us back to Karratha, the historic town of Cossack, and the Millstream Chichester National Park. The girls at the office are very friendly and helpful, and we were soon ready for a couple of big days of sightseeing.

Welcome to Cossack.

Mulla Mulla makes quite a show.

On our drive out to Cossack we pass through the other historic town of Roebourne, which was the administrative centre of the region. The old gaol buildings are still there, but it has primarily become an Aboriginal Centre, with a number of their Pilbara corporations and councils based here. There are a number of communities around the region. The road out to Cossack passes a number of mine sites and mine camps, a reminder of what the region has become. The road is lined with the beautiful local wild flower, Mulla Mulla. It has prolific lilac blooms, and gives quite a show.

Cossack from the Water Tower Lookout.

The Post & Telegraph Building.

The history of Cossack is pioneering spirit at its best. Long before iron ore was thought of as a valuable resource, people came to Cossack to farm sheep and cattle. They needed a port to bring supplies and take out their produce, and in 1863 the port of Cossack was established. Rural industries struggled with the heat and cyclones, but when the valuable pearl shell was found nearby, the place boomed with up to 80 luggers based out of

Distant relatives were early
school teachers?

Cossack.

The old School House
& Nanny Goat Hill.

The Pilbara gold rush of the 1880's brought thousands to the district in search of fortune, and the town of Cossack had its timber buildings replaced with stone, and the wharf area was extremely busy. By the early 1900's it was all over. The larger ships could not come into the shallow harbour, and a new wharf was built at nearby Point Samson. The one thing that probably surprised us most about Cossack, was the fact that a Leper Colony was established and maintained here from the 1880's until the mid 1930's. You just don't associate Australia with

Carolyn checks out the art.

Shady spot at the Customs House.

diseases like leprosy. By the early 1950's the town was abandoned completely. We wandered through the old township and its small number of old buildings that have been restored. By chance, the Annual Cossack Art Awards are in full swing. These awards are quite big in the art industry, and the show has become one of Australia's largest rural art events, attracting artists from all over Australia as well as a few from overseas. All of the more than 300 works, are on display in a couple of the older restored warehouse buildings. It was a well put

Cape Lambert Ore Loader.

Settlers Beach.

together exhibition, and we enjoyed viewing the works, and it was all free!! We drove out to the Reader Head Lookout, which gives fantastic views over Settlers Beach and the estuary, and out to Point Samson in the distance. We had stayed one night at Point Samson last year. It is a bit of a tourist area among the mines, and also home to a number of maritime service businesses. The pub is well known, and we thought we might call in for lunch. No way,

Cossack Inlet.

Bikers on the Black Dog Ride.

as the place was packed with bikers doing the Black Dog round Australia ride. Instead we drove around a few dirt tracks trying to get a look at the Cape Lambert Ore loading facilities. We counted 16 ships waiting out to sea to come in and be loaded, while another 4 or so were currently being loaded. It is mind boggling. All of this is Rio Tinto controlled and operated. The scope of operations is amazing, when you remember that this is Cape Lambert, and just 30 kms away at Dampier, it is all duplicated and all Rio Tinto!! No wonder they are the worlds biggest iron ore miner.

Welcome to the park.

Lots of iron ore trains.

Our next wonderful day was spent exploring Millstream Chichester National Park. It is not well known but has some beautiful spots spread across an area that was once the Millstream Homestead, as well as the rigged Chichester Ranges. It is only 130 kms from Karratha, and you travel along the Rio Tinto railway road, where a permit is required. Well not really, as you just go into the Information centre and put a gold coin in a box!!! The excellent road follows the the railway line

Wonderful wetlands.

Millstream Homestead.

that brings the huge train loads of iron ore from Tom Price, Paraburdoo and a variety of other mines. We see lots of trains, each 2.5 kms long, carrying 130,000 tonnes of iron ore!! The country is rolling hills covered in spinifex as far as the eye can see. The roadside is washed in colour as the wild Mulla Mulla and another prolific white shrub is every where. After around 90 kilometres the bitumen ends and we are onto the red dirt. You can only

Rolling hills of spinifex.

Clear ponds full of lilies.

try and imagine the red dust!! Our first stop is the old Millstream Homestead. You can only imagine what the first white settlers thought when they found this amazing property back in 1865. The property operated as a pastoral lease up until 1986 when it became a National Park. The old homestead building is now a visitor centre, unmanned, but full of informative displays about the history of the homestead and its various owners. It isn't until

"it's under the big W"

Running streams link the clear ponds.

you venture outside and take the Homestead Walk into the adjoining wetland, that you realise what these settlers had found. A true desert oasis! Magnificent palms and flowing streams, linking a series of ponds, all full of water plants in the clearest water you can imagine. The entire area is fed from an underground aquifer and is always running. The contrast to the surrounding spinifex covered ranges is astounding. The unusual palms are

A banded dragon sunning itself.

Fortescue River from the Cliff Lookout.

Millstream Palms, a species only found here. Though I'm not certain of this, as anyone who remembers that hilarious old movie, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, like my mate Bluey, who along with me has seen the movie a hundred times, will recall "it's under the big W"!! We found the Big W!! But no treasure!! Nearby is an area known as the Cliff Lookout, that gazes down on the Fortescue River. From the vantage point high above the river, you can follow it for miles into the distance, defined by the line of snappy gums, that line the river banks.

At Python Pool.

Enjoying Python Pool.

The other major attraction to see is The Python Pool in the Chichester Ranges, a short, dusty drive away. We stopped at a roadside bay near Mt. Herbert for our picnic lunch. We just perched ourselves on the tailgate, and take in the unbelievable vista across the plains, and the perfect silence. There is not a soul in sight. The short walk to the Python Pool is along a dry creek bed. You suddenly come out of the trees to be confronted by towering cliffs behind a large pool. It is just magnificent. We can see

Beautiful Sturt's Desert Pea.

The spinifex is ablaze.

why it is a popular swimming hole, but at this time of the year the water is quite cold, and again, we are the only ones here. We sat and took in the silence, and tried to imagine this place when the water was rushing down the mountainside and

crashing into the pool. We headed for home along the red, dusty trail. When we reached the bitumen, we stopped to watch a fire that was burning across the spinifex. A railway worker pulled up beside us and asked if we had any snags for a BBQ. We chatted for a while and he told us all about the amazing 1600 kilometre railway system that Rio Tinto had built. It sounded mind boggling! Back at the caravan park I decided to wash the car as we were heading off next day. As I directed the hose onto the car, it looked as if it was hemorrhaging, with all this red liquid flowing from everywhere!

In the morning we are on the road early, headed inland into the heartland of the Pilbara. So much to see in this huge country!