24 April 2013 - Pardoo Roadhouse, Great Northern Highway, Western Australia

Thirty eight degrees in Pardoo!!! However we are on power and could hitch up to water if we wanted, as well as take a dip in the swimming pool. The sites are grassy, a real treat and we are parked up against a concrete slab. If it weren't for the red dirt throughout the amenities this would stack up pretty well with others charging $15 a head. In the Roadhouse itself we could fork out for close to $30 a head for dinner but Chris has elected to cook, as he normally does.

We are not far from the turnoff to Marble Bar, a tiny town of just one hundred and ninety three folk 191 kilometres down the road into the Pilbara, best known as being the hottest place in Australia. The town set the record of the most consecutive days of 40 degrees or above, during a period of 160 days from October 1923 to April 1924. For six months of the year the average maximum temperature exceeds normal human body temperature. Actually Marble Bar has more than its climatic records to commend it however I shall not bother to mention them here because we have chosen not to take the side tour. It is hot enough here!

We were packed up and gone from Broome at about 9 am, back out on the Great Northern Highway and heading south west. Port Hedland is the next centre of any consequence along this highway, a trip of 602 kilometres. Yesterday we met a young couple in the pool travelling in the opposite direction to us but basically living the the same life, except theirs will come to an abrupt halt when their first child arrives in August. They had come through from Port Hedland in the one day and were still early enough to enjoy the social centre of the camp: the pool. For us however, 466 kilometres was enough for us and we were happy to pull into this caravan park by about 3.30 pm.

We had been warned that the road was uninspirational, and we have to agree. It was interesting to note the massive herds of cattle gathered on the grassy flats on the Roebuck Plains, probably waiting for transport to the wharf and thence on to Indonesia or some such exotic destination. But soon the relatively fertile plain gave way to the low scrub along the edge of the Great Sandy Desert which is Australia’s second largest desert and encompasses an area of 284,993 square kilometres, an area even greater than the entire land area of New Zealand.

The road follows the coastline down, the Eighty Mile Beach and more, but from the road, which is never less than ten kilometres from the sea, little is visible except for the occasional glimpse of sand hills far in the distance.

The monotony of the trip, which is less than crossing the Mitchell Grass Plains, according to my gallant husband who does all the driving, was broken only by road killed cattle and one roo, the regular relay towers and the countless caravans heading north. I wish I had started counting them as we set off; I reckon there must have been one at least every five kilometres which would mean we had passed ninety three caravans. Sounds about right. Obviously we left Broome just in time to avoid the mass arrivals. Paul, from the Horizontal Falls Tour company had told us while transporting us back to our respective accommodation  that Broome’s population of 15,500 swells to 55,000 during the months June to August!

Interestingly I popped on line to check tariffs for caravan parks at Port Hedland, a frustratingly impossible task as usual. No one seems willing to commit themselves to a price, but even when they do, you cannot trust that it will be as advertised. My endless gripe! Instead, I googled Pardoo and found out why the name sounded familiar.

Cyclone Rusty hit these north western shores at the end of February this year. It lurked around threateningly for some days and settlements up and down the coast were on alert. Finally Rusty came in with 230 km per hour winds, damaging only one little insignificant spot on the map; Pardoo. This explains the wrecked shed in the corner of the property, however hats off to the owners here; we would not have otherwise known.

Google also came up with some dreadful reviews for the roadhouse and the caravan park, but I can confirm that we are quite happy here tonight and expect to leave early and unscathed tomorrow morning. It is true the amenities have not been cleaned since they were transported from some distant mine site or at least when the cyclone came through. Perhaps it is just as well we did not check out the pool.