Day 1 - Broome to Point Samson

And we’re off! After the usual flurry of very last minute packing (pressure makes diamonds right?!) on what had to be the sweatiest morning of the year, a minor delay due to a blown headlight globe which the awesome Ranga at Elite fixed in about 5 seconds for me, a last minute Rusty Coast coffee stop, and finally we were on the road.

No front seat side eye bandit today, Tex was asleep by the time we got to Fairway Drive and didn’t really move much from there. The dash temp didn’t drop much below 40 all day, topping out at 43 near Pardoo (where Tex just refused to get out of the aircon). With the heat came a howling hot wind that did nothing to cool the scorching temperatures.

Before long the red dirt of the Kimberley gave way to lush green plains and then the deceptively soft looking (but extremely spiky) spinifex hills of the Great Sandy Desert. As we approach Port Hedland, the trucks got even bigger, hauling iron ore from the smaller mines to port. PH has an industrial, grungy, edge to it but today it feels windswept, scorched and barren. There’s no escape from the relentless heat and wind. I am conspicuous with my lack of minespec vehicle, hi vis or company stickers.

I try and take Tex to the dog park for a run around to stretch his legs. He briefly sniffs around the edge, pees on a tree and then lays down on the grass in the shade. Time to move on. There are some ominous looking clouds around and I decide to take the swag off the roof and put it inside the car. That promptly puts paid to any chance of rain!

I’m getting pretty tired as we leave the highway and head up to Point Samson. It’s not the longest drive I’ve ever done, but a late night and early morning are taking their toll, and I’m relieved when I pull up at my Airbnb and find a delightfully cold studio waiting for me. Dagmar, the host, shows me round, introduces Tex to her 15 yo kelpie / shepherd cross, and apart from a brief thong stealing incident, everyone is happy!