And then…disaster

 I read recently that 97% of every location in the lower 48 states of the US is within 3.2 miles of a road.* In Australia it’s probably the other way around: 97% of Australia is further (much further?) than 3.2 miles from any road…

Some more from our trip to the Gascoyne. After leaving the Kennedy
Range, we headed towards Mt Augustus, another national park, this time a
slightly more upmarket one. You know, with a few luxuries like running
water, electricity, a shop, petrol/diesel pumps, hot showers and flush
toilets. Not, you understand, that we didn’t enjoy our time in the
Kennedys!

And so, there we are bowling down a road that looks like this, with nary a car in sight (and in fact, hardly a car seen in either direction for over 100km):
 
…when we had a puncture. In fact, two punctures, at same time — which in a place like this, is a bit of a disaster, as we only have only one spare tyre.
 
Fortunately for us there is someone around with a sense of humour, witness the sign.

Cobra Station. Or, for American readers, Cobra Ranch.
Otherwise known as the Old Bangemall Inn, once the local pub for station hands…
The station is called Cobra because of the cobra snake-like shape of the land concession.

 One of the tyres blew up when an attempt was made to mend it in the station workshop — so we have no spare and are not happy with the idea of continuing on without one. We take decide to stay put and settle in to the Cobra caravan park.

The caravan park at dusk, day 1
We order a tyre from Carnarvon, back on the coast (some 400 kms away). Deliveries via Gascoyne Traders take place once a week, but we are hoping there will be someone else coming through earlier. And so we begin our wait.
 
We sit outside the van, sipping a glass of wine as the sun settles behind the trees. 
Things could have been a lot worse…

*USDA Forest Service figures as quoted in Wired Science Sept 19, 2012

Kennedy Range

A few miscellaneous shots from areas around the Kennedy Range campsite camp site and from the nearby Temple Gorge. And by the way, if your knees give you problems while climbing I have come a huge believer in using a stick. Mine has an inner spring and is adjustable. It made the impossible a breeze…

Weird stone (Inner circle about a handspan across)
All the walking trails are marked by those coloured circles…
Inside Temple Gorge
Inside Temple Gorge
Husband with another odd boulder
Odd bent stone with walking stick for size comparison
A track made by kangaroos near the caravan park
Heading towards the temple in Temple Gorge
Inside Temple Gorge

Honeycomb Gorge

Ok, so I do know I am in L.A. at the moment, but I haven’t finished posting pix of our West Australian trip into the Gasgoyne division.These are taken in Honeycomb Gorge, one of the many gorges accessible around the Kennedy Ranges.

The waterfall you can see has water only when it rains…
All these are of natural formations, made by wind and rain and water over millenia
To give an idea of size–there’s me standing at the base, in the middle.
Close up
Husband and …hieroglyphics?
This was one of the weird formations — about 40cm across.

I’m in Venice

Venice, California, that is…

I went for a walk today. The first person I met was a middle-aged lady with 4 or 5 heavy shopping bags, walking with difficulty because of a limp. I helped carry her bags to her car and found out she had just picked up free food distributed by a good Samaritan at the end of every month.

She said she had trouble meeting the rent and buying sufficient food as she could only work part-time, because of her leg. And the leg wouldn’t get better because she can’t afford the physio she needs. Seems to me something ridiculous about that — affordable medical care would mean more productivity, but in the richest country in the world…

It seems so odd that Malaysia can provide very low-cost (often in fact free) health care, whereas USA so often can’t.

I have to say, that as a West Australian used to dazzling white sand, this doesn’t really do it for me.

Still, there are always the birds to look at. (Heermann’s Gull above and American Crow below)

Or the artwork…

Or the street performers…

Or the dogs…

Or the green doctors prescribing medical marijuana…

Sunrise at Kennedy Range.

More of the red country. You are probably getting sick of these pix!
The rocks glow in the dawnlight…
And below is a photo of the rocks u nderfoot at the viewpoint. 
Obviously some old Roman paving, right?Or the remains of a Greek temple?
Actually, all natural, made by heat and cold and water.

The Escarpment scramble, Kennedy Ranges

 The Escarpment was directly behind the caravan park (see the previous post — the shot with my telescope and tripod.) On our first full day we set off to climb it. Three of us. Our combined age is 212 years. The secret is the walking stick climbing pole. Works wonder for ageing knees.

Near the beginning of the climb
Further up the gully. The blue circles marked the “path”
Still further up…
Our caravan park from the top
The adjacent Draper’s Gorge from the top
Another view from the top
And the top was flat….
The road into Draper’s gorge from the top

Temple Gorge Camping Ground

Over 1,200 kms from Perth.

The first thing you have to do here is trust me. I didn’t do a thing to these photos. No auto contrast, no saturation of colours, no nothing. This is in the Kennedy Ranges, within the Temple Gorge Campground, Gascoyne. Run by park volunteers. One waterless uni-sex toilet, no showers, no water. No internet. No mobile coverage. No alternative accommodation within less than 200 kms or so. No shops.

Just quiet perfection. And colour.

 
View from our caravan, dusk.
And another view, telescope pointing at a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles perched on the range.
Campground at 7 p.m.
Our van at 7 a.m.
Late afternoon light
Evening light
Near the campground mid-afternoon
Campground at mid-afternoon
Campground at 7 a.m.