MEEKATHARRA - A ONCE GOLDEN PROSPECT

(Thursday-Friday 18-19 July 2013)

We pulled ourselves away from Mount Magnet in an early morning chilly breeze, and the days riding did not get any warmer, with my bike temperature gauge hovering between 7 and 9 degrees most of the way and the wind making it seem even colder. I was wearing double layers of wool thermals and my hands were cold, despite winter gloves. No heated hand grips for my motorcycle, I am Mrs Intrepid!

We had to overtake lots of huge long road trains, which is nice and easy on motorbikes, providing you make sure there is plenty of road in front to allow the time to get past the huge haulage vehicles. There were also several police escorted extra wide loads with big mining equipment on board.

We only stopped briefly in the historic little town of Cue, with its gorgeous heritage listed sandstone buildings lining the main street. We have explored this town on our honeymoon nearly 5 years ago. I contemplated that back in the 1890s the gold mining people in Cue must have had big expectations of prosperity for the town, to have built such "permanent" buildings.

Arriving in Meekatharra near noon was a bit of a puzzle. Where was the caravan park that Dave had set in his GPS? It was right in front of us, looking like a messy industrial place, but soon we had our beaut 2-roomed tent pitched and all mod cons set up inside. The showers and toilets were clean but there was no camp kitchen or cooking facilities. And huge trucks roar pass the place nonstop. Oh well, at least we only have to stay here for 2 nights.

Friday

We spent today going on a historic trail guide walk around that was set up with funding in 2005, and has been sadly neglected since. Signs have faded or been vandalised and there is a lot of litter lying around this 3 km bush walk. Only one spot was free of litter, and this was a special water supply hole that is regarded as a special dreamtime place by the local Aborigines, and it really did have a very special "feel" about it. Dave and I went very quiet there. It had also been used by 1900s camel drovers as a watering hole, but now only spirits inhabit this place.

There is a "Lookout" walk which is really an old mullock hill from the diggings of a big open cut mine. Dave and I gazed over the vast flat country around Meekatharra town. A lot of the bush has lost its natural timber due to early gold miners cutting trees down to run steam boilers. Some photos show poppet headframes around the town, but these have all gone now.

We had to have a beer in old The Royal Mail Hotel in the main street, as this is where Dave's brother Alan met his wife Natalie in the 1990s, when Natalie and her family were then running this pub.

We also had a look at the little museum set up in the local shire library, lots of photos, but not much Aboriginal history.

Meekatharra is now a tiny town with a lot of Aborigines around who all seemed friendly and cheerful to us. Some kids asked us questions and said they'd seen our motorbikes under covers at the caravan park; they were full of curiosity and surprised to hear that I rode my own motorbike, being an "old lady".

The road trains roaring through stop to fuel up here, and for the drivers to have a meal. I don't think the caravan park is flash enough for most grey nomads; they seem to stop briefly in the main street and roll on. The park seems to have permanent residents.

Because of lack of a camp kitchen here, inside our cosy Yurt, we improvised and had a delicious meal of cold meat and salad, complemented with cheese and Deb instant mashed potato last night; same again tonight! Yum! Washed down with a nice glass of wine.

Tomorrow is pack up day again, heading off to Newman before organising a couple of bush camping days at Karijini National Park, if we can score a camping spot. School holidays has just ended, and we have heard a lot of grey nomads have headed back south because of the uncommonly cold winter weather up north, so we may get lucky and have a Karijini camping site.

Mrs Intrepid

Meekatharra to Newman: Saturday 20 July 2013

A cold but sunny tent pack up and a chilly riding day today, temperature around 12 degrees all day but the wind chill factor made it feel colder. As we were riding into a headwind, our motorbike fuel consumption was higher than usual. We stopped at Kumarina Roadhouse for an ordinary little lunch. This place is a dry dusty dump in my opinion, with dirty toilet facilities. Probably because it is the only fuel and meal road stop in the area, such is the effect of lack of competition! A very poor impression for WA tourism, shame!

I had a fascinating experience on the run leading from Kumarina to Newman; one I will not forget! I was the lead rider, and the sun was dazzling on the area to the left of me, so I did not see a large dead brown cow lying on brown dirt, being eaten by a flock of brown birds and a large wedgetail eagle, until too late. The smaller birds flew away easily on hearing my motorbike, but the big wedgetail eagle was so engorged with road kill that it clumsily rose up and across my path, oh heck! It was happening too quickly, disaster looming, and I suddenly was annoyed for not seeing this in time, while braking madly. The eagle somehow missed me and was flying along a metre in front of my bike, at my eye level, while I was honking the horn, no doubt looking like a big angry red bird to the poor big bird. It looked beautiful up so close, I could see all the patterns in its brown feathers, and it actually turned its head to look at me before it lumbered off to the right, and out of my way! And while I was riding along with this magnificent eagle, I could hear Dave's voice in my helmet speaker: "Grab some tail feathers for me, grab some tail feathers!"

Well, I could have, but I didn't!

We arrived not long after that at the iron ore town of Newman, and set up our tent in a nice clean caravan park. I think we will enjoy our stay here.

Mrs Intrepid Flying Eagle

P.S My Moto guzzi has the eagle as its symbol on my tank. Go Guzzi!