To travel from Marble Bar to Newman is to climb into the heart of the Pilbara. You also climb from 200m to 550m and back to 450m, and the sky is cool and clear. It was 11 deg this morning. I’m expecting it will be cooler tomorrow, with the thermometer down to 16deg soon after sunset.
Around Marble Bar, the hills are high and dramatic. As you climb, the hills merge into the rising plain, and the travel becomes windy and undulating. The colours are vibrant, and the countryside full of interest. I’m glad to have my lovely white-barked gums back again. Coming down into Newman the iron ore mines start, and the railway joins the road.
Newman seems like your standard mining town. All very neat and ordered, not unlike Moranbah in Queensland’s coalfields.
Even the dust coming off the red road goes a dusky shade of pink when raised…
I remembered the name of my 1980’s ABC drama. Golden Soak I remember as the name, and was prompted by our lunch stop at Nullagine, which if it wasn’t the name of the town in the series, it was close to that. Does anyone remember?
I also found out today at the comet mine museum, that tigereye stone gets the grainy sheen from the asbestos in it. Something to think about…
And to finish off with, a cut piece of jasper from Marble Bar.
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