Noreena Jasper

Next on the “digging list” for this year is Noreena Jasper. This is a stunning rock Glenn found and named himself.

When we reach the lease we find a bushfire has gone through since we were here last year and the area looks quite bleak. Only the eucalyptus trees have regrowth and there are very few of those. Even the Spinifex is only just sprouting again. However, there’s lots of colour here. All sorts of flowers are in bloom and where we make our camp it seemed as if we had a garden (much to my delight!) as we were surrounded by colourful plants.

Glenn gets the backhoe into operation and soon the bags are filling up.

Every piece we throw into the bag must be knapped first as the seams can be fickle. Just about every good piece of rock is geometric in shape and just a small tap on one corner will show the potential colours inside. It was very satisfying to give a plain red rock a little tap and see pretty colours just peeking out.

Here (below) Glenn is sitting against the seam and has sprayed the broken rock with water to show how it will polish.

(click on image to enlarge)

Crazy Lace Agate Mine

We had an interruption to our digging - Glenn injured his wrist badly enough to have to rest it for a few days so we made a flying visit home. This proved beneficial, however, as we had mail to deal with and more importantly it meant we could pick up the dog from the kennels. We missed him more than we thought. The intention was to save him the discomfort he would suffer from the dreadful grass seeds. Last year each evening we would sit after dinner and pick them out of his skin and ears. I decided this time I would keep him away from the grassy areas one way or another.

As you can see, he was glad to be home.

We’d been home a few days when we heard rain was forecast for the Pilbara Region so we left in time to get there before the roads were closed. They are unsealed roads and with the Almighty Dust of the Pilbara it doesn’t take much to turn a road into a quagmire. We arrived late at night and it was nice to get into our cosy tent.

In the morning it was pouring with rain so Glenn strung up the tarp for shelter and that was where Woody and I sat waiting for the rain to stop while Glenn unloaded the truck.

It eased off by the afternoon, just as the weatherman said it would and work could begin again.

It’s not long before we have a truckload to take into town and this time His Lordship gets to ride in the sleeper cab!

Most of the road we use is the railway access road and it’s not surprising that we pass the Ore Train because it is going back and forth constantly, transporting iron ore to Port Hedland for shipping to China. It’s over a kilometre long and has two engines; one at the front and one in the middle, so I took three photos as we gradually overtook it. The train driver waves and gives us a blast on the train horn too!

A couple of days later we saw another ore train that was 2kms long and had two engines at the front, three in the middle and two at the rear.

Our black and grey dog is soon black and red.

Is he looking lovingly at Glenn?

No...

Anyone would think from reading this blog that our life revolves around the dog!!! Absolutely not!!!

Apart from punctures... (we woke up to this one)

(There's a man under that truck!)

...and mechanical problems, other small setbacks occur (see below). Fortunately there is another bucket Glenn can use but it’s half the size of this one.

The digging here is complete but before we leave the area we take a drive to a lease not too far away for Munjina Stone. It’s a beautiful place and yet another beautiful rock.

We pack up our camp at the Crazy Lace Agate mine and head off for Roy Hill.

Back to Mooka

When we turn off the Gascoyne Junction/Carnarvon road to head down the dirt track to the Gascoyne River we can see how much rain has fallen while we were away. There's lots of water laying in the low parts of the track.

I started to worry about our river crossing but if you've got the right gear, there's no need to worry at all. In fact, it's just that little bit more exciting!

Now THAT'S a 4WD !!

We arrive at the minesite and nothing seems to have changed very much. Although we could see the creek had flowed quite heavily.

The Aloe Vera (donated by the local cattle station master a few years ago who said it's good for sandfly bites) is thriving.

And the wattles are blooming everywhere now that's it's winter.

This time, as Woody isn't with us, at mealtimes we are joined by a fox. We can't resist throwing him scraps even though he looks well fed. He's been dining on the wildlife, no doubt; something we dislike them for intensely. But it's exciting having a wild animal come so close. Digging goes well and it's not long before we have a load to take into town. Glenn brings it from the mine on the 6WD Mercedes, across the river to the woolshed where the Kenworth is waiting. The Mercedes has a Hiab (crane) which he uses to transfer the bags of rock to the other truck. It's an hour and a half drive to Carnarvon.

There's still a bit of weather about giving us spectacular skies.

After a couple of weeks and a few tons dug we head north for the Crazy Lace Agate Mine. But on the way we meet up with some friends.

Not quite sure how we managed to find them, right in the middle of the outback, miles from anywhere. It was a combination of GPS and ESP.

After a couple of days of fossicking and lots of laughing we continue on our way north to the Pilbara Region and there's still rain about. This rainbow lasted for ages and cheered up the somewhat ordinary scenery.

We reach the minesite and soon set up camp ready for digging to begin.


Crazy Lace Agate is one of my favourites. You can read about it here.

Fortunately, there is a windmill nearby, 8kms down the track, where we can get water for washing, . Can you believe there are graffiti artists this far out? The tree trunk hanging over the side is for visiting ducks who probably wouldn't be able to get out, otherwise.

The soil up here is red dust. It isn't gravel, it isn't sand, it is literally DUST! When we first arrive it is quite compacted after the rain but it doesn't take long to loosen up. It gets into absolutely everything and it's pointless to try and fight it. Our camps always include a shower cubicle so that we can wash at the end of each day and sleep in clean bedding. But it doesn't take long after stepping out of the tent in the morning before the dust has 'taken you over'.

The first year I came up here to the Pilbara Region I learned very quickly to just live with it. And I wrote this:

The Dust

I breathe this red dust,
I eat this red dust,
It’s in my eyes, up my nose,
In my ears and between my toes.

It’s under my nails and in my hair,
The red dust it’s bloody everywhere!

I had a black/grey dog, now he’s red;
Thought I’d got a tan but it’s dust instead.
It’s in my book and in my bag,
It’s in my knickers and in my swag.

But I love it and accept it,
It’s all part of being here;
I’m in Mother Nature’s clutches;
I am safe, I am red, She is near.

Mining at Mooka - Phase One

We've just completed the first three weeks of this year's mining.

This is my third year of accompanying Glenn to mine rock and after the first year I started to put together a list of what we needed to take. (It's a 'woman' thing, I suppose.) Glenn's been doing this for years and has never had anything written down; he just throws everything in and off he goes. I need a list and this list has become "The List" and I wouldn't be without it. We're miles from civilisation for sometimes weeks at a time so I must feel organised.

We've done the 'big shop' (groceries galore), Glenn's done his packing which amongst other things includes every vehicle spare he can carry and I've got enough first aid and medications to open a chemist shop. Plus newspapers and books to last a year.

We got away mid-morning making it to Geraldton for dinner. There can't be many roadhouses that overlook the ocean as this one does; you can see the sea from the restaurant over the top of three or four roadtrains parked in the carpark.

As I still have coverage on my mobile phone there I usually call my sons and as I did so this year I realised that this time last year I could only phone Doug. Matt was in Iraq. What a lovely feeling it was to be able to call him in Melbourne where he lives happily with his new wife.

After dinner we get back on the road and do a few more hours before we pull off and unroll our swags to get some sleep. We are awake before the sun is up and make an early start. We get to Carnarvon and have eggs and bacon for breakfast, yum! As we head further north I'm amazed at how green the verges are when there is such a drought. The wildlife and cattle are attracted to this luscious growth and this makes driving hazardous. They can be very unpredictable and I've seen one or two cow's carcasses along the way. However, kangaroos are another story. Dead bodies all over the place! The crows and eagles have a feast (if they don't get collected by a passing vehicle themselves!)

Smartypants Woody, as soon as he sees the 'errant wildlife', pushes his way from behind the seats of the land cruiser and sits on the passenger seat. He decides he needs to ride 'shotgun' and proceeds to tell all wildlife where to go in no uncertain terms. I put a finger in my left ear.

I consequently have his breath misting up the windscreen and wet nose stains all over it too. But he's good company. He's excited. He knows exactly what's going on, where we're off to and what lies ahead. He's looking forward to lots of water to swim in and wildlife to chase.

Soon I can see the Kennedy Ranges in the distance and we turn off the bitumen and soon reach Winnamia which is where we bring the bags of rock to be loaded. There is a woolshed and living quarters here - all built of tin, run-down and completely abandoned. But there are still rain water tanks that fill from the roof gutters and when our supply has got low it has been a good standby as the water in the Gascoyne River and Mooka Creek is a bit too full of minerals to drink.
So we leave Glenn's truck there and drive to Jimba Jimba to collect the Mercedes. I have to say that I was impressed when Glenn told me he had a Mercedes. And here she is..



The people at this cattle station are quite happy for Glenn to store her there and have even done repairs on her for him free of charge. She's come in handy for the odd job for them too. I call her our "Rock Goddess". If not for this 6 Wheel Drive truck we would have to do an extra 160km round journey each time to get the rock to town. With the Rock Goddess we are able to transport the bags of rock from the mine across the Gascoyne River to Winnamia where it can be loaded on to a roadtrain.

Crossing the river the first time with fully loaded vehicles is usually a bit tricky. Woody couldn't care less - he's found what he came for:






The Land Cruiser is fully loaded and pulling a fully loaded trailer so I knew I'd be lucky to get across first time. I got so far but Glenn ended up towing me with the truck. I find this all a bit traumatic. He doesn't.

Before you know it, we're at Mooka, camp's set up, tarp's in place for shade, fridge is on the way to getting cold, tent is up and bedding in place and the kettle's on!



And it's not long before Glenn has unloaded the backhoe and is digging Mookaite. Turning this:

Into this:

And making lots of work for me!! Like this:

Digging rock like this:

To be made into things like beads, carvings,

or the really really top of the wozza stuff into things like this:

I now realise how easy we had it last year. Few mechanical problems and few flies. This year.. mechanical problems big time and more flies than you could poke multiple sticks at!

We came armed with numerous cans of personal fly repellant and a fly net for my face that I wore constantly. We cannot, however, carry a spare gear box for the Land Cruiser. Yep, almost completed one of our many river crossings when "Phhhht!" no gears. But never fear, bush mechanic is here. Glenn ordered a new gearbox from Perth, got it sent up to Carnarvon, we collect it, get the LC to the camp on the back of the Rock Goddess, and he fixes it. Amazing!

The offending article.

We tried a fly net for Woody as they'd made camp on his nose, poor thing.

Didn't last long, surprisingly.

The best times are early morning and evening when the flies go to bed and all is quiet.

Dog's are not allowed in the tent.