Life in The Wild West

Karratha – the place to be…

For the next six months I’ll be working in North–West WA. I’m based in Karratha at the moment – a small mining town and the place where the story (and movie) of “Red Dog” take place.

After just two weeks of working in Pilbara, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the region and want make the most of this opportunity to explore the stunning landscape.

… and I kind of get to do it on a daily bases thanks to the awesome job I have on site … but any days off and I’m on bike and off camping!

First Camping – Cleaverville

My first pick for a one-night camping trip was Cleaverville – an pristine bit of nature right next to the ocean. It’s a stunning area, popular for fishing, with plenty of camping spots and only 30 km away from Karratha.

So, straight after work I packed my bike, totally ignored the bad weather forecast, as you do, and headed off to Cleaverville. It was such a good feeling to be back on the road – even if for a short trip!

I picked a spot for the night just behind some sand dunes – thought it would shelter me from the winds.

And how wrong I was.

After a nice evening with heated take away curry, a couple of glasses of red wine and a little bit of blogging, I was thinking to myself that these weather forecast are just plain wrong.

And how wrong I was.

At 3:30 am the wind ripped my tent apart just as it started to rain! I’ve got to admit – I was pretty cranky after such a rude awakening. Well, after a short reconnaissance mission, I managed to find to a less windy spot where I, cranky as anything, dragged my tent and managed to crash until sunrise.

All in all, ignoring the slight misadventure, it was another great adventure in the wild, wild west.