The Doc visited The Devils Marbles today, near Wauchope in Outback Australia, about 110 kilometres south of Tennant Creek. The devil during a walkabout dropped his marbles all over the landscape.
The Aboriginal name is Karlu Karlu literally meaning round boulders. These are weathered granite boulders, lots of them. Kangaroo Island and Flinders Island also has granite boulders but not on this scale. Enjoy.
The trip to The Kimberley also included The Pilbara, where iron ore mining occurs on an industrial scale. At Port Headland, 6 bulk ore carriers are loaded at once (more now as the terminal has expanded) and over 20 ore carriers are moored off the port awaiting their turn. Trains bring the iron ore to the port – trains 495 carriages long!
Port Dampier near Karratha is the other large port. It is not as big as Port Headland but impressive nonetheless.
The Pilbara has amazing textures, heavily influenced by the abundant iron in the rocks. So many things are red, the rocks, the sand, the dust and the visitors. The red is caused by the oxidation of the iron in the rocks. Who said you cannot bend rock?
The Pilbara also had some interesting barks, distinctly different from the Kimberley. Enjoy.
The Doc has wanted to visit and photograph the sandstone here for some time, with no success (one or two failed attempts). So he booked 2 nights at Copcabana this week to visit and take photographs.
Here, the sandstone made up of tessellated pavement and Liesegang rings. They do not fully understand how these rings occur, but they do occur in sedimentary rock with a cross cut pattern. Iron and other minerals must be present creating the patterns. The is a heavy iron layer in this rock, you can see iron oxide or rust layers when the iron is exposed to water and oxygen.
Technically “there is a precipitation process that is thought to be the catalyst for Liesegang ring formation referred to as the Ostwald-Liesegang supersaturation-nucleation-depletion cycle.” OK?
A small selection of the spectacular sandstone.
Putty Beach also has a nice rock platform with some large waves. This place must be spectacle in heavy surf, as it was great with minimal waves. Enjoy.
The last day was mostly train travel from Mt Surprise back to Cairns. The Doc was up early and walked to the railway station, having a look around the township. There was also a small market in front of the station with locals selling to the tourists. A great idea. However the food was mostly in glass, so The Doc passed on the opportunity.
There was some excitement on the way home including the train being held up by young bushrangers. A great way for kids to earn pocket money! The passengers were warned that we’d be robbed 😉
Instead of repeating some of the earlier photos let’s look at some textures, here bark and leaves.
And some rock and minerals. Enjoy.
Next day the flight home. An enjoyable trip which included a visit to Pungalina and the Savannah Lander train trip. Yes The Doc used the wrong watermark on the pictures.
A few examples of the varied tessellated pavement at Kaikoura near Point Kean.
Currently rained in at Fox Glacier, so some textures from the West Coast of New Zealand including bark, rocks, sand, red lichen and some green things.
While at AWC’s Mornington Sanctuary The Doc became aware that Australian Wildlife Conservancy (“AWC”) had taken full control of Charnley River Station (formerly Beverley Springs Station). Click here for the report with pictures.
Caravan Parks in Broome sure know how to charge. $37 a night for a small unpowered site next to a noisy road, a total of $111 for 3 days.
The Doc decided to stay 20km out of town at Broome’s Gateway Caravan Park. It was $15 a night for a large site and far less noise. For a few dollars more than $111 he got 3 nights accommodation, a 2 course meal and drinks at The Roey (Roebuck Bay Hotel) and watched the new Mad Max movie at the Sun Picture theatre, the oldest Picture Garden in the world, 99 years young.
They are not the only ones who make you pay top dollar, Autopro charged $11 for a small packet of split pins. The Doc sourced over 200 for $16.50 delivered on eBay.
The Doc’s likes Broome, but it will be a shorter stay when prices are so high.
Next stop Cape Leveque tomorrow.
No carcasses today, although The Doc did photograph a few including the Bennett’s Wallaby and a Potoroo, at least I think it was. A Potoroo is a kangaroo-like marsupial about the size of a rabbit.
He is a seascape from a beach close to Emita Beach, a beach without a name. Looking this good it should have one. That is lichen growing on the granite. Two pictures stitched together, cropped slightly, some saturation and sharpening. Click on thumbnail to see full size image.
This series has has sand, rutile, algae, surf scum, bark, clay, rain drops, lichens, basalt and clouds! The broadest group so far, enjoy, click here.
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