Off to See the Wizard - Port Hedland to Albert Tognolini Lookout

After saying our farewells to our friends, we started to head south and inland, travelling along the Great Northern Highway.  As usual, we don’t know what to expect as we drive along.

We had been told that there would be loads of mining trucks and road trains, as in about one every five minutes.  Yep, that was pretty much the case.  It wasn’t the day to be listening to our audio book, rather we were listening to the constant chatter on the UHF radio.

There were a few wide loads.  This bucket off a machine was five metres wide.  We were thankful for having the UHF, as we were expecting it, and were able to talk to the pilot vehicle about getting off the road.

We saw a wild dingo at the carcass of a cow on the side of the road.  The first we have seen in the wild.

As always, the landscape changes.  There were some fascinating balancing rocks in one area.

At other times it was flat.

We started to see an increasing number of wild flowers.

There were lots of signs to mine sites.  It was weird at one spot, in the middle of nowhere, to see a Qantas jet parked, obviously a mine site air strip.  This mine turns out to be the largest producer of Lithium in the Southern Hemisphere, out here in the middle of nowhere.

Finally, after driving for about 250kms, we came to a roadhouse.  Shortly afterwards, the landscape changes once again.

We were approaching the Munjina Gorge.

The rock formations were fascinating, with their thin layers.

We had been told to make sure we call in at the Albert Tognolini Lookout, so we did, as it was lunch time.

Yep, it is a pretty impressive view, looking down on the highway.

It is such a nice place that we decide to stay here and camp for the night, as it is a free camp.  There are quite a few others camped, but it is a huge area and everyone has plenty of space, without encroaching on others.

So who was Albert?  He was employed by the Department of Main Roads for 40 years, rising to Commissioner.  This section of the highway was only developed during the 1970s and 80s, finally opening in 1987, and Albert was quite involved.

We went for a walk and found lots of different wild flowers.

I picked a little bunch for the van.

There were some beautiful white trunked trees.

They are ghost gums, as they leave a powdery residue on your fingers if you rub the bark.

Then we settled in for a lazy afternoon, Mick snoozing, using a termite mound as a foot rest and me stitching another three EPP units.

Aa the sun dipped, the colours were beautiful.  Humour me……

Wow!  What a stunning place to stay.

The highlight of the day was the sunset.