We departed the free camp just before Newman, and cruised around the town. Had to do a bit of food shopping and easily found the shopping centre. They had an IGA, Woolworths, Chicken Treat, Subway and generally shops that cover the day to day essentials.
Quite the tidy town, which surprised me, as I assumed Tom Price would have been larger. Maybe it was in relation to the houses, being g more spread out and lots of lawns and gardens, but the shopping precinct was better in Newman.
Next stop was a free camp called Peace Gorge. Or so we thought! We turned left, knowing it was going to be a dirt road. However the corrugations were horrendous. The road seemed endless, camp was touted as beautiful with granite rocks you can explore and climb. Not where we ended up. Seemed to be a gravel pit, but plenty of room, just glad it was over and we were in one piece!
Found out later it was the road to Wiluna. Lots of traffic for the quality of the road, but well away from the Great Northen Highway, where triple and quad trucks roared through all night. Got the caravan sorted, fridge gave up some of its treasures, but nothing spilt or spoilt. But next morning found the road decided to rearrange our cupboards. The overhead cupboards were a death trap, as we had to catch items that came flying out at us. It took a while to sort out under the sink, saucepans lids took a bit of searching to find them and put back with its owner.
Then the return trip to the Highway. We went first and did it with speed, and was much better going over the top of the corrugations, than up and down each one. Found out where the real Peace Gorge was hanging out, and travelled to Meekatharra, refueled and went on to Peace Gorge.
What a fantastic spot. It was an area where the locals set up a picnic area in 1919, for the soldiers returning from WWI. The gala day was such a success, that the locals made it an annual event, and ia still carried on today.
These days it is a free camp area, lots of room for individuals, or groups to stay, but you must be self sufficient. The colour of the rocks are beautiful, and they are a feature of the well kept grounds. Had a lovely night around the fire pit, chatting about the experience we had on the dirt road.
After an early night, we rose early to climb a few boulders, then onto our next stop, Cue.
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