Pilbara Touring Guide: Newman to Marble Bar
I’d already spent a solid three weeks travelling through the southern parts of the Pilbara and thought I’d seen it all until a last-minute detour through the northern parts.
I was camping on the fringes of the stunning, world-renowned Karijini NP, headed towards the rich ming area of Newman, in mid-WA. My first stop was 80km before Newman to explore some local rock art. Not signposted, it’s an easy 4WD track to the parking area before a 10-minute walk up the small gorge that must hold water in the wet seasons, going by the stunning white gums growing out of the red sand.
Wandering through the rocky gorge and getting my eye in, I was stunned to see that these were petroglyphs (art forms scratched into the rock as opposed to paintings) by the Martu people. There are hundreds of them representing all types of native animals, weapons, different kinds of people, plants and some sort of enigmatic beings. It’s a quiet place where the more I looked the more I saw.
HELLO, NEWMAN
Newman is the largest inland town of the Pilbara. It has a normal population of around 5000 but doubles with FIFO workers, and it is regarded as one of the most isolated and inhospitable places to work and live in summer. Hot winds blow off the Great Sandy Desert, making temperatures soar. But in the cooler months, nights often drop to 10°C.
The town is based around the BHP mine of Mt Whaleback, the largest open-cut mine in the world. During peak season, there are bus tours into the mine and its processing area where.
It was in 1861 that explorer Francis Gregory led the first expedition through the Pilbara. He reported that ore in the hills was playing havoc with his compass readings.
Small-time ore mining was taking place in the 1880s when a little gold was found around Nullagine and Marble Bar. The Pilbara was slowly developing around the coast area, but it was in 1957 that Stan Hilditch climbed a nearby mountain (now called Mount Whaleback) and realised that it was a massive ore deposit. Stan, his wife, Elda, and business partner, Charles Warman, kept the discovery quiet for several years while an embargo was in place.
Work started in 1960 to start extracting the estimated 3 billion tonnes of ore, with massive trains carrying the ore 430km to Port Headland for worldwide export.
SITES TO EXPLORE
There are some stunning areas to explore around Newman, such as Cathedral Gorge on the way into Newman, plus Kalgan Pool and Eagle Rock Falls, which is accessible only by 4WD.
Kalgan Pool is known for its long drive up through a narrow track that’s underwater most of the year. It’s a daunting drive, with long grass brushing against your 4WD as you tackle the water track, hoping no one will come the other way as you approach the corner midway. Out the other end, you’ll be rewarded with pristine and remote camping beside a deep pool where volcanic rock was pushed out of the ground millions of years ago.
A 30km 4WD track winds its way up and around the pool through spinifex country to the top of the plateau and further on to Eagle Rock Falls. This massive scar in the ground and deep falls must rage hard during the wet season, dropping into a gorge that has been cut over millions of years. The track out of the falls continues through spectacular spinifex country where I saw multiple herds of wild camels.
My next stop was Nullagine, a short-lived gold-mining town that dates back to the 1880s. Gold didn’t last long here but when the rush was on there were a reported three pubs, eight stampers and nearly 4000 people. Interestingly, in 1902 this became the first place in Australia where diamonds were found, as well as a host of other precious stones.
Today, it’s a quiet, well-kept town with only a handful of locals, but visitors can spend time enjoying the remoteness and Nullagine’s natural attractions, like Conglomerate and Beatons Gorge, cool off at Daylight Pool or wander around town and admire the relics.
I was told about a stunning camp and waterhole called Skull Springs (also known as running waters) and that when I headed out of Nullagine for 120km I would ‘know’ where the turn was.
The turn isn’t officially signposted as such, but there’s an animal skull stuck on a 4WD spring. I soon found the turn and headed down the track towards the waterhole. Only accessible by high clearance 4WDs to the sweet spot, where warm water seeps out of the ground from underground springs, it’s a magical spot where the water is turquoise and paperbarks line the bank. The long pool is crystal clear for its entire length and, with body-temperature water, it is a perfect place to spend a few hours, with a perfect camping area high up on the bank surrounded by spinifex hills.
The next morning, I headed along the Upper Carawine Gorge 4WD track, which eventually crossed one of the local creeks,. Being the dry season, the crossing was relatively easy thanks to its stoney bottom. One of my goals was to find a place called Carawine Gorge – I had been told just how special it was. The camping beside the waterway was supposed to be some of the best in the Pilbara.
It wasn’t long before I found the turn to the gorge along Woodie Woodie Road, with ancient mesa formations in the distance. Arriving at Carawine Gorge blew me away. Campsites faced the massive waterway and a huge rockwall lined the far side. I was lucky to snag a grassy site (mind you, there’s about 5km of free sites to find beside the water) with an already-formed fireplace with a sack of seasoned wood left behind by previous campers.
It’s a peaceful and serene place to camp. The afternoon’s fading light brings out the true Pilbara colours across the spinifex grasslands. There had been a few light showers in the area the previous days and with the spinifex grass coming to life it was a magical sight, especially the next morning when the sun lit up the rock walls, reflected across the water.
HEADING TO MARBLE BAR
The next day, I headed towards Marble Bar 170km away to see if the rumours were true about it being Australia’s hottest town. The drive to town is ‘true Pilbara’, with stunning scenery across its massive plains towards weathered mountains that have taken millions of years to get to where they are today. It was back in 1924 that Marble Bar earned its reputation as being the hottest town. For 161 days, the temperature never dropped below 100°F.
Today, Marble Bar is a quaint, quiet place, but according to records it emerged as a town when gold miners were passing through to different areas. In 1891, gold was found nearby, creating a small rush that swelled the population to over 5000. But by 1905, miners left for an extremely rich field south in Kalgoorlie. Government offices were built, pubs popped up (namely the Iron Clad Hotel, which now is heritage-listed), stampers installed and, during World War II, a massive airstrip was built for the US and Australian bombers along with a machine gun nest.
Today, the buildings are heritage-listed and it’s a popular destination for travellers in WA wanting to see this iconic town and visit the nearby rock bars.
Originally thought to be seams of marble running through rocks, it turned out to be the highly colourful jasper rock across the Coongan River. It was here in the mining days that the Chinese set-up gardens and used the water for market gardens to feed the miners in the goldfields. Huge fines are in place if jasper is removed from the area.
A visit to Australia’s hottest town isn’t complete without visiting the nearby Comet Gold Mine, which boasts the highest smoke stack in the southern hemisphere.
This whole adventure surprised me across the gorgeous Pilbara country, with history from town to town, amazing camps and waterholes to relax in. Throw in some 4WDing and exploring stunning ancient artwork, and it seems the Pilbara just keeps giving to those who explore more.
FAST FACTS
Where: Bordering the Great Sandy Desert, this part of the northern Pilbara has a lot to offer in between massive mining operations and remote areas. Newman to the south caters for mine workers and tourists, while Marble Bar to the north is known as the hottest town in Australia, but what’s in between will keep anyone busy exploring.
What to see and do: Lear mine history and rock geology, camp throughout the northern Pilbara in stunning and remote locations, discover ancient Aboriginal petroglyphs, and drive some of the best 4WD tracks in the area. There is plenty to see and do in this northern pocket. There are swimming holes in the area, too, such as those in Upper Carawine Gorge and Skull Springs.
As always, a lot of information can be found online, but Newman and Marble Bar have comprehensive tourist information centres. There are tourist signs at local places of interest and along walking trails in Nullagine, Marble Bar and Newman.
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Source: https://www.gorv.com.au/pilbara-touring-guide-newman-to-marble-bar/
