Breakaway on Hunt Oil Rd

This is a spot we camped at a couple of years ago in the middle of winter. Despite the name the road, harking back to heady oil exploration days in the 60's, it is just a rough track heading north from the Great Central Highway near Warburton. This area had been dry for some years and the vegetation was very parched, threadbare, sage greys and golds, and the ground a bare rusty red. The spinifex was tired and grey.

The pebble mounds were found in the shadows of this breakaway

Pebble mounds at base of breakaway

This little pebble mound was at the base of the breakaway on the southern side where it is cooler. It is the mound of the Pebble Mound Mouse, supposedly only found in the Pilbara these days, being extinct from its former more extensive range in the Gascoyne and Murchison. I presume the mounds we found are no longer inhabited but would love to go back to check. The ground was so bare I could hardly imagine a mouse finding anything to eat.

This is taken from on top of the breakaway

Up on top of the breakaway there were even some flowers to be found. I just loved these tiny white flowers nestled in the hairy protective bush. So well adapted to the harsh climate. Despite the aridity we heard the melodious call of the butcher bird and saw black faced cuckoo shrikes and the willy wagtail. As evening fell we heard the soft chirrups of little birds settling in for the night. 

Edge of breakaway in the evening light

We were woken in the middle of the night by a fantastic storm, thunder, lightning and ... rain. We were camped below the breakaway in an open area that was already soft and spongy from recent rain.We knew it would become slithery and slimy with just a touch more rain. The track in was already deeply furrowed by vehicles negotiating thick red mud after previous storms. We made a cuppa while we decided whether to stay or go. The storms just kept rolling in, so we upped sticks in the storm and moved to higher safer ground further down the road. The storms continued all night and we awoke the next morning to a grey and cloudy sky. In the morning light the wet but parched foliage was a glowing gold.

Throughout this trip we had been dodging 'road closed' signs, either arriving just as the road was being reopened, or getting through just before heavy rains closed the road. In this region the roads are dirt, and after heavy rains they are slippery, muddy, and often covered in water.