Newman is a town with the biggest single pit open cut iron ore mine in the world – at Mt Whaleback – or as my husband puts it “a bloody big hole”. It’s been going for 50 years and many to come. Everything is big- trucks that when fully loaded weigh 200t – 75 tonne heavier than a 747, ore trains an average of 2.4km long and tyres that cost $25,000 each. Newman is thriving with all its rhythms related to the needs of the miners – including the shopping hours.

The main evidence that Tom Price has a mine close by is the long trains hauling themselves up over the hills. Green parks and sporting facilities including a baseball oval(!) makes this great home for many. Later on we visited Port Hedland – the mining port and destination for many of these trains. But iron ore is not the only load – salt and manganese are also loaded on ships with a two day turn around.

But what else was there to see in this landscape that can be both harsh and beautiful? Two days exploring the Karijini National park with its many Gorges. They are as red as the brochures and the water pools are as clear. I read that the local Indigenous people had a custom that when they reached water they would cup their hands and take a mouthful of the water and then spray it out “greeting the water” – “a bit like saying grace” was the explanation. After a steep walk down the Fortesque Gorge I was able to follow the custom in the Fern pool- sweet and drinkable ancient water. We also had a close encounter with a dingo – it came within two metres before trotting off, minding its own business- reminding us that this is a special land with many hidden treasures. We needed no reminding when visiting Hamersley Gorge- a place where there is massive evidence of earth pushing against earth – giving waves in the rock and another still waterhole surrounded by white river gums.

At Wittenoom we saw an artist secreted away among the tall grasses and I wished I could also paint the picture of the hills of the Hamersleys which are a Namajira blue in the distance and green vegetation and red cliffs close up.
The blue stones of Wittenoom – a place famous for the fiasco of Hardy’s asbestos mine summed up these days of discovery for us: Beautiful -even with shiny edges – but the country has had much pain along with its beauty – and must be treated with the respect. This is a fact that the local indigenous people can teach us all, as we discovered with our talks with the rangers in the Karijini.