On the Road in Australia

Hi all,  here we are in the middle of the Pilbara desert in Western Australia. 

We’ve driven a couple of thousand kms so far, starting at Perth , up as far as Karratha then across east to Kirinjini National Park and are now wending our way south again , heading to Kalgoorlie. Turquoise sea, red mesa, crazy gorges which are clefts in the ground rather than rallied between ranges. Mines everywhere – gold, copper, coal, Coal trains that have 240 wagons. Red, red dust.

 Birds are crazy – lots of wedge tailed eagles, blue black crows (help ,I need pthalo blue!) and galahs which I found out bite you if you don’t share your lunch.

Road trains up to 50 metres long pass you at speed, but courteously tell you on the radio (which is a great thing to have) that they’re coming and how big they are. Then say thanks and have a safe journey!

 Nothing is quite what it seems. Tracks wander into the bush, not always leading anywhere. But if they do, anywhere can be a very long way. Carrying extra fuel and water makes things safer but you still need to be careful it’s very easy to become quickly disorientated.

We’ve gone from very hot (29) on the coast to about 4 this morning at Newman, which is still about 700m above sea level.

 One of the commitments that I made to myself when we planned this adventure was that I’d use Australian made paints. Art Spectrum watercolours are made right here and I use them all the time in NZ, but for this trip I’ve chose Australian colours where I can – Flinders Violet, Pilbara Red (and yes, it really is that colour), Australian Red Gold and Australian Leaf green. I also have my old faithfuls Ultramarine , Burnt Sienna, Cobalt and Aureolin, I’m wishing that I’d also thrown in Raw Sienna. I’m struggling a bit with the new colours but will persevere!

The colours here are so unlike NZ. Soil and sands are glorious bloody shades, skies turn purple and orange every evening, scrub is blue/green (and I can’t quite make the right colour yet!) The sky is bright cobalt .

I’m also using unfamiliar watercolour paper, which may have been a mistake. I’m trying out Baohong Chinese “Masters Choice” which I have used in NZ and liked, but I think I’ve chosen the wrong type of surface. It is what it is – no the other paper nearby so I’ll just have to get to grips with it!

I’ll get back to you in a couple of weeks and let you know how I’m getting on!

Jan 🙂