Graham and Edith 2011 Trip: Day 118

Well we may have had a few quiet days but we certainly made up for it today.

We went up Mount Nameless - what a view. It was quite a difficult drive up to the top - very steep and rocky and lots of red dirt of course. Once we were at the top it was well worth it, the view over Rio Tinto Mine and the Hammesley Ranges was incredible also the view of Tom Price township. The drive down was a bit more hairy but Graham managed it. I am always in awe of the wild flowers that grow on the side of the road, it makes me wonder how they survive.

We then went on the tour of the Rio Tinto Mine. We left from the tourist information centre on a full coach, lots of young children. After a brief tour of the Tom Price township and explanation of different buildings we were taken out to the pit. The hole in the ground where they were mining (I think it was mine number 2 that we went to) was massive - but not as big as the super pit in Kalgoorlie. We saw lots of big trucks and diggers and there was a train in being loaded with iron ore. The driver on the bus was very informative.

Unfortunately there is a heat haze over the mountain range so the colours are not quite as good as I would like them to be in our photographs.

After the tour I went into Tom Price and had my hair cut. Boy does it feel better.

We then paid $5 at the caravan park to wash the car. It was covered in red dust and it gets in everywhere. We gave it a really good clean inside and out and it looks so much better. Hopefully we will not be going on many more dirt roads. The next job is the outside of the van and our poor bikes which are covered in red dust. We have bought a bike cover but until we get chance to clean them there is not much point in putting it on.

Needless to say tonight we are having a quiet night and an early dinner.

We have decided to say at Tom Price for another night (3 in all) as I want to go out and see the wildflowers that we passed on the way up here yesterday.