Leaving Hamersley Gorge turned out to be more of an adventure than we expected.
It had rained overnight, and by morning the road was a thick, slippery mixture of sand, mud and red dirt. To be honest, I’m surprised it wasn’t closed. In fact, by the time I wrote this, it had been.
It was probably the most challenging driving I’ve ever done while towing. The trick was finding the balance between carrying enough speed to avoid getting bogged and slowing down enough to keep the rig pointing in the right direction. Too slow and you’d sink in. Too fast and you’d be sliding sideways across the track.
By the time we reached bitumen, the D-Max and Mobi looked like they’d been dipped in red concrete. What looks like dust in the photo is actually a sticky mix of mud, sand and dirt that sets rock hard once it dries. It gets into every nook and cranny, and if you leave it too long, it can take some serious effort to remove.
There was only one thing on my mind when we finally stopped: finding somewhere to wash all that Pilbara cement off before it became a permanent feature.