Happy Birthday Kerry!!! Gordie did well with the new hat he bought Kerry….

We had a big day ahead… Klaus and Beryl had to leave at about 6AM as they had to go to Port Hedland to pick up the new battery to replace the one that got the screw in it (??how – see episode in 80 Mile Beach blog) ….

The rest of us were going to leave at about 7 and make our way to Marble Bar where Klaus and Beryl would meet us….

We drove out of Barn Hill Station along the unsealed road…. More red dust for the Pearl….

And passed a jogger on the way out – even at this early time the day as heating up and we did not envy him the dust and heat….

Exiting the gates, we turned onto the highway and drove on….

– first stop Sandfire Roadhouse for fuel and the legendary roadhouse sausage rolls….

The roadhouse was like pit street – and the lineup for diesel was huge after we had finished there – fortunately for us we pulled straight in…

The 3 guys worked it for the camera beside their rigs….

We drove on and stopped at Pardoo Roadhouse for a coffee and break from the monotony of driving….

Back on the road and as we were nearing the turnoff to Marble Bar, who should come on the radio but Klaus – we were about 2 kms from the turnoff – they were 3kms!!!

As we turned the corner, we could see Klaus approaching…. How unlikely – you could not have planned it to happen that way – so Klaus joined the convoy – politely letting the Pearl go in front…

We still had a fair distance to go to reach Marble Bar…. Road trains became more frequent….

The area was desolate in parts…

dry creek beds with an occasional pool of water…

Hills came into view in the distance, and it seemed an eternity before we reached them…

As we climbed up one hill, we came upon a very wide load going in our direction which really slowed our progress….

A road train just made it past the load at one point…

however the road then narrowed, and so all oncoming traffic had to pull over to allow the wide load carrying a mining tractor through as it took up both lanes….

Fortunately, by this stage we only had about 20kms to go till Marble Bar so we sat back and enjoyed the remaining slow ride into town…

On the outskirts entering Marble Bar were some metal sculptures reflecting elements of the town including the fact that the Pilbara East Shire is the biggest shire in the world… and Marble Bar is the hottest town in Australia….

We arrived at Marble Bar Caravan Park and set up….

It was time to take off the dressing on Gordie’s injury and check the progress… it was looking great so a quick clean and on with the new dressing before Branch could even make an appearance….

The full moon was rising as the sun went down…

As it was Kerry’s birthday we walked to the famous Ironclad Pub for dinner – another iconic bush pub full of interesting paraphernalia…..

After enjoying pizzas and steak sandwiches/ burgers we walked back to the caravan park… and were followed by a ginger kitten who would not stop despite us trying to shoo it home… It made itself at home at our van and so Trev walked it back to the pub hoping that someone might claim it… it was very well kept and friendly, and we did not want it to become lost and turn feral…. Needless to say, it did not seem to have one specific owner – the pub owner said they had to keep chasing it from the pub… who knows – hopefully someone will adopt “Red Cat” the Pilbara kitten 😊….

Back at the vans we celebrated Kerry’s birthday with a pavlova supplied by Beryl and Klaus – something they whipped up in the van… or got at Port Hedland earlier!!