Thursday 30^th July 2020: Today we have travelled to Millstream about 140 km – most of the 240,000 hectares of Millstream Chichester National Park is a landscape of rolling spinifex hills, escarpments and winding tree-lined watercourses. The landscape is breathtaking with the dark rock on the hills, dotted with yellow and green spinifex. Most of the way we are following the train line and a pipe line. There are lots of road trains, most going the other way and we are lucky enough to see a couple of trains – we stop for our cuppa to see one go past – a huge length and we are given a ‘toot’. The bypass around the road works is fine, but the road into Millstream gave us a good shake up. 

There is no power, water or WiFi, so a bit different from what we are used to.  Unfortunately some of the walks are closed, but we are near the Fortescue River, which runs underground , so just lovely green trees and wetlands on the edge of where the vans are parked. The river is fed by a huge acquifer and comes to the surface at Millstream – we will drive to Deep Reach Pool tomorrow. The Millstream area is a priority one catchment and is used in tandem with the Harding Dam, the acquifer supplies water to industry and for domestic use to the people of Wickham, Roebourne, Point Samson, Dampier and Karratha. The water is the lifeline of the wetland and its dependent wildlife, so pumps are used in times of low water for their survival.

We walk over to the original homestead, which is now unoccupied – has been a lovely old stately home with high ceilings – built in 1919 – and the kitchen is a building out the back. Lawns still maintained with huge palms and poinciana trees. A short walk closer to the trees and grasses, sees kangaroos sitting and watching us and then hopping away. The short 30 minute wetlands walk is closed from damage in a recent cyclone. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Friday 31^st July 2020: It was fairly cool overnight and we set off at 8.30 to walk to the Cliff Lookout (2.5 km) which joins Red Roo trail (1.5) and then from the top we can see the water and lovely trees on each side of the Fortescue River – Millstream palms down in the valley. When the river goes back underground we follow along (another 2.5) in its bed of Millstream palms which are unique to river and Coolibah trees with their gorgeous shiny white trunks and branches. The advice we were given to do the walk in this direction was good as we are amongst the shady trees as the day gets decidedly hotter. Yes, we have definitely earned our cuppa this morning. 

Deep Reach Pool is a 16 km return walk so we take M&M’s motorhome and a packed lunch.  This is where people swim – Mark is the only one to go in – and there is a lot of water here. Our plans were to go to Python Pool on our way out tomorrow, but on speaking to a couple at the pool they tell us the road is shocking – they only went 200m and got out, so that is a NO. Dinner tonight will be marinated chicken ribs on the Baby Q. That’s Millstream ticked off, don’t think we will be back, but once is OK.