18 July 2026
We are in iron ore country. There are mines everywhere and everything has a red hue, the trucks, the buildings, the cars, the landscape and the people.
I am assured this red dust will remain in and on our vehicle forever. It’s just something that regardless of your efforts it will always be with you.
This is the source of Australia’s wealth. Iron ore trains 2.3 km long with 240 wagons each are running around the clock from the mines to the ports. And these trains have no driver, they are remotely controlled from Perth some 1500kms away.
Each wagon holds about 200t and there are 240 wagons per train. There are 8 trains per day. The ore sells for about $100/tonne. And this is from just one mine. You do the maths.
These estimates are for the three big miners but there are lots of smaller independents who rely on quads ie 4 trailer road trains to move their ore. In one day we must have passed a hundred trucks.
Up here everything is big, the trucks, the mines, the trains, the salaries, the value of each train load, daily fuel usage and on it goes. It’s all big.
Karijini is the local national park. It’s a good thing that this is a protected landscape otherwise it too would be an open pit. Who knows what mineral treasures are contained within the national park.
Karijini was until recently only accessible via some rough gravel roads. The roads are now all sealed and the campsites all booked out.
After more of Karijini we head back to the coast.
A Traveller's Tale 