Pilbara extremes.

by Joe Fury
(Newman Western Australia)

The Fortescue River running a banker.

The Fortescue River running a banker.

G'day Adventurers


This short story is not essentially about four wheel drives or four wheel driving, but there are real parallels.

The year is still young and the Pilbara is just into the early part of the wet season, the region has already felt the impact of cyclone Christine, here in the inland Pilbara we had some useful rain falls and luckily none of the damaging winds that these weather systems can generate.

The extremes in temperature are a genuine part of life and living in a region above the Tropic of Capricorn and the region has most certainly seen and felt the higher temperatures during December of 2013 and January of 2014, with many recordings reaching 48 degrees Celsius.

These high temperatures are genuinely normal, but for decades no one worried about broadcasting these high temperature readings, you just dealt with it and got on with life, but now days with a massive influx of part time residents in the region mainly due to the burgeoning mining industry there seems to be a preoccupation with how hot you might be feeling.

Sadly for a young man just last Wednesday (15/1/14) he died due to the effects of dehydration, the hard to believe factor in this incident is he and his workmate were "on the job" in the field for a mining company, now the mining industry is almost anal when it comes to safety and one can only guess these mine workers would have had all the gear provided to them so they could perform whatever their field work required, yet they both suffered severe dehydration and one man just 26 years of age "perished".

Here we are exactly one week later, the very same tract of land and in fact the entire region is enjoying massive rainfalls courtesy of an unnamed tropical low, all major watercourses are carrying huge volumes of water which will eventually reach the Indian Ocean ~ via the DeGray ~ Fortescue ~ Gascyone and Murchison river systems.

We are in a land of extremes and whether we choose to live, work or four wheel drive we should be fully aware of our circumstances and deal with the "extreme" situation accordingly.

Safe travels : Joe

Comments for Pilbara extremes.

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Jan 22, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
Thanks for another great article from Newman, Joe.
by: Brian

We love your input and your photos. So right you are about being prepared and fully aware, and not only when we venture up north, but outback and any remote area as well.

Brian

Webmaster @ 4-Wheeling-In-Western_Australia.com

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Off Road Pictures and Stories..

Recent Articles

  1. Goodyear wrangler MTR

    Jun 28, 24 10:27 PM

    I have these on my defender 90 and my Dmax Ute. I get around 100,000 km out of them. I tried AT for one change and went back to the MTs. They are gol

    Read More

  2. 4x4 off road tracks 0 to 250 km from Perth

    Nov 21, 23 07:40 PM

    Cruiser-Mundaring.jpg
    On this page we cover 4x4 off road tracks within a 250 km radius from Perth...

    Read More

  3. 4 Wheeling Around Jurien Bay.

    Nov 21, 23 07:35 PM

    playground-jetty
    Jurien Bay 4x4 tracks info and general information about the area...

    Read More

Top of page