Day 35/36. 7th and 8th June. Pardoo Station. Strike a pose.

Pardoo Station was a stop picked out due to it’s position and reviews on Wikicamps. It was in the right spot for us to break the journey, and the reviews were great. The only thing that had us a bit unsure was that it was 13k off the main road and it was not sealed. We had been told that it was in good condition and fine for 2WD so we took the chance.

A 5 and a half hour drive took an extra 30 minutes as the van shuddered and shook with every corrugation that the road gave us, and we limped along to what was the only accommodation option within cooee. Other people with their Rangers and Land Cruisers and off-road vans flew past us, seemingly mocking our walking pace. That’s OK, I do the same thing at the petrol pump when we are getting around 10.3l/100ks and they are doing at least 20l/100k. With some outback stations charging close to $3 a litre, that gives me plenty of smugness to shield against their dirt speed.

Getting to the site after the long drive, Linda’s hands shaking from the bone rattling final push, the site being full of dust, the wind picking up and the beach seemingly being nowhere in sight, we were starting to feel a little dejected about what the van life is about.

Pushing our sense of adventure, instead of just opening a bottle and a can, we did venture out to the sunset watching viewing point. It was another dirt road, but without the van and the first time we engaged the Subaru’s Dirt X-Mode (not sure, don’t ask) we found some water to look at take photos of and were hopeful of finding the main beach the next day.

The best parts of travel are the things that happen that you don’t expect. Obviously, it can be the worst too, but the things you can’t plan for are usually the memories that you savour. Hopeful of a coffee at the main office, we ventured down with much hope and little expectation. This is a working station and they also have accommodation for a number of mine workers that they provide breakfast, lunch and tea for, so we thought we were a chance. Instead, what we found was a lot of chairs set up to create a catwalk around the concrete path beside the office. We met Bruce, the owner of Pardoo Station, and we find that they are hosting a fashion event that morning and all were welcome. People were being bussed in, and a local artist had her work on T-Shirts, blouses, suit sets which were modelled by local youngsters that had been given some coaching. It was being filmed for Tourism WA, and the lunch featured Pardoo Station’s Wagyu beef on skewers and burgers, as well as Kangaroo Burgers and Tartare.

We also got to meet the lady who was organising the “talent” and learn what they do for the kids, and also chatted to a couple from Shanghai who distribute Pardoo Station Wagyu for China. One of them didn’t speak any English and I could only imagine what he thought about being in the middle of nowhere, watching an admittedly pretty small fashion show on a Beef station in the 35 degree heat talking to an Aussie with three badly pronounced words in Mandarin.

With a free lunch under our belt, we went and tried out the Forester’s Dirt X-Mode again (still not sure if it helped) and found the main beach. With a lot of the cattle to look at while they crossed the track in front the car, and us “X factoring” on the dirt for around 4ks, we were pleased to see the expansive beach. Wallowing along in the shallow pools of low tide, it was entertaining to watch as the shells moved around us with Hermit crabs busily trying to get out of the way of our seemingly hulking feet. This turned into a good day.

Facilities: Pardoo was cyclone ravaged only 18 months ago and they have done amazing things to get the caravan park up and running again. Like Barkly homestead being damaged by high winds and fires, how these ordinary and run down toilet blocks continue to survive against the full force of mother nature when all around falls is beyond me. 5/10.