On this journey, before we decide to stay at a particular place, we do quite a bit of research. Between the Lonely Planet Guide to Australia, WikiCamps, Google and a Hema Map we can make informed decisions about the things we want to see and do. Of course we can't do it all and I imagine that is why some folk travel around Australia more than once. Around Point Samson there are three townships; Roeburn, Wickham and the heritage town of Cossack. These destinations are where our journey took us today.
Our first stop was Cossack and what an incredible place to visit. There is so much history surrounding this area and the walls of these beautifully restored buildings could really tell a story or two. The first thing we did was to navigate the very steep hill to the Tien Tsin Lookout to get a good look at the area we were about to explore.
From the Western Australian Travel Guide 2022:
"Originally known as Tien Tsin after the barque that landed Walter Padbury, his party and his stock at the mouth of the Harding River, Cossack was vital to the early development of the North West. Cossack was the original port of pearls before the luggers moved north to Broome in 1886, an early hub for gold prospectors in the region, and a port for pastoralists in the Pilbara. Following the opening of Point Samson jetty, the town was dissolved in 1910 and abandoned by 1950. The beautifully restored bluestone buildings in the ghost town of Cossack are testament to this small town’s huge importance in 1880’s and 1890’s and offer a fantastic insight to the hardships and successes of the first settlers".
We thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the beautifully restored buildings in Cossack and were greeted by a guide on our walk who was able to fill us in a lot of details. After our walk it was time for coffee and banana cake that we ordered from the little cafe housed inside one of the heritage buildings. It was one of the best coffees we've enjoyed so far on this journey. Most coffees are too milky for my liking 😩
Our next stop was Roeburne where the old heritage listed Goal is situated, but sadly, it is closed indefinitely. So instead of visiting the Goal we drove up the very steep road to the lookout and were very impressed with the 360 degrees views from here. The country surrounding the three towns is flat and tidal and as we crossed one of the flats we noticed the water flowing in rapidly and the fisherman all casting their lines on the changing tide.
After Roeburne it was on to Wickham that is the business hub of the area. It is here you will find a community hub, grocery store, and sporting facilities. We didn't stay very long, just a quick drive through town, because Philip really wanted to try and get to the Rio Tinto iron ore facility at Cape Lambert. Last night we could clearly see the ships being loaded from the viewing platform at the old jetty at Point Samson. We eventually found a road that took us right to the Rio Tinto facility. Those machines, up close and personal, are massive, and here are some statistics for you to cast your eye over:
We didn't arrive back to our camp until 1.00pm so rather than preparing a meal we made the unanimous decision to go to the nearby tavern for lunch. A wise decision as the meal here was fantastic. I ordered the beer battered locally caught mackerel and Philip ordered the Seafood platter. We are loving our stay in the sleepy little seaside town of Point Samson and tomorrow we will hang around the area and maybe soak up a bit of Vitamin D at Honeymoon Cove.
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