Bush!

Righto,

So a couple weeks back Sophie, Jeroen and I went out on an expedition. We left Newman in search of a spot called Three Pools.

The last few months have been pretty hot (40-45 degrees). So we decided we needed a swim. Seeing as we are over 450kms from the nearest beach we decided to check out one of the rock pool sites closer to town. That site was Three Pools.

Around Newman there are many rock pools that are either seasonal (filled by rain water) or spring fed permanent pools. These include Kalgan Pool, Three Pools, Eagle Rock Falls and others. All are listed on the visitors map that is available from the Visitor Informations Centre. The map is very helpful and lists each site and it's 4WD terrain difficulty.

We have already been to Kalgan Pool, and Eagle Rock is listed as a "Difficult 4WD" track so we decided on Three Pools. I have done some 4 Wheel Driving but not enough to consider myself up to the task of "Difficult". Especially since there is no guarantee that there will be much in the way of help on these dusty tracks. If your spare goes flat (alot of people carry two spares around here) there aren't many other options other than the heel-toe express.

The track wasnt too bad. There was the odd bottom out, and front end suspension "BANG" but they were few and far between. For the most part is was smooth driving. It's amazing how alone and isolated you (and your group) are just 1 hour from town. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to cover 76kms. Not bad considering in some streches our spedometer didnt even register that we were moving.

Finally there we were, Three Pools......well 2 pools. There hasn't been much in the way of seasonal rain this summer so alot of the rock pools are below what they would normally be. This could be seen at the edges of Three Pools as well. The ground is rich in disolved solids (like: calcuim, salt, etc) so the water leaves a mark at each point it has been.

But there was enough water to swim, and swim we did. Living in the semi-desert makes you realize how awesome swimming is when you finally get into the water. Especially with the heat (it was only 38 or 39 that day) it's really refreshing.

We had been swimming for a while when I noticed alot of bugs floating in the water. They had been there a while. So long that they looked like they were made of glass. Totally transparent and full of water... but that wasn't all they were full of.

I fished one out of the water to have a better look only to see leeches pour out of it. Out of the water I got.

Anyway Jeroen took some good photos of the pools. Here are some of my favorites.