Red Dirt Riders

Episodes

Episode 1

A practice ride to check the safe riding skills of the Red Dirt Riders results in the Pilibara’s first traffic jam. The flat near Jones Marsh is the unofficial test track where the riders prove their skills and receive instructions about navigating around a salt marsh. Living proof of the dangers, a bogged and burnt Toyota - that even adults didn’t rescue stands as testament to the depth of the muddy marsh. Some yarns are shared about being bogged with family.

Episode 2

A trip from the art centre to Bajinhurrba (Cossack) - a ghost town on the coast - involves a stop to see the final resting place of Red Dog - the famous red kelpie about whom three movies have been made. After braving the Ngurin River crossing, the Riders reach the little town, where once upon a time turtles were made into turtle soup. Once there, the Red Dirt Riders create artworks in the heritage Bond Store where the annual art competition is held.

Episode 3 Episode 3

Cherratta Station or Weymul Community is a big drive in the support vehicles south east of Roebourne. A safe riding place with lots of tracks and lots of things to see, the Red Dirt Riders visit a shearer’s shed where a mysterious spirit of the country lives. Some yarns are shared about shearing for work and seeing the little hairy man spirit - the malangu.

Episode 4

The Ngurin River runs to the coast but is often dry. On a rare rainy day, the Red Dirt Riders want to see how much water is in the dam. In this episode the Riders hear about what the river was like before the dam, and they meet some sisters looking at country in the warm winter weather. The trip to the dam is interrupted though, when one of the support vehicles becomes bogged.

Episode 5

Trying for the dam again, the Red Dirt Riders set off on country tracks to reach their destination. The ride to the dam takes them past some fascinating artworks that are the site of an old chook farm. After a visit to the main riverbed, the riders enjoy some arguing about what has been painted on the old water tanks at the farm and then resume the journey to the dam. On the way back, they are treated to fresh damper cooked in hot sand.