Tiger Eye Pool; amazing free camping near Tom Price
The Pilbara is one of the most under-rated places in Australia, with its incredible views and ruggedness. If you’re chasing a truly epic camping area, Tiger Eye Pool is another amazing place to add to the list if you are in the Tom Price region; we loved it so much that we stayed a second night.
If little creeks for the kids to play in, a couple of decent sized pools and plenty of room to kick back with a magic view of the huge red and green hills sounds interesting, put this place on the list!
Where is Tiger Eye Pool?
You’ll find this amazing spot roughly 15 minutes drive from Tom Price, out the mine road, and not too far off the road. Its not sign posted or marked, so you need to know where to pull in, but if you’ve found a big gravel/mud area with one main track heading towards a typical creek (lots of big trees in a row) you are on the money.
If you have Wikcamps (if you don’t, you should get it), you’ll be able to see exactly where it is, and its easy enough to find.
Do you need a 4WD to get there?
Yes, you’d struggle to get a 2WD in unless it had a lot of clearance. As of right now, the entrance has been quite badly chopped up with a number of ruts and mud that look like they’ve caught a few people out. You can navigate your way around them easily enough, and you’ll find yourself climbing a small hill, and then descending down to the creek bed.
The tracks around Tiger Eye are all fairly easy, with an exception of the one that goes right up the hill that is supposed to be more challenging. We did this later on (unless there is another one that we couldn’t find) and except for one weird descent and incline with a big rock in the middle of it, the track was fairly easy.
What are your camping options?
When you pull in, you can either camp to the left or right along the creek, or if you head to the right all the way you’ll arrive at Tiger Eye Pool which has a number of places you can squeeze even large caravans into, if they have the clearance and you fit through the trees OK. We stayed at Tiger Eye Pool, and loved the amazing views and shallow water for the kids to play in.
I have seen people cross the creek and camp on the other side too, and you get some pretty amazing views, but you’d be further away from the water. Either way, there’s plenty of room and you should be able to find yourself a nice camp site without too much fuss.
How much does it cost?
Camping is completely free, but its nice if you return the appreciation by spending a few bucks in Tom Price. We grabbed some fresh produce and fuel, and often try and support the towns that allow free or low cost camping. It’s a win win situation for all involved, and I like the fact that those who are totally RV/Caravan/Camping unfriendly miss out on some business, in favour of towns that go the extra mile.
We quite enjoyed the Tom Price region again, and always like it as a town. Asides from doing our shopping, we filled up with fuel before a long stretch to Mt Augustus via Cheela Plains, and filled our water up to the brim.
What amenities are there?
There is nothing at Tiger Eye. You need to be completely self sufficient, although its only a short drive back into town. That means you need to bring your own portable toilet, water, food and anything else you need to have an enjoyable stay.
It can be busy
Being so close to town, so easily accessible and so magic, this place can get busy. On our first night, which wasn’t a weekend or in school holidays we only had one other family across the pool, and there were two other groups camping along the creek a while away from us.
The next day though, there were 3 backpacker vehicles that rolled in with a bunch of people, and two other caravans. It was still roomy enough and enjoyable, but it was a bit of a shock after camping on our own for so long.
Expect that you will have to share this piece of paradise with others, as its easy to get to and totally worth a stay.
It’s a magic place
I wasn’t expecting too much from Tiger Eye, especially being so close to Tom Price and so easy to access. We shared it with a handful of other campers, but there was plenty of room to spread out and it really is a super picturesque location.
We had a swim in Tiger Eye Pool which was cool, but no where near the freezing water temperatures of Glen Herring, where I managed to stay in the water for about 0.3 seconds.
Take some time to do the 4WD track up Mount Nameless, as this gives you an even better perspective, and is completely worth it.
The kids loved Tiger Eye Pool, and I’d go back again for sure; its just another amazing Pilbara Camp Site!
