Port Hedland is pretty much just an industrial town and quite a busy one. Even the tourist attractions are focused around its industrial activities such as viewing the enormous ore trains as they bring their massive loads from inland mines to the busy port. The information centre has a board out front detailing the arrival and departures of ships and trains, and the best place to view them. The trains are quite impressive, the longest in the world, with lengths in excess of 2 Km common, and some more than 3 Km long. The landscape is dominated by large industrial structures as well as huge white ‘mountains’ of salt and other minerals. We spent three days in town and a further two out at Indee Station waiting for mail and began to really believe, as many a fellow traveller has quipped, that W. A. stands for ‘Wait Awhile’.
After the mail finally arrived we travelled south through more of the Pilbara towards Karratha and Dampier. We did have a two day break at Balla Balla, a free camping area on he coast east of Whim Creek, where we met fellow travellers, some of whom had been camped there by the water for up to 5 months. Initially we based ourselves at Roebourne, inland from the coast, and the original main town of the northwest. From here we explored the old buildings of the town (many very well preserved) as well as the old abandoned town of Cossack, which was the original port. Some of the more prominent buildings in Cossack have been restored, and combined with magnificent coastal scenery, made this a rewarding visit. It is interesting to note that all of the old, now overgrown and no longer visible, streets of the abandoned 19th century town are shown on our 21st century GPS navigator. Also while in Roebourne we visited the attractive seaside town of Point Sampson, having lunch on the terrace of the tavern overlooking the sparkling bay, and the mining company built town of Wickham.
After the mail finally arrived we travelled south through more of the Pilbara towards Karratha and Dampier. We did have a two day break at Balla Balla, a free camping area on he coast east of Whim Creek, where we met fellow travellers, some of whom had been camped there by the water for up to 5 months. Initially we based ourselves at Roebourne, inland from the coast, and the original main town of the northwest. From here we explored the old buildings of the town (many very well preserved) as well as the old abandoned town of Cossack, which was the original port. Some of the more prominent buildings in Cossack have been restored, and combined with magnificent coastal scenery, made this a rewarding visit. It is interesting to note that all of the old, now overgrown and no longer visible, streets of the abandoned 19th century town are shown on our 21st century GPS navigator. Also while in Roebourne we visited the attractive seaside town of Point Sampson, having lunch on the terrace of the tavern overlooking the sparkling bay, and the mining company built town of Wickham.
From Roebourne we travelled into Dampier for 3 nights. Dampier could be described much like Port Hedland with the addition of a couple of very large natural gas processing plants. The scale of the operations in these parts is quite overwhelming and seemingly at odds with the ancient harsh and rugged landscape of the surrounding country. If there really is a world economic downturn then they forgot to tell the people around here, because everything is going full speed ahead. Nearby Karratha is a modern service centre town with all the facilities you would expect. We used this opportunity to restock and refuel as well as do some posting and banking. A bit of a highlight for us while in the area was to catch up with our son-in-law’s cousin, Matt. Having just recently arrived in the area to work on a power station development Matt, an electrician, is certainly going to feel it with the weather heating up noticeably. We only had a brief visit with him at his accommodation camp and just sat around with a few coldies discussing each other’s travels and adventures. Good on ya Matt!
Oh ! almost forgot. While we were in the area we visited Hearsons Cove to view the spectacular natural phenomenom of the staircase to the moon, This happens when a full moon rises over the exposed mudflats at low tide - quite a spectacle.
We left Karratha heading inland through the hills to Millstream-Chichester National Park.
Oh ! almost forgot. While we were in the area we visited Hearsons Cove to view the spectacular natural phenomenom of the staircase to the moon, This happens when a full moon rises over the exposed mudflats at low tide - quite a spectacle.
We left Karratha heading inland through the hills to Millstream-Chichester National Park.
Good to hear about your travels , keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteCheers Petra and Brian