Port Hedland was a real change of scenery after Broome and Eighty Mile Beach (as you would expect). It is dominated by the BHP Iron Ore processing plant and the docks where the ore gets loaded onto massive ships and sent mainly overseas. Apparently BHP currently send out 100 million tonnes a year from Port Hedland and plan to expand this to 300 million within the next five years. Each ship can take roughly 200,000 tonnes, so that's............... a lot of ships (come on kids - you work it out). The statistics are all amazing - like the 2km trains that travel between PH and the mine at Newman (about 300km south) and the 78km or so of conveyer belts transporting the ore from the train cars to the ships. We went on a tour of the BHP plant and saw the conveyers, trains, and the big crane-like pieces of equipment that either make stockpiles of ore that is not being immediately shipped, or scoop up the piles and put them back on the conveyers. (I can't remember what they were called.) There's not much else there, as the mine is doing more and more of the processing, but they still employ something like 1300 people on site. I don't think the girls were terribly impressed by the tour (which was all within a bus but we still had to wear long sleeves and closed in shoes!) but they might remember the scale of it later. We only had one day and two nights in Port Hedland because we stayed an extra night in 80-mile Beach - but to be honest it was probably enough! After the mine tour we visited the "sights" around the town, but the museum was closed, the pioneer cemetery was overgrown with spinifex and the outdoor transport museum, while probably very interesting, was overrun by mosquitoes and/or midges who chased us out within about 10 minutes. We couldn't believe how many there were - at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, by the beach! On our second night we had a date with the "Staircase to the Moon" - an unusual natural phenomenon and much touted tourist attraction caused when the rising moon reflects on the wet sandflats of the beach on a low tide. You need an east-facing beach with the right sort of pools of water remaining when the tide has gone out - and of course a clear sky. Luckily we had all this, just at the back of the caravan park. It was strange, because with all the hype and over-preparation, plus having to nearly choke ourselves with insect repellent, I wasn't exactly feeling romantic about the whole thing, but when that moon started rising above the horizon, glowing orange, I did get goosebumps - even before the reflection started to form. The pictures don't do it justice: you really had to be there.
The next day, covered in midge/mozzie bites, we packed up and left for Karratha - where we planned to meet up with some friends. We started with another experience of the Staircase to the Moon (this one a little less satisfactory because the beach wasn't quite right for the reflections - and we were too busy chatting to get the full effect), then spent a day visiting Dampier and the Burrup Peninsula to the north and west of Karratha and Point Sampson to the east. (Karratha is really just an accommodation hub for all the workers on the various mining projects and in the ports. Average rents are around $2000 per week, while a 3-bedroom house will cost you about $750,000!) Dampier is quite a reasonable seaside town, although dominated by the docks, and it has 42 islands close to shore, where the snorkelling, fishing etc are supposed to be really good. The highlight of the day was probably the Visitors' Centre for the North West Gas Shelf Project, which had fantastic information about how petroleum (oil and gas) are mined and processed. I learned at least as much as the girls did! (Who knows the difference between LNG and LPG? What temperature do you have to cool natural gas to in order for it to liquify?) Point Sampson was a rather scruffy little beach "resort" town, with a couple of caravan parks and a very tidal beach, where we had a quick (and cold) swim (at Tahlia's insistence). That night we had massively overpriced wood-fired pizzas by the pool at the Karratha International Hotel - one of very few places for eating out. On Saturday we were lucky enough to go and check out the islands around Dampier in our friend's boat (well - her dad's boat - thanks Barry!). Despite what you might call unfavourable weather (it was blowing a gale!) we had a great time, snorkelling and eating lunch moored off a beautiful little bay in sight of the massive gas plant (what a contrast) and then cruising around a couple of the other islands, in really shallow water where you could see turtles and loads of fish. While our friend's 14-month-old boy didn't sleep all day, Kendall and Tahlia snuck down to the cabin and fell asleep for about two hours!
Sadly on Sunday we had to head out, despite the weather being perfect for another day's boating. We didn't think we could make it to Exmouth in one day (it's over 600km) so we had planned to stay somewhere en route, but in the end we actually got so close we wished we'd pushed just a little harder and not wasted a night in a grotty little "homestead" campsite, where they charged $28 for "limited power" and the facilities were awful (although not as bad as Hall's Creek!). Never mind. At least we were up and out early and into our caravan park in Exmouth before lunch.
Captions for pictures
- Sturt Desert Peas growing like weeds in the sand dunes at Point Sampson
- Port Hedland skyline at sunset (that's as scenic as it gets!)
- Ship being loaded with iron ore
- Watching the ships being loaded
- The Staircase to the Moon (but you really had to be there)
- Dampier harbour (salt stack in the background)
- Snorkelling in Conzinc Bay out from Dampier
- "Glamour shot" of Sharon, Matthew and the girls on the boat
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