Broome to Port Hedland

Although we were all keen to stay longer in Broome, time was marching on and there was a huge state ahead of us! We drove off along the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, feeling refreshed after our Broome hiatus. It wasn’t long before the vicious wind was back punching into the front of the vehicle, causing me to drive whilst leaning on an angle. I could barely hear the accordion, mandolin, guitar and harmonica playing in the back over the rushing windsong. Driving through red savannah scrub became fairly monotonous, the scenery unrelieved all day by the gorgeous coastline which we knew was tantalisingly close over the plains. The road was certainly not designed with tourism in mind!

Searching for sand dollars at 80 Mile Beach

80 Mile Beach was the only camping spot within cooee, although the road looked none too inviting, so we turned off and drove extremely slowly over what seemed 80 miles of rough, red corrugations. We parked the van and went straight to the beach, where we were all excitedly collecting sand dollars (or mermaid’s money, depending upon where you are from) until dark.

Seagulls hover as they fly into a very strong wind

The beach was far too inviting to leave, so we packed up next morning and wandered along the beach, collecting another tonne of shells and things of interest. Lachie found a sinker and a triple hook rig which he happily stowed in the fishing bag. We bounced slowly back over the red road to the highway, where I took the wheel so Dave could sit in the back and rehearse some new songs with the kids. Lachie sat up front to keep me company but ended up keeping Harry Potter company instead. He is nearing the end of  book 7 and can’t keep his nose out of it. The crosswinds were vicious again and the drive to Port Hedland very stressful, with both the road trains and us drifting around in the wind. All passing and overtaking manoeuvres were teeth clenching moments. We finally arrived in Port Hedland where the scale of the salt industry and iron ore port operations were simply amazing. After finding a van park, we went further into town to have a very late lunch and book a tour at BHP. Our picnic spot overlooking the tidal flats was possibly the windiest spot in Australia. The shelter roof was humming and the seagulls hung in the air facing the wind. After amusing ourselves feeding seagulls on the wing, we counted 10 enormous ships lined up on the horizon awaiting their load of ore in port. We were disgusted to discover that the BHP tour was not running, due to WHS concerns about their bus. Damn. 

The port area lit up like a huge city skyline at dusk and was actually quite lovely. Few things in Port Hedland could be described as lovely! It is undoubtedly a city of heavy industry and is coated with iron ore dust.

Stay tuned ...