The distance from Broome to Port Hedland is about 600Km of mostly uninteresting scenery. We decided to make 3 stops on this leg of the trip and these were at two great rest areas - Goldwire and DeGreys and a van park at 80 mile Beach. Rest areas in WA are very well laid out and promoted by the WA government. They even produce a booklet advising travellers of where the rest areas are and what facilities they provide
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| Sunset at 80 Mile Beach |
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80 Mile Beach is a remote but very popular spot for caravaners from the south of WA as well as people like us from other states. The beach is actually 80 miles long and fishermen staying in the park travel long distances along the beach in buggies and quad bikes in search of the perfect spot. There's no shop to buy supplies near the place so people staying here have to bring in just about everything they need for their stay. The nearest town, Port Hedland, is about 250Km away.
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| The White Sand on 80 Mile Beach |
When we arrived the water on the beach was at a normal position about 50m down the beach. Later in the day at low tide, the water was way out, at least 400m with people sitting on chairs where the water was metres deep at high tide. The water was a bit cold but not enough to stop us having a dip. No surf but refreshing just the same.
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| DeGrey River Rest Area |
The DeGrey River is about 80Km north of Port Hedland and one of the best and most popular rest areas we have seen. There were at least 50 vans there in an area spread out along the river and in bushland. We were lucky enough to get a spot right on the river bank and witnessed a beautiful sunset with a great camp fire. Tough way to live!!
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| Iron Ore Train at Port Hedland |
Port Hedland is the place where iron ore from BHP Billiton's mines is loaded onto ships for transport to Australian and overseas ports. The ore arrives here on trains from mines such as Newman which is 400Km inland. Each day 12 trains arrive and 12 leave after unloading. The trains usually contain 230 cars and 4 locomotives - a total of 25,00 tonnes of ore each trip. The length of the train is over 2.5Km. The world's longest train was set here at 630 cars, 8 locos and 7.5Km long.
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| Ore Carrier in Port Hedland Harbour |
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The port is one of the world's largest for exporting iron ore with BHP shipping 150 million tonnes annually. The harbour is huge with ships arriving and leaving each day. We counted 15 ships waiting off shore to be loaded and this is normal every day. We stayed in a park at South Hedland which is 18Km from the Port. This is a satellite town built primarily to house the people who work at the port. The town has most facilities but its main attraction to tourists is the port and rail facilities. We had booked a tour of these facilities but this was unfortunately cancelled following the fatality of a 23 year old worker due to a crane collapse. This happened the day we arrived.
After 3 days at Port Hedland we set off inland and to the famous Karijini National Park.
