The main export port for iron ore from Pilbara region of Western Australia, Port Hedland is a hot, humid and rather hideous place in which even the police station has bars across the windows to protect the officers inside. However beauty be found in most places, as these photographs may misleadingly suggest.
There was also a surprising amount of decent street art, proof that it can be found nearly everywhere these days.
On the way into Port Hedland are railway lines with grunty looking locomotives pulling a procession of near endless (in the hundreds) wagons.
There were also some distinctive salt flats on the way in.
An hour and half further north we spent the night at Pardoo Station, which had some very welcome air conditioning after five nights camping in increasingly hot and humid conditions. The contrast from an air conditioned room to outside was a shock both ways. It’s a working cattle station with accommodation on site, which looked atmospheric at night, and offered a wonderful sunrise.
A long, dull drive onto Broome was enlivened by a brief (the temperature and humidity at 9.15am was horrible) stop at 80-Mile Beach. I’d seen quite a lot of amazing beaches on this trip, but this one was up there with the best.
Gantheaume Point was the final spot before finishing in Broome, and a fitting end to a memorable nine days travelling from Perth, summing up the trip with deep red earth and incredible blue sea.
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