Port Hedland

Thursday 3^rd Sept, still unlucky in the fishing department we pushed on into the Pilbara for Port Hedland. Most people we speak to about Port Hedland just use it as a place to shop but don’t stay there as it is just a mining town, and that is true and fair enough but we have never been there so we did stay. More importantly than that, Linda’s sister’s son Mark, was working there as a fly in fly out electrician and so it was a great opportunity to catch up with him for a couple of nights. Home cooked Thai curry one night and roast the next. Damn good. Great to catch up with you Mark!

 

It's not all shabby but there is no sandy beach as such, that we could see. Only a bit of sand and a bit of mud flat and you wouldn't swim there.

 

On Friday we went on the Seafarer’s Harbour Tour. The Seafarer’s Centre is a Christian worldwide mission that has a ministry to sailors. They go out in a launch and pick up sailors from ships docked in the harbor and then bus them to their centre where they can exchange foreign currency with Australian dollars and then bus them on shopping trips to get what they want. The Centre also provides computers for them to Skype their families and phone recharge cards so they can ring their families. There is also a bar and pool table and library. Without this ministry the sailors would have to stay on board their ship and miss out on these priviledges. It is run by some permanent employees and volunteers. What a great job they do!!

 

 

On the way back to our Black Rock Caravan Park we stopped and checked out the salt farm. I don’t know if that what it is called but it is an appropriate name and a clever operation. Seawater is allowed in and the remaining salt pans are dried out and harvested. Our timing was good because whilst at the photo spot for the salt farm an iron ore train came in. It was huge. They have about 250 or something ore carts.

 

The van site at Black Rock was small and we only just squeezed on but it was a reasonable price at $35. The other van parks are around $56. It was just a dusty little site but we can expect that a lot as we head into the Pilbara.