Broome & Beyond: Whim Creek, Port Hedland

Sunday 9th July, 11:30

There was one clear reason to post this morning from Fortescue R: to record these possibly interesting facts:

$142 for fuel at Nanutarra Roadhouse, 89 litres for  732 km

drove 770km on Saturday, in 10 hours (including stops)

$90 for the night's accommodation (no soap, no towel)

$20 for dinner

... Then the words ran away with me -- and I forgot to include those facts! And now -- at Whim Creek -- I don't have the numbers with me (they're in the car)... So I've typed it anyway, put in a few x's and y's. And will finish this post at the next stop. (And replaced all the x's and y's, while stopped at Port Hedland.)

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Fortescue R. accommodation was clean and neat, very small, shared ablution block. Value for money :-)  I picked up my free tea on the way out -- a nice touch. The managers are new here, a couple, friendly, keen to do it well.

I also picked up a geocache -- first for this trip -- outside the roadhouse.

Breakfast was some fruit in my room and biscuits that came with the tea. Brunch is at Whim Creek. On the way:

Nothing much !

Lots of geocaches round Karratha. I found one. Another was close -- on the top of an interesting little "hill" beside the road, by the looks of it. I only stop for caches within a metre or two of parking :-)

A couple of pleasant looking pools by the road, big pools, with plenty of space for parking. Would be very pleasant if I had a couple of hours to spend...

Slowly through Roeburne. There's a music festival on this afternoon, lucky I pass through in the morning!

There's a cache in the Whim Creek parking area. On a large tyre, according to the gps. I looked, couldn't see it, left it. Had lunch instead. Now it's time to leave... Whim Creek pub is a very pleasant, green, shady spot for a rest.

As I leave, it seems that a dozen 4WDers have decided that Whim Creek is an ideal place to stop for lunch. A group, perhaps? Lots of traffic parked, still lots of space. Glad I arrived earlier.

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Sunday 9th July, 13:30

Now at Port Hedland.

If a town is off the main road, I bypass it. Except for Port Hedland. PH appeals to me! Not South Hedland, that's a city suburb dumped into the desert. No interest, no appeal. Based on memories from one visit several years ago. That same trip left me with a *good* impression of *Port* Hedland.

Still 30km from town and I'm starting to drive more slowly. No need to overtake, I think, I'm almost in town. From 30km out ! Time and distance take on a new meaning...

Closer in and I'm amongst road trains. Four-trailer road trains. A steady stream, full towards town, empty back again.

Then the salt mine... okay, not a mine, but salt... Great piles of white salt, gleaming in the sun. An evaporation pond as big as an oval, gleaming white. Other ponds still... dirty red-brown, makes me wonder if the salt will be okay.

The highway becomes an enormous freeway interchange. Wide roads, broad sweeping on and off ramps, over giant railway systems... and I'm sharing it all with less than half a dozen cars. Better yet -- it's all raised up above vast tidal flats, with signs of rain erosion already on some slopes.

A giant child's road & rail construction set, built for a child with a limited number of actual cars, trucks and trains... I love it ! And I almost follow the highway straight through to the road to Broome. But I can't resist a visit to town.

Still a few kilometres to go. The road follows a train track. (Or train track*s*.) There are parked trains... one loaded with iron ore, one with empty wagons. A kilometre or two of empty wagons, on and on, two engines in the middle, more empty wagons. Perhaps another engine at front or back, I lose track.

Finally, in the town of Port Hedland. I stop for a break, an iced coffee, a quick blog post. It's warm enough that I finally take off my Antarctic-strength wool thermal. Mind you, sitting in the shade in the breeze, I miss the thermal. Temperature is low twenties.

The town centre is as I remember it: a quiet, oldish village feeling. Not many people. Not much traffic. Is it quiet because it's Sunday? Come to think of it, it was a Sunday on my last visit...

There are also enormous industrial structures scattered round the edges. I like it all, the peaceful country centre surrounded by impressive metal creations. With enough trees and shade and gardens to feel comfortable. On a comfortable day, anyway.

Enough relaxing. I've decided that Sandfire Flats is close enough to Broome for tonight's stop. I think. I still need to check actual distances. An important decision factor is, I have never before stayed at Sandfire Flats... I hope it's still there :-)

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"The man who cannot visualize a horse galloping on a tomato is an idiot." ... André Breton