Port Hedland - in the Pilbara now

We spent 3 days at Port Hedland which is a major industrial port in the Pilbara region of WA. Iron ore from places like Tom Price is transported by massive trains that are almost 3km long to the port which is then offloaded into iron ore carriers (ships). The operation operates 24/7 and there is always about a dozen ships waiting off the coastline for their turn. We were able to watch the ships both coming and going from quite a close range - really massive.

The other industry here is Dampier Salt and is somewhat of a tourist attraction in itself. Huge mountains of salt being pushed around by a bulldozer, surrounded by the salt evaporation ponds.

The city itself is quite modern (well, it really only grew in the 1970s when mining and the port were established). The marina precinct is only a couple of years old and the Foreshore parks are very attractive. There is also a spot where you can witness the phenomenon "staircase to the moon," but we are leaving a day too soon. Hopefully we will catch up with it in Karratha.

Port Hedland is probably the most cyclone prone city in Australia. Even the caravan park we were staying in had anchor points in the slab to tie down the van if you happened to be there when a cyclone came through. It could be one reason why there is a satellite city about 15km from Port Hedland called South Hedland where the main shopping and services are. It could also be because they ran out of suitable residential land due to tidal flats etc.Read more