We originally planned to leave Broome last Thursday, however we had to wait until Friday for mail to arrive and with friends Rod and Dearne ‘in town’ we made the decision to stay until Saturday morning. It wasn’t too hard a decision given the company, the sunshine and lovely beach for swimming. We had a very social few days, joining Rod and Dearne and their friends Lyn and Bruce from the east coast for lunch on Wednesday, dinner out on Thursday at a local restaurant and again on Friday night at the Broome fishing club.

Rod, Dearne, Lyn, Steve, Jane and Bruce enjoying a wine watching sunset in Broome

We could have become quite accustomed to this lifestyle and the good company however after almost 3 weeks we opted to head south on Saturday morning.

We weren’t quite sure where we would be at the end of the day because both places we wanted to visit meant taking red dirt and corrugated roads, which are not ideal for ‘The Tent’. Barn Hill was the first consideration, some 130kms, a relatively short trip. We had made the decision we would park the bus and take the car down the 9km road and see what we thought. Five minutes after setting off Steve met 3 caravans on their way out and the verdict was ‘you’ll eat it if you take it slow’. So that’s what we did. The road was manageable driven at 20kmphr and being vigilant. We weren’t sure what to expect, other than what friends Therese and Kerry had told us how lovely the beach was….and we weren’t disappointed! Barn Hill is a 450,000 acre cattle station along the coast between Broome and 80 Mile Beach. It is quite an isolated camp, with a truly magnificent beach overlooked by rugged red rocks and cliffs .

Enjoying the deserted beach at Barn Hill

The camp ground overlooks the beach and out to sea.

Sunset over the sea, from ‘The Tent’, Barn Hill

We are convinced we had the best spot in the park with stunning views right along the beach and back up to Broome, so it was easy to make the decision to stay for 3 nights. Many beach walks and swims were enjoyed.

Unusual rock formations at Barn Hill

Being able to walk the beach with no one else in sight is quite something given there were several hundred campers at the station. Yet it is certainly possible. For a less commercial caravan park that isn’t expensive they make a real effort, providing a very cost effective 3 course meal and entertainment on a Sunday evening, which we very much enjoyed.

On Tuesday we hit the road again. We had planned to go to 80 Mile Beach, however it was very windy and forecast to be today also, and we didn’t fancy being battered by sand and red dust, so headed on toward Port Hedland, making an overnight stop at Pardoo on the way and arriving here mid morning today. At Pardoo we met a fellow kiwi (John an extremely fit 62 year old) who is riding his pushbike from Darwin to Perth in less than 10 weeks because he needed a challenge! And amazingly he works for the philanthropist Julian Robertson in NZ, and as some of you may know my brother is Julian’s CEO. And John’s sister lives at Oneroa, his brother lives at Whangaparaoa and he lives at Havelock North near Napier. He is also a keen sailor and a member of the Napier yacht club and Steve was a member in 1973. The coincidences were amazing.

We originally thought we might spend two nights in Port Hedland……but have revised this to just the one. Port Hedland is a mining town that services the local mines and port activities. There are 3 main areas which are typically referred to as Port Hedland. There is the port itself incorporating the city and beach suburbs (Port Hedland); South Portland which is residential; and Wedgefield which caters for light industry.  Port Hedland is one of the world’s largest and busiest working harbours with a 24×7 shipping operation moving over 158 million tonnes a year, and $100 million in daily iron ore. It was really interesting to see the port activities and just how incredibly busy it is, however other than the port, rail yards and salt works there really isn’t a lot to see – its very industrial, and of course strategically very important to Australia’s economy.

Rio Tinto’s Minerals – salt works in Port Hedland

This is though an expensive place to live, and there isn’t a lot on offer for visitors. The camp grounds are geared for miners and are over priced. So once we had watched port operations, we toured Port Hedland, enjoyed a bite to eat at the historic Esplanade Hotel, stocked up, finalised our chores and said ‘let’s hit the road tomorrow morning for Karijini National Park’. So tomorrow we hit the road again for the next adventure.