2 October - Port Hedland and on to Karijini National Park

2 October 2016 – 188 925

Port Hedland and on to Karijini National Park

This morning we packed up and headed to Port Hedland, we were there by 8:30am.
https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/explore/pilbara/port-hedland https://www.visitporthedland.com.au/ 
We headed straight down to the port where we were able to watch ships being loaded with iron ore – there were three scheduled to depart today alone.  They are huge!  https://www.pilbaraports.com.au/We then went to Redbank Bridge to watch the giant BHP Billiton iron ore trains; we arrived just as one was coming.  Hayden counted 272 carriages with 4 engines – it was an impressively long train.  From here we could also see the giant salt pile and salt pans that Rio Tinto have in Port Hedland. http://wikimapia.org/9698726/Redbank-Bridge

We then did the long drive to Karijini, heading along the road that goes toward Newman.  On this road we saw at least ten 4-trailer road trains for every other vehicle, we would have seen about one hundred road trains on this stretch.  Thankfully the visibility was great, as we needed to overtake the road trains regularly and they are 60m long.  When we pulled up at the Visitor Information Centre, Drew noticed that one of the camper trailer tyres was slightly flat.  On walking over to it, the air could be heard hissing out of it and a section on the side of it had disintegrated, it must have only just happened.  Drew had it changed and was ready to go again in 30 minutes.  We set up camp at Dales Gorge Campground – we are in Kangaroo section. https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/karijini https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/dales-recreation-area The campground here is very large and very well set out, it is divided into a number of different sections with individual bays and a composting toilet every few bays.  After setting up, we headed to Fortescue Falls and had a swim in the pool.  It was cold, but a lovely way to finish the day. 
https://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Attraction/Fortescue_Falls/56b266ef7b935fbe730e6250#/ https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/explore/pilbara/karijini-national-park/dales-gorge