We had a fair drive today from Cleaverville Beach to 80 Mile Beach and so hit the road just after 8….

We had to stop for fuel at Roebourne and as we pulled out a wide load pilot vehicle came past in the opposite direction. We pulled over and let the convoy go past – 2 huge wide loads of mining equipment – fortunately there was room for us to pull over on the verge….

As we drove on we crossed a few dry creek beds…and some with muddy puddles and green gums with brilliant white trunks soaking their roots in the mud….

Coming in to Port Hedland we saw increasing heavy industry… gas plants…

In the distance we could see the huge cranes and conveyors at the port loading the ships with iron ore…

The landscape around Port Hedland is very arid and bare – not really appealing…

We passed long trains with carriages full of iron ore heading to the port.

The large salt washing and stockpiling area was busy with the bright white salt shining in the sun as it poured from the tall conveyor…

The salt crystallizers lined the side of the road in….

We stopped to pick up some supplies and have a coffee… then filled up our fuel tanks… and the Wells expelled a lot of water in the carpark…did Dave grab a quick shower while we were all inside the shops??

Leaving Port Hedland the countryside was very barren and desolate..

We were now frequently meeting big road trains with 4+ trailers carrying bulk mining and fuel supplies….

Occasionally there were unusual rocky hills, mesas and outcrops that broke up the expanse of flat desert…

There were big quarry sites churning out huge amounts of rock…

After a brief stop at Pardoo Roadhouse it was not much longer, and we turned off to 80 Mile Beach – back onto a dirt road… we crossed over the grid and into the station where 80 Mile Beach is located….

The dirt is becoming increasingly deep red the further north we travel….

As we drove in, we passed some steers walking along the side of the road- one moved onto the road in front of the Weiss’s Landcruiser eyeing them off….

A ute towing 3 large tractor tyres was smoothing out the road – very effective as the drive in was great!

We reached the entry to 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park – it was an oasis in the desert with large trees and palms – the only large vegetation for kilometres!!!

As we drove over the hill the blue of the Indian Ocean came into view…

We had great sites near the beach entry and quickly set up so we could go down and have a look at the beach…

The white sand stretched for miles in every direction as the tide was out… the blue water in the distance looked inviting but we were told by the reception staff (and the locals…  and the blow-ins… literally everyone had a story…) that the beach was not suitable for swimming due to sharks, rays, seasnakes, crocodiles and stingers… and due to the fact there was no medical attention available unless you went to Port Hedland or Broome – swimming was a no go…which seemed strange as stinger season was over and we had swum in places like Quobba and Coral Bay…. Anyway….

The beach was littered with myriads of shells so the shell hunting began….

Sunset again was lovely – the park had a viewing platform that people would sit at and watch the sun go down… we went for a walk right out to the water’s edge and watched the sky change colours and the sun disappear over the sand flats….