Making our way into Port Hedland we were hit by many of the sights and scenes we had been expecting. Over the years we have both seen various doco's and reports on the rapid rise of fame and also infamy that formed our first impressions of Port Hedland. Most of what we saw is pretty much standard stuff for any town that relies on the ups and downs of the mining industry for its survival. Even taking into account this and the fact that Kylz and I are pretty familiar with mining communities and the hassles with remote area living it was still an eye-opening experience to look around the place for a few hours! No doubt the die-hard locals would be able to point out the high lights of "Headland" life, and there may be a few that we missed!? We really only had a quick look around. I can gladly say though that it was only a few hours and I would not be in a hurry to spend any real extended time in the place.

Masses of short term accommodation, some new and flash others not so, dominate most of the buildings. All caravan parks were booked solid, and only have a few sites left for tourists anyway as all other sites and units are taken by worker accommodation, so we could not have stayed even if we wanted to! Topping it all off is the thick layer of rich, ochre red, iron ore dust which covers everything and anything that sits still for long enough! Our visit started and finished at the South Hedland shopping centre. After our drive through town and loading up with food and fuel we were out of there with hardly a look in the rear view mirror.

Really an unattractive place in need of a serious makeover, from top to bottom! It really is a shame that a place that sees so much wealth loaded and taken from its shores seems to have so little of it spent on her own residents and community. Big companies are always quick to point out token efforts they have made in and around these types of communities but real long term implementation of worthwhile projects are few and far between in my view. Port Hedland is not the only place to suffer this fate though.

After an overnight stop at West Peawah River we rolled into the picture perfect little town of Point Samson, about 60km north of Karratha, and only a short drive in from the town of Roebourne. A very small little town with only a couple of streets and million dollar views from the lucky few that live along the little coast loop road. Think as good, or better than anything you will find between Cooktown and Bega! The water is amazingly clear and such a brilliant shade of blue. A stray cyclone or two would be a bit of a downside though!? Our van park followed the impressive trend and Kylz rates it up there in the top few we have stayed in this year. Not having a pool you would think would be a bit of a downer but being a short 200m walk to the spectacular Honeymoon Bay we never missed it a bit.

Meeting a Karratha local, up at Point Samson for his weekend off with his kids, we got the low down on a few local secrets and the girls once again had plenty of friends to spend the days with. Honeymoon Cove will go down in history for Chelsea as it was here that she caught her first fish all solo, five year old V's fish! Her own cast, her own rod and her own catch! She was that excited that she promptly laid down her rod and returned to sandcastles and swimming. Kids eh? Funny thing was though Kylz and I kept fishing and ended up with about a dozen or more small fish in the last hour up to the high tide. All caught and released but some real good fun with the girl's new light gear and very small hooks! The bay also offers some very clear water for snorkelling and such quiet sheltered water for kids to really enjoy a day out at the beach with no fear of big waves scaring them off for life. Chelsea really got over her fear of water with fish in it here and had a ball over the few days we spent in Point Samson.

With an unavoidable date with the "Red Dog" statue in Dampier we made a day of it and toured our way around Karratha also. While still being a mining town that relies on the resources industry for its financial security it comes across visually a lot more appealing than many others we have seen. We made one crucial observation that if you wanted a business in Karratha you would want it to involve fishing or boating. Nearly every house in town had at least one boat and often two or three! Looking at the map and seeing the amount of islands and the like within easy reach of a trailer boat I can see why. We then found ourselves (accidently of course!?) in one of the biggest outdoor fishing and sports stores I have seen! It would not be out of place in any big city you could think of. We finally found the "Red Dog" statue and let the girls go mad climbing all over it and patting it on the head. Hope that dose lasts them til they get over the fascination!? Locals we spoke to assure us there is plenty of fact in the movie based on the hitchhiking red dog, although they reckon the movie dog was a fair bit better looking than the original! Dampier is the original settlement and does show its age a bit while still being quite clean and reasonably presentable.

A quick trip up the poorly sign-posted look out gave us a very good view out over the whole town of Karratha. The town seems well laid out with an industrial precinct that you pass through on your way into town probably helps to separate a bit of industry from the town itself. With so much construction going on and the announcement of a $65M upgrade to the town centre it looks as though the place is trying to keep up with the pressure it is under from the resource boom that is sweeping most of WA.

Meeting our fellow Queensland travellers John and Marlene as well as a family we last met in Alice Springs made our stay in Point Samson all the more enjoyable. With a very high standard now set for WA parks we left Point Samson bound for Exmouth and the breathtaking Ningaloo reef. Will it really prove to be as good as or better than our own GBR? Well we'll let you know.