This part of our journey takes us through the Pilbara, where the main event is mining, starting from Port Hedland, down through the Karatha area, to Onslow in the south. There are many sure indications you are getting to a mining area - signs pointing to quarries and mine sites, piles of white salt and salt plains, and huge trains transporting iron ore that run on forever. Also all the vehicles on the road are either road trains, or white Toyotas with a high-vis strip across them. Everyone you meet is wearing steel capped boots and high-vis jackets.

Port Hedland was our first port of call after the harrowing experience of Pardoo. On our previous trip we recall we weren't very impressed with the place. The town centre was tiny and consisted of about three shops and the port. This time, however, we planned to spend a night as we were so stressed after Pardoo, so we sought out a caravan park. So we discovered there was a lot more to Port Hedland than the town centre. Around the point from the port the coast extended a long way, and all this area had housing and was dotted with waterfront cafés and restaurants. Our caravan park lay between the coast and a river, but the river was dry as most are here now. The beach was quite tidal, so at low tide it formed many small warm puddles which were thoroughly enjoyed by all the local families.

About 200 kms further south (and west) you come to Karatha and surrounds. The Karatha area can be understood by imagining a Viking helmet. Karatha is the dome in the middle that covers the head, but there is a horn up each side. On the east horn there are several little towns - Roebourne, with many old historic buildings. This was the original town in the time of the pastoralists. Now it is mainly civic buildings and Aboriginal art galleries. A bit further up you come to Cossack - another historic town. But this town was so historic it was abandoned years ago and was disintegrating in the dust. In the last ten years or so, it is being dug back up out of the ground and several old buildings have been refurbished. This used to have a wharf where all the wool was sent off to England.

On the other side of the road, halfway up the horn is the exact opposite - Wickham - a town created about 40 years ago when the mining boom began to house all the workers. Its only claim to fame is a huge mining machine at the entrance off the highway.

Further up again is a tiny coastal village called Point Samson. This also had a large jetty at one stage after Cossack was abandoned, but the jetty was destroyed several times by cyclones, and they finally gave up. This is where we stayed, and there were a couple of lovely beaches just around the corner from the caravan park.

At the very top of the horn is the current jetty, a great monstrosity that belongs to Rio Tinto and ships out tons of iron ore every day.

In the centre is Karatha, another manufactured town set up by the mining companies quite recently, but a lot more upmarket than Wickham. It has a huge shopping centre with Coles and Woolies (not just IGA), and even has high rise apartments overlooking the water. There is not a lot of water, and no good swimming, but they are making the most of it.

Half way up the west horn there is our favourite town in this region - Dampier - Red Dog country. This was the original town in the area before the mining boom. Because of its position it could not be expanded too much, hence the creation of Karatha and Wickham. It retains a lot of its original charm, with some sympathetic upgrading to make it even nicer. There are many lawns, picnic areas, and sports facilities along the water front, and a whole forest of palm trees, giving it a really laid back feel. In this area, everything is based around Red Dog - the local football team, the local school etc. The original Red Dog statue is at the entrance to the town, but they have put up a few 'fake' red dogs in other spots.

Just off Dampier there are a collection of islands called the Dampier Archipelago, close enough to see, and almost to swim. We tried to organise a boat tour out, but there weren't enough people interested. That is the downside of travelling off season.

On the tip of this west horn is the Woodside North West Shelf project which produces natural gas, and liquefies it. We went to the visitor centre and looked around. Amazing. Last time we were here Karatha was running its FeNaClLNG festival - covering all its mining interests. Fe for iron ore by Rio Tinto, NaCl for Dampier salt, and LNG for Woodside natural gas project.

After Dampier, about 2-300 Kms further south (and west) is Onslow. It is about 80 Kms off the highway, so last time we missed it completely. This time, as we are filling in all the blanks, we thought we would check it out. It started life as a sleepy fishing village with a population of about 600 people. About 5 years ago Chevron started a natural gas processing plant, and also salt production. Now the population is over 5,000 - mostly FIFO, working on the project. The company has poured lots of money into the town, not just in accommodation for the workers. They are building a new hospital, new school, new sporting facilities etc. There is an eclectic mix of old rusty cottages, and state of the art modern architectural buildings. The coast comes to a point here, facing directly north, with a semi-circular bay on either side. This means they have both a sunrise and a sunset beach - more photos. There was also an ANZAC memorial strategically placed to catch the morning sun.

There was also good fishing so we were told. Attempted fishing at a small creek that was recommended, but we later realised we went at the wrong time of day in relation to the tides. We did catch a catfish, which we threw back as it was too small, and a snapper (maybe??) Made for a nice breakfast, with eggs.

GeorgeY's Bit

To the untrained eye Port Hedland seems to be not much of a shopping centre and is not to be confused with Chadstone, but that is not true. Millions of dollars are traded every minute but what they really lack is variety. Iron ore is the only thing on offer here and it is constantly pumped out in megatons per minute. So if you are shopping for anything else other than red dust you are looking in the wrong place. I considered making money by selling the finest iron ore in the land. Since "Pardoo" the van has collected tons of the stuff. Every time you open a hatch door, a massive dump of the powdered ore ends up all over. Due to restricted time frame on weekends I let the opportunity go. Later I will take the van to a carwash.

Next to the visitor centre is the social hub of Port Hedland, a café in a silver 50s vintage train carriages. One of them is fitted with Laminex / Aluminium tables like the ones we turfed out in the early seventies. The place is air conditioned, serving great coffee and meals and is run by a Japanese couple. What more can I say, heaven.

Travelling off season proved useful in Roeburne where even the art gallery was closed. Eva tried to peek through some windows until it started to seem weird so we moved on.

Karatha was a good place to stock up. It is where residents of surrounding towns do the big shopping (Like Minyip people going to Stawell). Had some really cheap beer. Hope this is the last. As we head to nicer weather we might get some wine instead, just to use the unused plastic wine glasses we carried with us since the start. Karatha has bipolar disorder. While inside - the shopping is air conditioned, Woollies, Coles, K-mart, Baker's Delight and many standard chain retailers are represented. Step out - scorching heat, car park with no cover, traffic lights synchronised to stop you repeatedly for extended cycles, turning green for micro seconds before changing again. Other aspect is these multilevel buildings pretending to be part of Docklands or Darling Harbour for no reason. Buildings and traffic of large cities in here is confusing and town planners should go back to school.

There is something about Dampier that makes it stand out; I struggle to pin down the tangible reasons because there isn't. The place, the way it has developed, the community feel - all of it is lovely. Total strangers are friendly. The locals greet you at the beach. If you ask a question they are happy to start a very long conversation. I come to think that "Red Dog" was great only because it reflected the true spirit of the people. It was Dampier and the people of Dampier that cared so much about him and his wandering and all the news about where he was sighted. Greatness of any place should be always traceable to its people. The opposite too can be observed in Saudi and possibly Canberra.

Onslow is a funny name for a place. We kept giggling as we remembered his character in "Keeping Up Appearances". It is a very relaxed place with not much to do or hurry for - it is very much like the Onslow character in the series.

On this trip some places we visited because we missed them last time, some because we liked, and some I would go again and again for any reason. All are good for all good reasons, but Dampier tops them all.