Wednesday, September 27, 2017

DAYS 75 – FREE CAMPING AT PORT HEDLAND



Thankfully the drive today wasn’t as long as some we have done lately,  we had roughly 236kms to travel today to reach our destination. 
Some of the scenery on the road today
We were amused at seeing all these termite mounds wearing hard hats
More hard hat termite mounds.
  On the way into Port Hedland, we passed these massive salt pans and mountains of salt. they even had heavy machinery driving up on it with their big scoops moving it all around.  We later learnt that a lot of this salt goes to European countries to help melt their snow when they have bad weather. 
Salt mounds coming into Port Hedland

 We still weren’t 100% sure where we would stay in Port Hedland,  we had been checking out Wiki Camps and had seen that you could free camp at the Port Hedland Turf Club for 72 hours, but needed to be self contained, which we aren’t fully…

We had another option of a cheaper park but it was out of town a bit and it was in an industrial area so we weren’t really too keen, but after having stayed in Broome and then  80 Mile beach were the caravan park fees were all over $40 and in some cases closer to $50, we wanted to save a bit of money before we totally blew our budgets.  


We thought we would at least check out the Turf Club.  When we got there, the grounds were you came were all just red sand, but it was situated right next to a lush green oval, and I spied what I thought were toilets  so went off to investigate before we got unhitched. 
Alas they were not toilets, and all though we had a porta potti with us, if we could get away without using it, I would be much happier.  Ian and Kathy were pretty keen to stay here so I figured we could give it a go, and if it were unsuitable for us we could go find a caravan park in the morning.  

On the off chance I decided to goggle public toilets in Port Hedland to see where the closers ones were to us.  Turned out they were at the entrance to the Turf Club, and they were really good:  a lot better even than some of the caravan parks we had stayed in.  Two large toilets, dispenser with soap wash, and paper towels to dry your hands.  They were also serviced and cleaned each morning.  With that taken care of now, I felt much happier about staying here.  

In the process of goggling public toilets in Port Hedland,  I also came across a public shower which was at a place called Pretty Pool.  This sounded too good to be true.  After setting up, we decided to go check out both the toilets and the showers.  We packed our shower bag in case we could use them, and took off. 
We found public showers at Pretty Pool
 Our first port of call was Koombana Lookout which was directly across the road from the Turf Club, so we had a quick drive up there to try and get our bearings of Port Hedland.  The views of the port and beaches were lovely and we decided then, that it would be worth coming back up at night to check out the lights of Port Hedland.  

Ian and Kathy had gone to get fuel, so we contacted them and told them where we were heading, and they decided to come meet us there. 

It turned out that Pretty Pool was a lovely spot right on a creek near the beach.  Steve and I beat them there so we went exploring along the track that ran alongside the creek…. We stopped and went and looked into the creek and that is when we found the octopus,  it was quite a good size one about 18” or more in diameter.  He was interesting to watch as he moved around the rock pool changing colours as he bumped up against the different rocks, and then finally going really dark.  Of course we took photos….

Whilst driving down along the creek, Steve was sussing it out to see if he could find any good fishing spots. 
Pretty Pool
 When Ian and Kathy finally arrived, they were carriers of good things, bring along Magnums for afternoon tea, so we found a nice shady spot at an undercover picnic table to enjoy not only the ice cream but the cool sea breezes and the lovely scenery as well.  
Enjoying our Magnums at Pretty Pool
Time to check out the showers.  They were pretty amazing,  all tiled, and fancy ones at that.  There were three toilets and two showers with doors in the Ladies section, and three open area showers in the men’s section.  Steve and I were fine, we had our shower bags with us, so decided to have our shower before heading home…

Just as we got back to our van, Ian and Kathy were hoping into their car with their shower bags and were heading back there to have a shower as well.  They figure they might as well conserve their water, and use the free showers also, especially considering how nice they were.  

We had decided tonight that we would go out for dinner, having read about a $20 all you can eat buffet which was out at the Resort Landing (the other caravan park we were looking at if the Turf Club wasn’t available).  All the reviews on Wiki Camp regarding this buffet had read really well. 
Kathy and I out for our Buffet Dinner in Port Hedland
Steve enjoying his dessert.
Plenty of food -
Lots of fresh fruit
Enjoying a feed of watermelon - something I haven't had since leaving home.
It turns out that the Resort Landing is really mining accommodation and the few sites that they have free are opened up to the public.  The buffet was actually in the Miners Mess hut.  It was a good night,  the food was reasonable,  probably a little like the dining room back at school, but there was plenty of variety, and you could have as much or little as you liked, and it also included desert.
 
The ships in dock at night in Port Hedland
Last ride home at night for the Seafarers
Kathy and I on the Jetty at Port Hedland
Enjoying a night out in Port Hedland


We left here around 9pm, and headed back into town for a drive around to check out the Port at night.  Mostly to find where the Seafarer’s building was for our trip out the following morning.  We also found the town jetty and went for a little wander out along it.  There were quite a few people out here fishing although we only spotted one guy catching any fish, and he had just landed a big threadfin salmon. 
The changing colours of the water tower at Koombana Lookout just above where we were staying

On our way home we went for a quick drive up to Koombana Lookout again to see the lights of Port Hedland.  It looked like a Christmas Wonderland with all the lights leading out to the wharf.  Life in Port Hedland never stops..  They world around the clock, 24 hours a day.  The Water Tower also changes colour every five minutes each night, so we sat up there and just enjoyed the breeze whilst we checked out the different colours of the water tower.
It was the perfect end of a pretty good day.   We had such a lovely time up there that we decided  and there to head back up there again in the morning for breakfast. 

1 comments:

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