Via Karratha and Port Headland. (May 2015)

The rest of the journey to Karratha is rather uneventful, but with Pieter in the passenger seat it becomes much more interesting. He can read the Australian landscape like a professional geologist. He points out rock formations, differences in vegetation, hovering birds of prey, weather phenomenon in the sky.

The roads are becoming increasingly nicer, bigger, broader and smoother. The mining industry certainly must play a big part in the development up here.

Karratha seems like a town establish to live while working in the mining industry, it has everything you’d expect, but not really a heart.

We miss out on booking a tour to pay a visit to one of the mines. Pitty. We’re on a bit of a schedule, because Pieter and Els will have to eventually board a plane back home, from Broome, and we are not there yet.

Port Hedland does not seem much more interesting than Karratha, at least not to us, so we brush past it, but not without getting the cheapest fuel since leaving Perth. Large road trains are all lined up, with 3-4 trailors, really massive machines. Jack –the bus- likes hanging out with the big boys, 

however once it is our turn to drive up to the bowser, we see the sign that says you need a BP card to pay. Slightly embarrassed we take Jack through the regular part of the fuel station.