Barnstorming at Barn Hill!

From Port Hedland, to Barn Hill Station and now Fitzroy Crossing...

Port Hedland to Barn Hill Station (May 27-29)

Continuing on our north easterly course to the ultimate goal of Kununurra, we departed Karijini for our return to “civilization” e.g. hot running water, electricity and SHOWERS!  Our first stop over was in Port Hedland, one of the larger towns here in the northwest of Australia. 

Port Hedland is located on the Indian Ocean and it is where the Great Northern Highway intersects with the Coastal Highway.  We replenished our supplies here (groceries, footwear / clothes, alcohol), washed clothes / sheets / towels and fueled up for the next 500 km push.  Not the most picturesque stop, but in all honesty we didn’t do much exploring of the town.  (Interesting note - Dave had to hand in his drivers license to purchase booze… Dave thought the girl was trying to get his contacts for a later rendezvous – wishful thinking I’d say 😉). The following is a photo of the Port Hedland Wharf…

The next morning (May 28th) we got up early, had breakfast, packed up the gear and took off for Barn Hill Station – 500 kms northeast of Port Hedland.  By the way, our fuel mileage has improved to 12.5 liters per 100Ks (how mileage is measured here)… however, fuel costs are now averaging around $2.50AUD per liter… and headed towards $3AUD…!

Why Barn Hill Station…?

We heard it through the grapevine (thank you Robina), that this station was a good place to experience camping near the ocean and was an optimal distance for us to push towards.  

We arrived yesterday (May 28) and this park really does live up to its reputation.  First of all it is located about 500M’s from the ocean which sports a 9 meter tide (when the high tide is in – the water is 9 meter’s deeper than when it was out!).  The beach is vast, and the sand is incredible.  There are rocky / reefy portions that manage to create swimming holes if you will, when the tide is out.  As far as the campsite, it is a grove of beautiful shady trees of so many types and must be the habitat for a variety of birds that will wake you as the sun rises each day. 

Last evening, the five of us enjoyed home made pizza at the camp park main site as we listened to one of the locals sing and strum a guitar as the sun set into the Indian Ocean.  We certainly could not appreciate life any better than this!

The good news is that today, we walked the beach, went swimming for hours in the ocean while getting some great drone videos which I will share in a separate posting – they should give you some idea of the incredible beach and camp site that is Barn Hill Station…

Our next stop on the trip is now planned to be heading past Broome (we catch that on our way back) and spend a few days in Fitzroy Crossing - to wait out the storm and do a little aboriginal art, history and cultural experiencing!  Everyone is doing well, Dave and Karen are enjoying themselves swimming and hiking while Ian kicks back along with Di and I – enjoying the weather, water, and wildlife.

Cheers!

Karen, Di, Ian, Dave and Jim