Betten On Bike: DAY 45 - 24TH MAY 2013 - EIGHTY MILE BEACH TO PORT HEDLAND SOUTH

Day 45 - - 24th May - Eighty Mile Beach to Port Hedland South

Cycling Stats: 250 kms
Cycling Average: 32 kms per hour

Up at 5am and quickly packed up as once again Andrea & I will need to get Walter to The Great Northern Highway to start his ride today. The caravan park is around 10km on one of those dusty corrugated track roads which the trusty camper van is starting to get used to now. There is a bit of an art to driving these corrugated roads - the speed is a fine balance and eyes must be very alert as to the changes and position of the corrugations - everything must be secure as well !

We reached the turnoff and Walter was on his way. The winds today were very favourable - nice tailwind for most of the way. As we neared Port Hedland the number of huge 'road trains', 'oversized' trucks, and 'wide load' in their signage, increased significantly. This is due to this being the inland mining truck route for iron ore, coal and salt. As we reached the outskirts we saw huge piles of white salt in the distance and the outline on the horizon of the huge international port of Port Hedland which is the biggest export port in Australia.

The huge number and size of the mining road trains was a little scary and I must admit I was, for the first time on this trip a little anxious for Walter cycling on the side of the road with so many monster vehicles passing him from both sides.

Luckily all good.

The scenery was today a real desert landscape - low shrubs in various hues, some rocky outcrops and more termite nests - even a community of 'miners nests' as we approached the very industrial Port Hedland.

The Black Rock Tourist Park was a very welcome destination - a lovely swimming pool to cool off in and luckily we arrived at around 2.30pm so we could also do some laundry - Walter's bike gear was in need of a machine wash. Thank you for your friendly hospitality and the free camping.