Entry 6 – 2026 – April – Plans disrupted by weather event. Albert Toglinini to Port Hedland, Western Australia[MR1]
We generally try to minimise/avoid unnecessary drama. Fun and good times are acceptable.
Our travels had been stalled by the recent Tropical Cyclone Narelle, inflicting damage to the region we were next booked to stay.
We spent a couple of nights parked up at the town of Tom Price. They had made available the drive-in picture theatre grounds as an emergency accommodation area for people effected by Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
It was nice to utilize the available resources of a reasonable sized town. We replenished the fridge and pantry. There was a take away meal. Our caravan water tanks were filled. We utilized the post office and Steve attended the local hospital for his next round of blood testing. There was a visit to the op shop to see if Mary could obtain a dress. She had neglected to pack any. Mary came out with zero. Steve came out with two shirts. A win for Steve.
It was a week since cyclone Narelle had passed through our next booked camp ground, nearby the town of Exmouth. The National Park authorities were still missing in action with any further information for the status of our next planned destination at Cape Range N.P. The N.P. web site was showing park closed and will be reassessed post weather event.
Easter was a few days away, including the start of school holidays, with everywhere booked out for this period.
To provide a distraction we decided to set camp up the road a bit at Hamersley Gorge. Three days prior we had been at the Karijini National Park visitor centre and were notified Hamersley Gorge was reopening after closure for maintenance. Hamersley Gorge had been on our list as a place we were wanting to visit. We decided to arrive on the day Hamersley Gorge was reopening. It was about a 70-kilometre drive with the last 40 kilometres along a dirt road.
We arrived at camp to see access to Hamersley Gorge was still closed, with an opening date in another four days. Grrr.
Thankfully the camp area setting dazzled all our feel-good neurotransmitters. Our first photograph showing our setting, taken from within our caravan. Though not all was perfect. When we stepped out of our nicely cooled tow tug the heat of the day felt quite debilitating. It was hot and the flies were obnoxious.
When we arrived, the large camping area was quite deserted. We drove about assessing many camp areas. There seemed to be too many options available for choice of that perfect setting for a camp location.
At one stage we spotted a crest which appeared to provide a wonderful elevated view of our surrounds. We decided it looked ok to drive up with the caravan in tow. With the tow tug in low range 4 WD we reached the top. The view on the other side was horrible, so out of place with the magnificent setting.
On seeing a mine site accommodation facility, we were quickly back down into the gulley.
We chose a spot with gorgeous surround viewing from every window of the caravan. Steve was up at first light on a walk about to capture our setting, prior the arrival of the heat. Mary does like her morning slumber time.
It was an arid location with many termite mounds. There were the magnificent spinifex grasses growing in the dry rocky terrain. There were a few spinifex pigeons fluttering about, seeking shelter under the clumps of spinifex grass.
We had managed to speak with someone from national parks at our planned next destination. We were advised not to cancel our bookings and they said there would be an official announcement shortly. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t provide any further information.
It was a frustrating period. We were booked to arrive at Cape Range N.P. the following day. It was just over a 670-kilometre drive from our current location. It was 12 days since the passing of Cyclone Narelle. There was yet to be an official statement/notification on the status of the Cape Range camping area, other than the national park web site showing it was closed.
There was the potential impact for thousands of other people. It was the start of the peak tourist season in the Exmouth region.
Exmouth council were releasing daily statements, showing the progress of the ongoing clean-up/repairs.
We thought about staying on at the Hamersley Gorge camp ground and considered some other options.
One of our (later) thought processes was for what had not been mentioned. We knew there had been some dead bird life and sea creatures found on the beaches. There had been no reference to any damage to camp grounds or infrastructure in the Cape Range N.P.
It was around mid-day on the Wednesday before Easter and we decided to start driving towards Cape Range N.P.
The red iron dust was sticking to everything including your vehicles. Vehicles used for road work maintenance only showed the colour of their environment. The red dust over our caravan and tow tug didn’t look bad from a distance. A close-up inspection showed dust caked all over. The below picture showcases the dust piling up on the caravan windows.
Our hands and clothing would become covered in red dirt if they came in contact with the caravan or tow tug. Heading back out with the dirt road ending, returning to paved bitumen, we decided to stop and provide the caravan and tow tug with a quick wash. Half way through washing, an iron ore laden train travelled by swirling up a fresh layer of dust. Grr.
After a brief stop at Tom Price for fuel and supplies, we were on our way towards Cape Range N.P.
We found ourselves checking our emails whenever there was phone reception. It was around 4.30 pm and we were looking for somewhere to stop for the night. The phone pinged indicating a message. It was an email from national parks notifying Cape Range National Park had sustained major damage and would remain closed for camping for the next 27 days.
The tow tug brakes were applied. We executed a U turn and around 50 kilometres back down the road we set camp at the small mining town of Paraburdoo.
As one of our previous Australian Prime Ministers had stated, “life wasn’t meant to be easy!”
On the positive. We had only driven about 240 kilometres for the day, when we executed a U turn. It was good to be provided with the information we had been seeking.
The sun had set by the time we arrived at the caravan park. Our brains were exhausted from all the various thought processes bouncing about. It was time to sleep. We now had lots of time on our hands to rethink our activities for the next month.
Cape Range N.P. had been at the top of our list for places to experience whilst in Western Australia. It had been a frustrating, time-consuming period just to obtain access. We had managed to obtain site booking after spotting various cancellations whilst trawling the national parks web site. We had purchased good quality snorkel and goggles to maximise our viewing of coral reefs and sea life, accessible from the shore line.
It was a disappointing outcome and time to move on.
Our bookings at Cape Range N.P. had been from the Thursday prior easter, 2/4/2026 to the 28/4/2026. Cyclone Narelle had erased our entire booking.
Paraburdoo caravan park had been primarily set up as accommodation for mine workers. There was a small section for caravans. The amenities were rather ordinary, expired past their use by date. The laundry had 10 washing machines and 10 dryers at no cost for use. It was good to return our floor mats to their original colours. The day time temperature was hovering around the 39 degrees and we utilized the mains power, running our air-conditioner 24/7. There was no complaining from us at $25 per night. The national parks were $20 a night with a long drop loo provided as amenities.
We spoke with another couple at the caravan park who were experiencing similar issues with disruption to their bookings, complements of Cyclone Narelle. They advised us to eat our evening meal at the mess hall where all the mine workers were fed. They had eaten there the last couple of days and had been impressed with the quality of the food. Even better the price was around half to normal costings.
We ate with this couple and the food was divine. There was quite a variety to choose from. Unfortunately, our taste buds got over excited and we both ate too much.
As a bonus there was a lot of good conversation. As it transpired, they had both worked in the hospitality industry and he was a retired chef. Mary advised Steve we were staying another night. It was a Friday and seafood night.
The mess hall was spotless and seemed to be able to cater for around 200 people. It was a quiet atmosphere where we enjoyed our table conversation without the need to raise our voices. Everyone took their dirty plates to the dishes window, leaving the table clean.
Speaking to one of the mine workers, revealed 900 people were employed at the mine. Most FIFO. We had seen Qantas jets flying in and out a couple of times each day.
There were a good IGA supermarket and other shops supporting the town.
It was another unplanned experience.
Our next stop up the road a bit was at Albert Toglonini Lookout.
Albert Toglonini would be up there as one of the most spectacular viewing, free camp locations in Australia. It delights all of ones feel good neurotransmitters.
We were in the Western Australia, “Pilbara Region.” The country side is dominated by mining activities. The roads are busy with large vehicles supporting the mining industry. From the heights of our Albert Toglonini camp site, we could see a constant flow of vehicles travelling through the gorge. The first picture shows what was once deemed a very large truck not that long ago. Now those trucks are dwarfed by heavy road trains. Of note the ore loaded road trains were 60 metres in length. They were a daunting experience when we were in need to pass one. Those going quicker, were an intimidating sight in the rear-view mirrors.
We had previously camped at Albert Toglonini in 2014. On departure day 2014 Mary left Steve at the lookout and had driven out, through the gorge for Steve to capture a photograph of our rig travelling through the gorge. At the time we hadn’t been aware Mary needed to drive around an additional 10 kilometres before she could safely turn around. Steve was left waiting for quite a time. Photo 1, taken in 2014. We decided to repeat the process for some updated 2026 pictures.
Continuing up the road we were still travelling through the Pilbara Region, nearby the spectacular scenery of Karijini N.P. The picturesque country side continued to tantalise our feel-good senses. Even the road side cutouts displayed many sediment layers of different colours.
Our next targeted location was at the township of Port Hedland. We set camp at the towns R.V. 72-hour free camp site. It was located close to the port facility where there are a regular number of ships entering and leaving each day. Our first visit to the port was interesting viewing. The first picture shows two ships being loaded with iron ore and on the right side we could see the new arrival being escorted into the harbour. Watching the ship entering the narrow passage into port was spectacular viewing.
From the towns lookout we counted around 18 ships anchored about 14 kilometres out to sea, waiting for their turn to enter the port.
Port Hedland primarily exports iron ore. Other products include, salt, lithium, manganese, copper, scrap metal, livestock and general cargo. Import product includes fuel, general cargo and ammonium nitrate.
On the outskirts of Port Hedland, you could see the stock pile of salt harvested from the nearby salt water drying pans. There was an allocated viewing point of the salt works. From this advantage point in the opposite direction, you can see the outline of the ship docking area.
One ship load of salt is exported each week. Clean white coarse salt crystals are the key ingredient to make chlorine, caustic soda and soda ash. These chemicals are used in the making of plastics, glass, detergents, textiles, paper, food products and road de-icing.
Port Hedland was the 9th largest port in the world for annual tonnage exported. It is the world’s largest iron ore port.
One morning we participated in a harbour cruise. It was conducted by the Port Hedland Seafarers Centre. It is run by the Anglican Church and is primarily set up to boost the welfare of the ship’s crews. There are 29 Seafarers Centres around Australia and about 300 worldwide.
There was an extremely interesting information session about the Port Hedland port, followed up with a boat cruise around the port.
Most ships arriving at Port Hedland are called Cape Class ships. They are 345 metres long and 60 metres wide. At one stage of our harbour cruise, we parked up against one of the ore transport ships to provide significance of the ships size.
The port was busy with ship movement. It was a slick operation. When an ore loaded ship was escorted out of its parking bay, another empty ship was pushed into the vacated parking bay almost simultaneously.
An empty ship could be loaded with ore in around 24-36 hours. The day of our first harbour viewing we could see two ships being loaded, sitting high in the water. We were back at the harbour 22 hours later and saw one of these ships seemed to be fully loaded and the iron ore loading machinery had been moved away.
Some interesting statistics. BHP trains are around 2 ½ kilometres in length, = 270 ore cars. Each ore car carries 134 tonnes = 36,000 tonnes. There are 24 trains each day. It takes 5-6 trains to fill one ship. That equates to around $90 million US dollars per day. Australian dollars $
BHP operate only 8 of the 19 berths at Port Hedland.
The other berths supplies come via train or road train transport.
Port Hedland is not a quiet place. All day and all night we could hear a hum from the port activities. And the trains were more noticeable at night with noise from the clunking of carriages and constant honking of the train horns.
After three nights we were ready to move on. Even though there was more to explore.
