Port Headland was our next stop after leaving the Marble Bar area and marked the beginning of the next major leg of the trip south to Carnarvon via Karratha, Roebourne and Wickham, a distance of around 900 kms.
Marble Bar and Port Headland also is where we cross from the Kimberley s into the vast Pilbara region of WA . It is said that the name Pilbara "derives from the Aboriginal word bilybara, meaning 'dry' in the Nyamal and Banyjima languages.Another claim is that the region takes it's name from pilbarra, an Aboriginal word for the mullet (fish)'. The Ngarluma people are the original inhabitants of the Pilbara coastal areas and archaeological studies have revealed that there has been continuous occupation of the region for more than 40,000 years.
I don't have too much to say about Port Headland, a sprawling iron ore and salt mining town of around 18,000 people, with all the usual characteristics of mining areas. Here, most of the vehicles are mine owned or are massive Road Trains with their four trailers laden with Iron ore. it is an expensive place to live too with a rent for a modest private three bedroom house starting at $1500 per week! Some may disagree but I was glad to see the road out of Port Headland.
Venturing further south although it was only about 300 kms, we took about 2 weeks to reach Karratha, staying at Balla Balla Inlet free camp via Whim Creek (10 days), Sherlock River Bridge campsite (2 nights) and Cleaverville Beach (4 nights).
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