Approaching Port Hedland from the highway is like entering a scene of a Sci-Fi movie! Huge cranes and conveyor belts stretch there rusty arms out into the blue sky. Two big mounts of mined salt with salt crusted water basins on either side stand in contrast to the otherwise red and dusty surrounds. Although the town is built along the water front there is no breeze and the heat is stifling. Around the town is nothing but desert.
Yet people who have moved here for work and the promise of good money seem to get quickly attached to this place. I think it is the same phenomena we experienced years ago in Tennant Creek. These small isolated communities seem to bind people closer together in defiance of the harshness of landscape and climate. Our caravan park accommodated many of the mine workers. Metal cyclone tie-downs were sunk into each sites concrete slab, and we remembered that not so long ago cyclone Veronica hit here.
Port Hedland has the busiest harbour of Australia, with a constant line-up of 10-12 huge ships anchoring in front of the entrance, waiting to get access. In the harbour itself there are the privately owned docks of BHP, Fortescue Metal and Gina Rinharts Royal Hill. The waiting ships can be out there for days, until a pilot is helicoptered in to guide them into the shallow harbour with the actual placing and mooring being conducted by 4 tug boats per ship. It’s amazing to watch the giants being turned and manoeuvred by these powerful tugs. The loading and inspection of the ships is then undertaken with a 36 turn-around per boat. Each ship takes 170 000-260 000 tonnes of iron ore. That contains enough iron to built 3-6 harbour bridges! When we went on a tour with the Port Hedland Seafarers Centre, a few laden ships left the harbour all at once. That is because they can only move out an hour of either side of high tide when the water is deep enough.
The Seafarers Centre is an amazing world-wide organisation run by the anglican church. It might be called Maritime Mission or else in other countries. Their mission is to look after the seafarers irrespective of race or religion. The tender we were on is being used to pick up workers, who have their captains permission, and give these men a break from their often 6-12 months non-stop onboard. They then spend a few hours on land in the centre where they can relax, receive pastoral care, can skype with their families at home. They are also taken to the local shopping centre for some purchases. 
We picked up about 8 men, mainly engine workers from Sri Lanka, the Phillipines or China. They eagerly waited at the railings. A second tour later returns them to their ships. If any man needs medical attention, this is also organised by the centre, although more commonly they need emotional and spiritual support for living such an isolated existence.
Our arrival in Port Hedland was perfectly timed to coincide with the full moon, a time when the so-called “Staircase to the Moon” appears. As the moon rises at the horizon the moon light reflects over the exposed tidal flats. 
We spent another perfect evening at the Port Hedland yacht club watching the sun set and sipping a pink gin. We had an early Birthday dinner for Austin, which was delicious, and as an extra, bonus watched the Manly boys beat the Sharks in the Quarter Final.
The next morning we headed off towards Broome and decided to break up the journey with a night stop at Eighty Mile Beach. And wow! Were we surprised when we got there. Turning into the 9 km dirt track we already felt a nice cool breeze, which continued to blow, so that the 31 degrees temperature felt more like a perfect 28!
The whole place was like an oasis, with palm trees, frangipanis, grassed areas and plenty of birdlife.
Our next door neighbour had adopted some butcher birds and in the trees above where whistling bower birds and miners.
On the beautiful beach of white sand and shells red necked stints, sandpipers, patricoles and masked lapwings found plenty of nourishment. The tides are so big here, about 10-11 m, that at low tide the water retracts for at least a kilometre. On high tide lots of fishermen are lined up along the waters edge. 
Although the moon here rises overland, the beautiful sunset creates a similar effect of reflection. We loved it so much here that we decided to stay for another day, and probably would have stayed longer if we weren’t worried about the increasing temperatures and the waste distance yet to cross on our way back to the east coast.