Day 52 – Dampier and surrounds

2 August 2019

Not the best nights sleep last night with the noises of industry going all night. Oh well. We did expect that.

We started the day heading a bit further along the Burrup Peninsula to the impressive North-west Shelf visitor centre. The infrastructure for this project is immense, and that is just the onshore component. The visitors centre was very informative, although, similar to our tours of the iron ore mining and shipping sites, it left me concerned and sad at the rate we are consuming resources that have taken thousands of millions of years to form. The offshore oil and gas industry is evidence that there are no boundaries that cannot be overcome in our pursuit for resources.

We had packed the fishing rods, so we headed an hour up the road to Point Samson. I had researched the time and place where the fish were supposed to be biting. We didn’t get a bite though. Perhaps we were using the wrong gear. Regardless, it was a bit of fun flicking lures around the mangroves.

We had a quick look around Point Samson, and then headed to Cossack – an old ghost tour in which a number of the buildings have been beautifully restored. There was an art exhibition on also which we all enjoyed.

Back to Karratha to stock up for the next week as we head down the coast. Then it was back to camp for the evening.

A Sturt Desert Pea – they grow prolifically up here. I was pretty excited when I saw my first plant.

One of the restored buildings in Cossack.