June 18th: Left Karratha for Onslow, along the north western highway-gradually less of the dark red hills and more just spinifex with low bushes.along the way were many many dark red termite mounds with tile topknots on top!  It took us 4 hours to get to Onslow. There are 2 main industries here- The Onslow Salt Pty Ltd ( ultimate owner is Japanese company Mitsui) and the Wheatstone LNG plant at Ashburton Port (majority owned by American company Chevron). You can’t get close to either of the plants as a member of the public. 

We then went for a walk along the Ian Donald Blair boardwalk with info about Onslow along its kilometre long track. Apparently there are cyclones every couple of years since records started being kept in 1910. In the cyclone’s of 1961 and 1963 the jetty was destroyed and economic changes which meant that Onslow was no longer a viable Port and that it wasn’t worth rebuilding the jetty.

I cooked mushroom risotto for dinner with a salad preceded by a Matso’s ginger beer.

Salt piles surrounded by 90 square km of salt pans
Sunset beach
Wheatstone LNG plant
Salt factory jetty
Salt jetty with bulk salt carrier being loaded
















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