Q: My children are aged 10 & 13 and I'm wondering if there is an essential list of things to do & see & prepare for when visiting the Pilbara region in WA? We will have a car and plan to spend about ten days.
A: Be aware that the distances are huge between major centres in the Pilbara, and more so when travelling from Perth. Expect Perth to say Karratha to take about 2 days driving. Make plenty of use of the roadhouses along the way for toilet breaks etc. For the long hours on the road, get the kids something to do in the car too - dvd players, handheld games whatever. They will still see the wildlife as you pass by. 2 days in a car will drive them stir crazy otherwise. Make sure your car is in good order, and mechanically sound before you go. Remember the Pilbara is about 1600 kms from the nearest capital city. Best time to travel is in the middle of the year - winter time in fact. November to about March is either very very hot (35C and higher) or subject to the occasional cyclone passing by. Things to see in the Pilbara: Dampier Archipelago The Burrup peninsula has the worlds largest and oldest collection of indigenous aboriginal Rock Art. While there you can also check out the Woodside visitors centre and see how natural gas is collected and refined. Pilbara Iron also does tours of it's iron ore port facilities at the Port of Dampier. Keep an eye out for the 200 carriage long ore trains as you enter the town. Also check out the statue at the entrance to town there - the one of "Red Dog". Your kids will love the story of how travelled the state. You can get a book on it from the Visitors information centre as you come through Karratha. You can also take a boat ride out to some of the islands in the Dampier Archipelago. Keep an eye out for dolphins and sea turtles that pass you by. At certain times of the year you might see the occasional whale too. Cossack & Point Sampson Cossack was the first port in the northwest, and is a 45min drive from Karratha. It is an historic town dating from the 1800s which you can wander around at will. Some of the buildings have been restored such as the woolstores, courthouse, post office and police cells. The kids can go swimming at settlers beach here, and you can check out the lookout nearby too. Point Sampson has THE BEST sea food probably anywhere right there on the beach front. They source directly from the fishing marina located right near town. People travel up to an hour from other towns in the area just for its great dining. Karijini (Hammersley Range) National Park. You can take an organised off road tour (they have vehicles specially designed for this) of the Karijini Gorges - some of these are very spectacular, and each has colours and a whole character of its own. There are several to choose from. Note: these tours can take a few days, but would certainly be worth it). See the links below for other ideas of what you can do: