Day 50, 20 August 2009, Karratha

This morning we visited the giant gas plant on Burrup Peninsula.

The visitors' centre is really impressive and has things like time lapse footage of the construction of the original plant. ( I looked for Keith but couldn't spot him.)

It was a massive undertaking and they're now building the eighth stage. Interesting to see the facility that will supply the $A50 billion worth of gas required to meet the recent contract with China.

We joked with the guide (who was from Berwick) that we've lived for 30+ years near the Longford gas plant, which we've never visited, but drove 10,000 km. to visit the one in Karratha.

Just outside the plant is an area called Hearson's Cove, a site known for Aboriginal rock engravings. It turns out it was the site of the original worker's camp, but has been completely restored back to natural environment.

Beach has shells instead of sand, but signs warn that crocodiles have been visiting recently so no-one was in the water. We followed Hearson's Cove with a visit and drive around Dampier, but were discouraged when we stopped for lunch.

The order before us came to $150, as it was lunch hour at the gas plant. We decided not to wait and returned to the van.

The van site had a concrete pad, which is nice as it insures the van is nice and level. As Karratha is prone to cyclones, there are places sunk in the concrete where you can chain your caravan down. (Being in a caravan during a cyclone is an adventure I'd like to miss out on, even without neighbouring crocodiles.)

Unfortunately, one of the tie down points was directly under the door of the caravan, hidden by a mat. Pam stepped down on the edge of the tie-down and rolled her ankle in ways it's not meant to move.

Fortunately, we were only about a kilometer from the hospital, so we got Pam into the backseat and headed off to casualty.

The hospital itself is built with huge earthen bunkers around it for cyclone protection. Pam was seen to immediately and received excellent care. We were even given free crutches which we intend to drop off at some other hospital where Pam no longer requires them.

Pam has to take it easy for a while, and for an active person like her, that's not going to be easy.