Port Hedland

Port Hedland is not exactly what we would call a beautiful place to be. But it is a very interesting one. It's where you can see the longest trains, the biggest machines, the longest road trains and so on. Everything is just a little bit bigger than normal. Visit BHP Iron or check what ships are currently in Port on the Port Authority Webpage.
Port Hedland is the capital of the Pilbara Region, a very colorful, hot area. If you are on 4WD this is the time to use it for a great trip.

The region was hit by the biggest Tropical Cyclone ever seen in Australia in December 99. Here are 2 satelite pictures. Small resolution (50K) and High resolution (310K). The destruction was much less than expected, as the cyclone passed exactly between Port Hedland and Karratha.