Things to do in Port Hedland, Western Australia [Your insider guide]

The best things to do in Port Hedland, Western Australia, include watching the Staircase to the Moon from the Cooke Point Lookout and harbour tours. Also worth visiting are the giant salt mountains.

Port Hedland in Western Australia is very much an industrial outpost. It’s where the mining riches of the Pilbara get shipped from, and tourists come a distant second to the ships and ore trains.

Port Hedland is, however, the second biggest town in the Pilbara Region. And for those doing a Perth to Broome road trip up the west coast of Australia, it is a somewhat inevitable staging post.

Things to do in Port Hedland, WA: Industrial tours

The best things to do in Port Hedland are a series of tours, many of which take a look at the town’s industries. Pilbara Tours runs a salt industry tour that visits Dampier Salt. Here, ocean water is converted into pure salt. Guides tell visitors how it’s done, and there are some great photo opportunities by the giant salt stacks.

Pilbara Tours also runs twilight port tours, which look at the world’s largest bulk loading port. This includes the chance to watch the sun set over the ocean, but it’s mainly about watching the big ships and learning about the gigantic logistical operation.

Things to do in Port Hedland, WA: Fishing tours

The third tour offered by Pilbara Tours in Port Hedland is the Big Fish tour. This is essentially a fishing trip to an otherwise inaccessible wetland, in search of barramundi, golden trevally and Rankin cod.

The Port Hedland Seafarers Centre also runs a couple of tours. The first is a harbour tour, which shows off how the harbour works. The second visits the enormous Fortescue port facility, where unfathomable amounts of iron ore are loaded onto ships.

What to do in Port Hedland, WA: Street art and Dalgety House Museum

If you’d prefer to explore under your own steam, you can. Things to do in Port Hedland include wandering around the surprisingly prolific street art in the west end of the town.

The volunteer-run Dalgety House Museum looks at regional history. Meanwhile, the Don Rhodes Mining Museum Park is an open air museum. It features lots of old mining machinery and railway rolling stock.

Port Hedland attractions: Cemetery Beach and Pretty Pool Park

For beach time, Cemetery Beach is the most convenient option. There are toilets and a children’s playground in the Cemetery Beach Park behind the beach. Animal-lovers should also note that this is a popular turtle nesting site between November and February. The public can watch the turtles nesting as long as they don’t disturb them.

For a swim, however, Pretty Pool Park is a better bet. Parklands surround this natural saltwater pool.

Staircase to the Moon in Port Hedland

Between March and October, top of the list of things to do in Port Hedland is watching the Staircase to the Moon. This natural phenomenon occurs at full moon, when light shines on the water in the substantial tidal flats. It looks like a staircase gradually climbing towards the moon over the Indian Ocean. The best spot in Port Hedland to see the Staircase to the Moon is the Cooke Point Lookout.