Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cooke Point Caravan Park
( 08-9173 1271;
www.aspenparks.com.au
; cnr Athol & Taylor Sts; powered sites $52, d without bathroom $150,
unit d from $320; )
You might be able to snag a dusty van or tent site here, but the
other options are usually full. There's a nice view over the mangroves and the amenities
are well maintained.
CARAVAN PARK
$$
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
MARBLE BAR
Marble Bar, population 196, and a long way off everybody's beaten track, has burnt itself into the Australian
psyche as the country's hottest town, when back in 1921 the mercury didn't dip below 37.8°C (100°F) for 161
consecutive days. The town is (mistakenly) named after a bar of jasper beside a pool on the Coongan River, 5km
southwest.
Most days there's not much to do. You can pore over the minerals at the
Comet Gold Mine
( 08-9176
1015; Hillside Rd; admission $3; 9am-4pm) , 8km out of town on the Hillside Rd, or you can prop at the bar
and have a yarn with Foxie at the
Iron Clad Hotel
( 08-9176 1066; 15 Francis St; d $120) . This classic out-
back pub offers comfy motel rooms, decent meals and a welcome to budget travellers.
But come the first weekend in July, the town swells to 10 times its normal size for a weekend of drinking,
gambling, fashion crime, country music, nudie runs and horse racing known as the Marble Bar Cup. The
caravan
park
( 08-9176 1569; 64 Contest St) overflows and the Iron Clad is besieged as punters from far and wide
come for a bit of an outback knees-up.
The
shire office
( 08-9176 1008) runs a weekly bus service to Port Hedland and Newman (via Nullagine)
and provides tourist information. If you're heading south, the easiest route back to bitumen is the lonely but beau-
tiful Hillside Rd.
Esplanade Hotel
( 08-9173 9700;
www.theesplanadeporthedland.com.au
; 2-4 Anderson St; d Fri-Sun from $295, Mon-Thu from
495; )
Previously one of the roughest pubs in Port Hedland, the 'Nard' is now an
exclusive 4.5-star resort with fully clothed staff, sumptuous though hideously expensive
doubles, à la carte dining ($24 to $48; from 6pm) and popular all-you-can-eat buffets
($42).
RESORT
$$$
5
Eating & Drinking
o
Silver Star
( 0411 143 663; Edgar St; breakfast $12-18, lunch $18-24; 8am-2pm daily, tapas from 6pm Fri & Sat)
Poss-
ibly the coolest cafe in the Pilbara, this 1930s American Silver Star railcar serves up de-
CAFE
$$
