The Pilbara region, one of the hottest parts of the Australian continent, extends from Exmouth Gulf in the southwest to the barrier formed by the Great Sandy Desert, reaching from Eighty Mile Beach on the north coast into the Northern Territory. This area has the greatest variety of scenery in Western Australia, with gently undulating plains covered with spinifex grass and much eroded rump mountains. The deep gorges with their oases of green, rock pools and waterfalls were carved out over millions of years by rivers which have long since disappeared. The contrasts between the living green of the vegetation, the water and the bare tabular hills, their colors varying according to the minerals in the rock (iron oxides, copper, asbestos), in the hot, arid climate form the attractions of the two magnificent national parks in the Pilbara region (Hamersley Range National Park, reached from Wittenoom, and Millstream-Chichester National Park, reached from Roebourne).

The Pilbara is an area extending from the Northern Territory border in the east to the coast in the west, from the northern edge of the Great Sandy Desert and south to the Tropic of Capricorn.

A vast area of very inhospitable country where the only development of any note is along the coastal fringe.

The development in the area exists mostly to service the iron ore mines of the Hammersley Range and the areas south of Port Hedland and Dampier. Many of the coastal areas offer world class fishing.

Self drive travellers in this region MUST ensure they are fully equipped for any emergency and that they have all necessary permits and approvals for the areas to be visited. Expect anything off the main highway to be unsealed.

The bulk of this region is made up of the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts and is one of the hottest areas on earth.


Despite the extremely harsh environment there is surprising beauty here. Sundown across the Pilbara is when the red ridges turn soft purple and the white gums along the gullies and the spinifex clumps seem to glow in the fading light.

Western Australia has a unique colonial past all of its own and there’s no better place to explore this than at Roebourne and Cossack or marvel at Mother Nature during the winter months (March to October) as the phenomenon known as  the Stairway to the Moon occurs on full moon dates along the Pilbara coast.

Mining is one of the main industries in Western Australia and nowhere is it more apparent than when visiting Port Hedland, considered the hub of the engine room of Australia.

September to April sees the arrival of the turtle nesting season. Watch female turtles drag themselves up the beach to lay their eggs and 'goo' as baby turtles scramble from their nest to the ocean.