We pass the salt works with large evaporative ponds on the way out of Port Hedland.

Marble Bar is about 200km from Port Hedland inland into the northern Pilbara. We were told it would be hot, no ifs or buts.

But along the Great Northern Highway there were buttes. Buttes with Turtle Head near Marble Bar turnoff. Turtle is lamenting the fact that his biography only came out in hardback.

Turtle Head from the northern side.

Calandrinias lined the road near the Port Hedland – Marble Bar turnoff.

North Pole locality (yes – its real name – maybe Santa had a shack here once). Rocks in this area are dated to 3.5 billion years ago and contain fossilised stromatolites – the oldest known lifeforms on Earth.  

More roadside plants

We pass a low range of more red rocks but these are dark igneous boulders with iron content that weathers to the red colour.

We enter more range country 40km to Marble Bar

Sculptures on the way into town.

Sturts Desert Pea welcoming us to Marble Bar

Marble Bar lays claim to be the hottest town in Australia. Marble Bar has a hot desert climate with sweltering summers and warm winters. The town set a world record of most consecutive days of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or above, during a period of 160 days from October 1923 to April 1924. During December and January, temperatures in excess of 45 °C are common, and the average maximum temperature exceeds normal human body temperature for six months each year.

Ironclad Hotel from the 1890s

Government Offices 1895

Marble Bar Thermometer – We had hoped to the see Big Thermometer at Marble Bar; reputedly the biggest thermometer in Australia. It wasn’t well and was off for repairs as the heat got to it. I asked a local if it will be repaired satisfactorily. He told me, “Well, to a certain degree.”

Even the galahs were hot – it was about 33 degrees at the time (and its only the end of July in winter).

A short drive from town leads to the actual marble bar across the river – only it isn’t actually marble but jasper, a red coloured chert of microcrystalline quartz.

The colour is much more vivid when the rock is wet.

Chinaman’s Pool

Little corellas at Chinaman’s Pool. One has been dust bathing in the red earth.

Comet Mine stack 75m high. Gold including some huge nuggets were mined in the area.

Marble Bar Jasper deposit from Flying Fox Lookout

Vegetation at Flying Fox Lookout

Dark morph form of the Brown falcon

We interrupted another Wedge-tailed eagle’s roadkill meal. In the absence of trees, it flew a short way to this termite mound.

Spinifex-clothed peak from Des Streckfuss Rest Area

Turtle Head came into view which meant we were nearly back on the Great Northern Highway.

Koombana Hill on the beach at Port Hedland

Port Hedland sunset