Weipa

The road between Laura and Weipa, all dirt, rock, sand and corrugations wasnt as bad as we thought it might be.    We were happy enough to sit on around the 80-95kmh mark, but we were very happy to get to Weipa and try and escape the dust.  Our campspot was right on the waterfront of Albatross Bay.   Lovely spot, once again a tempting spot for swimming but croc warning signs in place and a local who had been at the pub told us there was definitely a resident croc in the waters near the pub.   Folk lore has it that one of the patrons decided to walk home along the beach and never made it.   Could be an urban myth .

Weipa is the site of the worlds largest bauxite mine (the main component for the manufacture of aluminium)  The town has a population of around 3,500.  Had a look at Lorim Point where you can view the loading operations and storage areas of the bauxite.  Its not an attractive town, mostly its all about mining. You can do a mine tour, but we went keen.    Had done enough of them.   We saw a couple of very pretty lakes, a few modern buildings, but the rest was uninspiring.    People seem to come here for the same reason as us, just to see it.  To break their journey.  Or to fish.   The sunsets are legendary but we were busy having a happy hour with some Tasmanians and missed it.    We had a great nights sleep, clean and fresh.  What a difference a hot shower can make to your attitude.    Once again, we were awake so early it wasnt funny.   Decided to forgo breakfast and just hit the road and have something at one of the roadhouses as we had to stop for fuel anyway.    Next stop was Seisa, our camp spot for the next 4 nights.   Our destination to the TIP.