Depressing Dampier

After an early morning walk along the beaches of Dampier, I cannot help but think of the depressing conversation being held by four guys on a table near to us yesterday. There is basically nothing here, the sign may say Town Center but could easily say "Tesco Express" because that's all that is there. The only reason to come here is sleep after a day's work at either the Salt Mine, The Iron Ore works, The Port or the Liquid Gas Plant, which apparently you can see the lights from space at night........
Last night we watched the DVD 'Red Dog' which according to the locals made this Town famous, in it are scenes that could be recorded exactly the same today, the town itself has simply stood still in the last 25 years........
That may explain why some two hours later we are standing in the Deep Gorge, in the Murujuga National Park on the Burrup Peninsula looking at Rock art that is believed to be 30,000 years old.
Rock art being different from Aboriginal painting as it is made by grinding rubbing and scraping rocks together. It takes us some time to recognise what is what but eventually we can make out some rocks with what appears to be some sort of a drawing on, albeit by a child.......... What also surprises us is the way in which the kangaroos can camouflage themselves so easily on these rocks and their agility when bounding/climbing over them. We then find one with his rear end stuck up in the air and nose buried down between a group of rocks on the ground, unfortunately our agility and camouflage skills are some what lacking and we disturb him, when we look we find a hole about 4 inches wide 8 inches deep with running water at the bottom, no other signs of a stream/creek/river whatsoever......
No holding us back now, we are off to the Salt mine look out, 9 million tones of Salt are produced here annually from the sea, a lot of which goes to melt the snow on European roads and is made into chlorine for swimming pool treatments........ However the making of so much salt, take it from me is not a pretty sight.......
Hearsons Cove is possibly stunning when the tide is in but when it's out its another pretty beach surrounding mud flats.......
The Natural Gas plant is huge and a scar on the environment as is the Port with all roads leading into closed to the public, so that's it we have been all over and seen all that is advertised in this areas publicity, to say tomorrow we will be glad to be making our way from the North Coast to the West Coast is an understatement, as we possibly feel the same way about the area as did those British Nuclear Scientists in 1952 when they set off and tested Britain's first Nuclear Bomb 120 miles SW of here.......
Out for dinner to the Sailing Club, I shower, shave, put on dark blue shorts with a white 'Boss' polo shirt and clean my deck shoes so as to look the part, but we can only order something to eat without alcohol as we are not members, WHAT! forget it, and we go to the Bistro in the local Hotel, where we are the only customers but meet a lady from Ireland working there, she sums Dampier up as, "You only come here for the money, when you've got it, then you get out" "Most of the people in the bar tonight are 'FIFO's' (Fly ins, Flys out!)"