"Dampier, Western Australia" Dampier by 1+1

Dampier Travel Guide: 11 reviews and 20 photos

Dampier is a coastal West Australian town situated just over 1500 kms north of Perth. The town is the port base for the mining industry of the Pilbara Region and the North-West Shelf oil and gas fields. Constructed in 1965 it is typically a company town which finally outgrew its limits. As a consequence the nearby town of Karratha was constructed which has now become the more populated and major centre of the region.

The area is arid which makes for virtually constant fine weather, even if very hot at times. Hence the development of salt (NaCl) drying facilities at Dampier which are the largest salt producers in Australia. The salt drying ponds can be seen beside the road driving to the town. Further north is the huge North West Shelf Gas Project of Woodside Petroleum. Gas drilled about 130 kms offshore is piped to the onshore processing facility from where it is piped to the southern part of Western Australia and also shipped to Japan.

Dampier is also at the base of the Burrup Peninsula, a rocky prominence into the Indian Ocean. The peninsula itself was an island isolated by a mangrove creek and salt flats, but in recent times was joined by a causeway to the mainland by one of the mining companies. Around the peninsula lie the many islands of the Dampier Archipelago. These are popular for fishing and diving, being clear tropical waters with coral reefs. The peninsula and the islands have many thousands of Aboriginal rock engravings, one of the great concentrations of ancient lithic art in the world.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Spectacular colourful scenery

Intro Updated Jan 4, 2004
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Reviews (3)

North West Shelf Gas Project Things to Do (2)

Gas piped in from about 130 kms offshore is processed here and stored before being piped over 1400 kms south and also... more travel advice

Burrup Peninsula Things to Do (2)

In actual fact Dampier is on the Burrup Peninsula but it's further up the other end that it's at its most spectacular.... more travel advice

Campground in Karratha Hotels (1)

The campground was quite reasonable and the amenities good, but the attitude and helpfulness of the staff left a lot to... more travel advice

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Travelogues (1)

Written Jan 4, 2004

6 photos

Burrup Peninsula

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Comments (4)

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SLLiew Jan 24, 2010 at 9:40 AM

red, arid, desert :)
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Myndo May 22, 2004 at 4:57 AM

Dampier and Karratha. Dry, stony and wild. Love your Kangaroo pictures! - How did you get to catch them jumping?
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Confucius Feb 1, 2004 at 10:59 PM

The starting center for my NBA fantasy basketball team is Erick Dampier. This place in Australia looks like it is well off the beaten path. The presence of aboriginal art is a bonus. "Zhong Guo" is 'Middle Kingdom' in Chinese.
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craic Feb 1, 2004 at 4:31 AM

Must see. (In spite of the grumpy people. Grumpier Dampier LOL)