Silver Schoolies No More - Chapter 13 - Port Hedland Day 2

We have issues. There are power issues with the van. The TV is not working properly, voltages are all over the place and we have been having troubles with water consumption.

Over the past few days we have been conversing with Andy from Hedland Automotive, apparently the only business in the Pilbara not with a three week waiting list. The van has been as sparsely set up as possible making the “escape” to the auto electrician as easy as possible. The distance from the park is only a couple of kilometres and we are soon there.

Andy, the typical small business person, is a jack of all trades. Presently he is at the reception of his shop. He is dealing with customers as I walk in. They are really happy he has given them free advice and sent them on their way, or they are as far as the advice goes but not the consequence which requires a genuine Toyota part which can only be accessed by the dealer network.

As far as our predicament is concerned Andy informs us the staff member he has logged on for the service has rung in sick. Its not a worry for us, he will be putting one of the other staff on it. He is presently finishing up on another job and we will be with us shortly.

I retire to the van and wait. Soon enough Alex comes across the road to the van. Nervously stuttering he introduces himself to us and we run him through the symptoms. He listens intently then looks to check the read outs of the power units. Everything seems fine, even after the experiences of flateening everything at Mary Kathleen a few months earlier.

Alex starts working backwards along the lines. Opening the Redarc cupboard, the cause of most of the problems is there in front of us. Months of driving has rattled the crews securing the Redarc system which then dislodged the power cord. Nothing was working through the system properly.. Reconnection and re-securing in order, perhaps the issues inside the van may well have been sorted.

Next on the list is the annoying brake alarm which intermittently likes to go off. For some time it had not, seemingly fixed with boiling water and a bit of a clean of the Red Anderson plug but in the last few days has been in full voice, except for today of course. Alex pulls the plugs apart and inspects them. He cannot see anything out of the ordinary but suggests soldering rather than just screwing in the end points to stop any form of corrosion getting in. Makes sense and I concur.

This done we talk about fitting an extra Blue Anderson plug to allow for direct solar panel assistance in charging the batteries, but due to the staff shortage and the time it would take we allow the business to go on without more attention to us. As no parts (other than a couple of small screws) were used, he charges us only a modest amount and we are soon on our way.

During the time at the auto electricians I had a call from a friend of mine seeking some advice about a business offer. A customer wants to envelope his business into a public listing offer. I remind him of the adage “money talks, bullshit walks” and the history he has had with previous offers of this type. My friend is a doyen in his industry and his coat tails could potentially be long but his representation has been injured in the past  by claims made within the scope of his area of genius.

Back at the park, our neighbours have decided to bug out early. They drop by to say goodbye and head off towards Exmouth. The TV is still not working and we have been looking at options. We have access to the HDMI options and the DVD player inputs perfectly into the TV. 

I text a couple of fellow nomads looking for ideas. First to return the call is Silver Leader. His suggestion is to do what the auto electrician effectively did with the internal power problem, trace back along the antennae line. 

Above the TV are the inputs for the power to the TV, the inputs from the ship to shore internet we had installed as well as the disconnected (just like the Redarc) TV antennae. Again vibration must have forced a dislodgement to occur.

Re-screwing it into place and running the auto channel scan and we soon have some 27 channels, rather than the black screen we have had for some time.

Its lunch time, I break out a couple of frozen pies and throw them in the microwave. They are quickly demolished and Robyn quickly returns to her work. The television has my attention for the afternoon, being somewhat fatigued from a large job I dealt with over the weekend.

In time we will go out and wander. 

When we do, we head to a beach we are yet view to the north of town. On the way I want to check out a local butcher who has advertised on the map we are using. I want to see if they have reasonably priced cryovaced bulk fillets. They don’t, but we do grab some sausages and a few other special dinner options for ‘ron. 

Its not so much a beach as a rocky knob, but there is a nice kids park and a look out. We do the obligatory walk and take photos of the vista.

Back in the Cruiser we head along the water line past the new marina development and through town. Its just after the normal close of business and the streets are all but deserted. The streets are somewhat eerily empty, allowing us to meander rather than drive through town.

I am on a mission, to get certain shots of the “big boys toys” against the backdrop of the setting sun. We are lucky enough to capture one of the massive ore trains coming past a large salt repository. The shots and videos, both panoramic and normal capture the enormity of the operation.

This train, with two huge diesel locomotives at the front and two more midway along its breadth measures in excess of 2 kilometres and each truck carries 138 tonnes of ore. And, this is only one of many that journey to and from the port every day. On top of that, those businesses without railheads have road trains coming in and out of town from mines from here to Marble Bar.

Looking to capture just that shot we head south in an attempt to set the large “toys” between us and the sun. 

Another train, only half the size of the first one is along side. I get past it enough to capture it coming towards us and then as it passes with the sun breaking between the carriages. Conversely the other side of the road at this point give us the pictures I really want. Huge mounds of iron ore with large machines bucketing ore to conveyor belts to waiting ships. 

Just a little further back along the road the view is of the ships which look like they are sitting in a paddock just beyond the fence. I get the shots I want of  the sun trickling through the superstructure of some massive machinery and we head back to the van for dinner.