SAND ON FIRE SANDFIRE ROADHOUSE Australia Big Righthand Turn Day 11
DAY 11
The sand being so hot it appeared to be on fire.
-Ludwig Leichhardt (explorer)
1845 diary entry
Sandfire Roadhouse Western Australia
The place is in effect just a roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia between Port Hedland and Broome. On the western edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Sandfire is one of three fuel stations (the others being Pardoo closed 2023, and Roebuck outside of Broome) in the six hundred and ten km between the two towns. No general access to Le Grange. Permit only.
Sandfire is the only practical fuel stop between Port Hedland and Broome. Hot and dusty. Caravan sites, fast food restaurant and bar. 290 km north of Port Hedland. 315 km south of Broome. Opened in 1970. The first fuel payment was made with a carton of beer. In 1981 the road was sealed. Resident peacocks wander near the roadhouse. The name Sandfire apparently comes from a diary entry of the explorer Ludwig Leichardt (1813-1848). 'The sand being so hot it appeared to be on fire'.
The roadhouse was damaged by fire in 2007 and 2009 and was rebuilt. Sandfire Roadhouse is the home of the hitchiking Chook Salt'n'Pepper as seen on television.
Pardoo Roadhouse
Closed in 2023 (reopened 2024) sustained $4 million damage from Cyclone Lisa. No fuel or food available. Roebuck Plains Roadhouse is 35 km from Broome. Hence, Sandfire is the only fuel stop in a practical sense for the large distance between the two towns of Port Hedland and Broome if Pardoo is closed.
Traveldriven
DRIVE PORT HEDLAND - PARDOO
- SANDFIRE ROADHOUSE
