1. Get Evicted From Evos
While you are here, why not do as the Romans do and hit the town! Join the many hi-vis laden residents for a tipple and end your night the only way a Pilbarian should: Face down in your own sick at the front car park of Evolutions Lounge Bar, the cities one and only nightclub.
The venue is replete with a simple bar, too small of a dancefloor and an outdoor area that makes you feel as if you are in the yard in cell block A.
2. See the Burrup Rock Art Before It Is Destroyed For Profit
Feast your eyes on the breathtaking spectacle that is the petroglyphs on the Burrup Peninsula. The Burrup Peninsula is thought to house the largest concentration of petroglyphs (rock engravings) in the world, estimated at about 40,000 years old.
Best to do it as soon as possible though, as a six billion dollar Urea plant, the largest in the country, is set to be dropped smack bang in the middle of it, already shifting some of the ancient art out of the way, possibly disrupting artefacts older than anything ever conceived by human beings.
Set to pump out 650,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, it might also be worth popping in to see the plant when it is finished being built to witness the embodiment of capitalistic greed and its boundless potential to destroy anything worthwhile for money that will ultimately end up overseas or in someones pocket who didn’t really need it anyways.
3. Visit the Kmart Tea Towel Themed Water Tanks
Nestled atop the Karratha hills, overlooking the main drag of the city are two very large water tanks. In 2021, the City of Karratha decided to join the growing trend of large public art displays in regional areas and give the tanks a fresh lick of paint. They enlisted Perth artist Chris Nixon for the nominal fee of $180,000 to paint the two tanks and he got to work.
Far from the earthy richness and spectacle of Guido Van Helten’s mega-mural on the Wellington Dam in Collie, upon completion residents in Karratha were quick to comment that the new paint job was “a bit shit.”
It was Rick Rubin who famously said “The best art divides an audience,” something the tanks in Karratha certainly achieved. Mostly because 95% of residents believe they look like a design you would see on mass produced dish towels and equal to something that could have been achieved with $150 in spray paint.
4. Eat Dogshit Fish & Chips At Point Samson
What would a trip to Karratha be without a visit to one of its finest satellite suburbs, Point Samson.
A charming sleepy little town north of Roebourne, Point Samson has remained largely unchanged for generations, adding to its quaint appeal. Among the largely unchanged amenities offered in town is the Point Samson Tavern, a two story pub with unrivalled views of the Dampier Archipelago.
Famous for it’s fish and chips, the Tavern somehow continues to uphold a reputation for delicious seafood, despite serving up what is largely just dogshit fish and McCains Pub Style Chips. Whilst the north west is home to five star eating fish like Red Emperor, Coral Trout and Bluebone, the Tavern is content to serve up what is probably frozen flake shipped up from Perth. Still, there’s worse places to enjoy a swan.
5. Have a Rock Hurled Through Your Car Window
Before you pack up all of the gear and the family and set off back down south, why not partake in a cherished Karratha tradition as old as time.
The bored children in Karratha certainly do not suffer from the current trend of tourist-phobia that is spreading across the globe and are more than happy to oblige visitors with a pebble through their windscreen.
Whilst the experience can be a thrill and leave you with a small memento, you have to be lucky as the kids are usually only out in the evenings along the road between the petrol station and the Tambrey.
If it all sounds a bit much, perhaps just jump in a cab and they will be sure to tell you some war stories.
