Port Latta: Ore Loading and Crayfish Creek Beach

Port Latta combines a prominent ore-loading facility with a coastal landscape that includes Crayfish Creek Beach. The ore-loading facility and offshore berth are at the end of a 1,800-metre-long jetty. The beach begins in the lee of a 250-metre-long breakwater connected to Port Latta. In this way, the town’s industrial port function and a distinctive coastal feature shape its character in different ways.

Ore processing and coastal towns

Magnetite from Savage River is processed into iron ore pellets at Port Latta. The concentrate is pumped through an 83-kilometre-long pipeline to the Port Latta Pelletising Plant on the coast. The plant is 60 kilometres west of Burnie; the concentrate is exported from there.

Surf Life Saving Australia currently provides no services at Crayfish Creek Beach. If you plan to swim, check the latest information before your visit. Another coastal attraction is Brickmakers Beach: its picnic reserve sits on a rocky headland, about 1.4 kilometres west of the Port Latta Pelletising Plant. Nearby, a beach sheltered by a breakwater and a picnic reserve on rocky ground offer contrasting landscape features.

Nature and culture in the broader destination of Circular Head Council

In the broader destination of Circular Head Council, The Nut State Reserve is a breeding area for short-tailed shearwaters, peregrine falcons, Australian kestrels and little penguins. The reserve also protects significant Tasmanian Aboriginal and historic heritage sites. The Nut Summit Circuit is a 2.7-kilometre loop track across the plateau and takes about an hour. At Godfrey’s Beach, visitors can watch little penguins come ashore at night and head to their burrows from a purpose-built, red-lit platform. The circuit provides an approximate hiking time; penguin viewing is an after-dark experience.

Rocky Cape National Park is primarily a day-trip destination and is best explored on foot. Its landscape features include sea caves, rock pools and secluded beaches suitable for fishing and swimming. Walking conditions and facilities can change; check the latest conditions when planning a visit. By contrast, the landscape of the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area is shaped by extensive peat bogs and some of Tasmania’s largest dune fields. The area can be explored in conventional and four-wheel-drive vehicles, by canoe and on foot. Conditions on vehicle tracks can change. The Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area also includes the homelands of the four clans of the North West Nation: Peerapper, Manegin, Tarkiner and Peternidic.

Culture and townscapes also offer their own points of interest in the broader Circular Head Council area. The Circular Head Heritage Centre has an extensive collection, including fossils and geological specimens. It also displays local Aboriginal cultural objects, as well as historic machinery and household items. In Stanley, colonial buildings and elegant cafés line the streets. In Marrawah, the annual West Coast Surf Classic attracts Australian and international surfers. Check the latest event calendar before you travel.

Discover more destinations: Bronte Park, Queenstown, Adventure Bay, Lulworth, Winkleigh, Longford, Moonah, Nelson Bay.

Go to the broader travel overview: Tasmania.