Saturday 6th September
Leaving Albany this morning, we said goodbye to the coast for a while as we now head inland towards Kalgoorlie.
Our journey this morning took us through many kms of blue gum forests before the countryside once again opened up to reveal more canola fields, lots of them. In fact we are beginning to wonder if half of WA is growing canola.
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| Canola everywhere |
The canola is really beautiful though with its bright yellow flowers covering the ground on both sides of the road for as far as the eye can see in all directions.
We had over 840 kms to cover to reach Kalgoorlie so we pushed on until it was time to stop for the night. It wasn't easy travelling today as it was blowing a gale all day and it continued on through the night. The free camp we found was a little way off the road, a bit into the bush, so we had a bit of a buffer from the wind and pelting rain.
Sunday 7th September
Fortunately when we woke next morning the weather had cleared, so we made pretty good time to our first stop in Coolgardie.
Coolgardie
Although Coolgardie is now known to most Western Australians as a tourist town and a mining ghost town, it was once the third largest town in Western Australia, after Perth and Freemantle. At that time, mining of alluvial gold was a major industry and supplied the flagging economy with new hope.
Many miners suffered under the harsh conditions, but for a few, their finds made the hard work worthwhile. Most men, however, left poorer than they had started off, with their hopes dashed.
The main reason we stopped here was to try and trace some of our ancestry. We were pleasantly surprised at the historic buildings and the very wide main street.
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| This beautiful building is now the Visitors Centre |
Over the last several years Jude has been tracing our family tree and discovered that our great grandfather came to Australia, to Coolgardie in the gold rush. We were trying to discover if he was buried here, either in the Coolgardie or Kalgoorlie cemetery.
The Coolgardie Visitor Centre had a listing of all those buried in the Coolgardie cemetery, and he was not there.
So we had a good look around this wonderful town full of history, and moved on to Kalgoorlie.
Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is now known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder after both towns joined in 1960, creating this city, the ultimate melting pot of history, culture, and architecture.
The city traces its origins to one of the most significant gold strikes in Australia by Paddy Hannan. What followed was classic 'Gold Fever' with thousands of hopefuls streaming to the goldfields in search of their fortune.
A leisurely stroll down Hannan Street serves as a rich reminder of this golden era, with many original buildings still standing and totally functional after more than 100 years. These majestic old buildings offer visitors a chance to step back in time and feel the pulse and buzz of what was once, and still is, one of the most vibrant outback cities in Australia.
We chose a caravan park, The Goldminer, a little way out of town after reading comments on Tripadvisor and WikiCamps, and from advice from other travellers, about all the theft from cars and vans in several of the parks in town, and this park seemed to be safe from all of that. So we felt a lot more secure here, and it was just a five minute drive into town.
I must note here, that we have not felt unsafe anywhere on this trip at all, whether in caravan parks, in out of the way places or at any of the free camp sites, whether we were the only ones there, or not.
We had a couple of things to do in Kalgoorlie and first up was to register for The Nullabor Links, so off to the golf course.
The Nullabor Links - the world's longest golf course
Imagine teeing off in Kalgoorlie, knowing that the 18th hole is some 1,365 kilometres away in Ceduna, SA, way across the Nullarbor.
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| They were eager to get started |
This unique 18 hole par 72 golf course spans 1,365 kilometres with one hole in each participating
town or roadhouse along the Eyre Highway, across The Nullarbor Plains, from Kalgoorlie in Western
Australia to Ceduna in South Australia.
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| Hole No 1 - and we are off! |
A round of golf on the Nullabor Links sees you teeing off on outback style natural terrain fairways. The course is a quintessential Australian experience and adds a different flavour to travelling the Nullarbor.
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| Hole No 2 |
The boys signed up and received their official score card. They decided to get right into it and returned to the caravan park to collect their clubs and complete the first two holes, which were at the Kalgoorlie course.
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| This is an official score card |
We had been so looking forward to starting this unique golf game, which will take several days to complete.
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| Cheers mate ! |
We did have a lot of fun on these first two holes, and we retired to the 19th hole to toast the beginning of 'The Nullarbor Links'
The Skimpies
Kalgoorlie is well known for its 'skimpies' - young ladies employed as barmaids who, as the name suggests, serve patrons in either bikinis or in their underwear! Several of the hotels in the main street advertise on chalkboards out the front if they have 'skimpies' currently serving. It is believed these skimpy barmaids have earned between $2,000 and $4,000 per week on a good week.
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| The chalkboard advertising who is working |
So of course we had to check this out for ourselves. On recommendation, we chose the Exchange Hotel which has a great restaurant as well as the 'skimpies bar', and went in for a lovely dinner before heading to the bar to see what this skimpie business was all about. As you can imagine we had to force the boys to come with us.
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| The Historic Exchange Hotel |
There was a very attractive young lady behind the bar and she was wearing a selection of very pretty if some what extremely brief underwear, combined with lacey topped stockings and stiletto heels. I can see why the bar was absolutely PACKED!
I know you would have been hanging out for these photos but No cameras allowed, so I have nothing to show you, sorry. What an interesting night.
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| I found this one for you |
A very nasty storm came across during the night, we were sure we were going to be blown away, plus it has turned quite chilly, and after it was 30 degrees yesterday , and they say Melbourne has crazy weather.
Monday 8th September
Off to the Visitors Centre this morning to have the golf score cards stamped, this has to be done at every hole.
Next stop was the Super Pit Lookout.
The Super Pit - is Australia's largest open pit gold mine, producing around 850,000 ounces of the precious metals annually. It has literally swallowed up all of the historic underground mines that once comprised the fabled 'Golden Mile'
The Super Pit was the brainchild of Alan Bond and was eventually brought into being by 'Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines' in 1989.
The view across the Super Pit from the official lookout is one of the most spectacular vistas in Australia.
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| The fantastic site of the super pit |
Over 3.5 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide, the pit is currently around 400 metres deep, and will continue to expand as long as mining remains economically viable.
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| The fantastic site of the super pit |
We made our way to the public lookout, we had timed our visit to coincide with the daily blast at 1.00pm.
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| The blast at 1.00pm on the dot |
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| Imagine the scale, compare the size to the tiny looking machinery |
The blast was right on time and the fantastic boom resounded through the area for several seconds. It was a fantastic experience.
To finish off the day, and our time in Kalgoorlie, we joined a local 'Madam' for a tour of her Brothel.
Questa Casa
Questa Casa, aka "
The Pink House", is the ONLY original brothel remaining from Kalgoorlie's famous gold rush. The pink tin at the front of the building is a stark reminder of ages lost.
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| The infamous 133 Hay Street, Kalgoorlie |
We were met at the door by Madam Carmel, a very elegant, beautifully spoken senior lady, who gave us an informative, highly amusing guided tour of 'The House'
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| Madam Carmel telling one of her stories |
We saw the only remaining starting stalls which are still in use to this very day. We toured the rooms where many a miner emptied their wallets, we walked where they walked, and where many of them left their hearts.
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| The S & M room, and 'the tools of trade' |
The guided tour lasted a little over an hour and took us through the historical working areas of the house. Through the starting stalls at the front where the ladies first talk to the gentlemen (sometimes they are caught doing other things!!), and through rooms which the ladies use every night, the same rooms that have been used since this house was established.
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| A replica of one of 'the girls' |
Madam Carmel was a wonderful storyteller and entertained us with some amazing stories of some of things that went on in the house over the last 23 years since she purchased the business.
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| Another room - another story |
We thoroughly enjoyed this unique opportunity we had to tour an actual working brothel, it is not every day you get to do that.
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| Laurie didn't want to leave |
What a way to farewell this unique outback town, with a unique tour.
Well now it's official - we are on our way home, tomorrow we leave Kalgoorlie
We knew that once we hit the Eyre Highway we were really coming to an end of this amazing trip.
But wait we still have more adventures ahead - of us stay tuned.
