ESPERANCE and CAPE LE GRAND NATIONAL PARK

6^th March, 2012

It is just after 10am when we check into Esperance Seafront Caravan Park.  This seaside town sits on the Bay of Isles and even from the caravan park we can see the aquamarine waters of the southern ocean lapping the white sand beach.  At one end of the beach lies the port and marina and a long jetty juts out into the bay.  But before we can do some exploring there are important duties to be done.  Mitzi goes in for her 15,000 km service tomorrow morning and is in dire need of some TLC.  This is the first place since setting out on our journey that has no water restrictions and car and van washing is allowed.  Wok sets to work with hose and brush while Robyn gets to work with a chamois.  Not only do we get Mitzi looking spiffy again, we also have time to give the van a wash as well.  In the morning while Mitzi is in getting her service we do a couple of loads of washing which has no trouble drying in the 40 C heat.  A cool change comes through in the early afternoon and the temperature drops back to a more tolerable 30 C.  We pick up Mitzi from the dealership and go for a scenic drive along the western beaches loop road.  Our first stop is at West Beach.

West Beach

The water is crystal clear and the beach is ringed with large granite outcrops jutting into the water.  The next beach is Blue Haven and once again the granite rocks cascade into the water.

Blue Haven Beach

There are many signs in the area warning of the dangers of fishing and walking along the rocky headlands.  Freak waves are common and many an unwary fisherman has drowned when swept into the ocean.  We drive further west and find yet again another picture perfect beach – Salmon Beach.

Salmon Beach

This beach is named after the southern Salmon that come to the south coast of WA to spawn in early spring.  At Fourth Beach we get a wonderful view back along the coast towards Esperance.

Fourth Beach

In the distance we can just make out some of the many islands off the coast.  From his base on one of these islands (Middle Island) Australia’s only pirate ‘Black Jack Anderson’ raided ships and kept a harem of Aboriginal women whose husbands he had killed.  He came to a fitting end when one of his own men murdered him in his sleep.  We make a quick stop at the wind farm which supplies 23% of Esperance’s electricity.

Wok and Mitzi checking out a wind generator

Then we head back to camp via the Pink Lake which is no longer pink.  A couple of years ago a storm flushed out the salt-tolerant algae that used to provide a rosy tint.  Maybe a change of name for the lake is in order.  The next morning we take Mitzi for a drive east to Cape Le Grand National Park.  She really is enjoying herself without having that heavy van to drag around.  The park is dominated by a large granite peak – Frenchman Peak.

Frenchman Peak

The granite outcrops of Cape Le Grand National Park were formed 600 million years ago.  They make a spectacular backdrop to the turquoise water and dazzling white sand beaches.  We’re not sure why this beach is called Hellfire Beach.

Wok takes in the view at Hellfire Beach from the granite outcrop

It was so calm and serene with its talcum powder soft squeaky sand that it was hard to believe that it deserved such a volatile name.  At Thistle Cove we took a walk among the rocky boulders.  This one was called Whistling Rock but it wasn’t whistling the day we were there.

Wok is listening to the sounds of the waves at Whistling Rock

It did however echo the sound of the waves rolling in onto the beach.  Much like a ‘conch’ shell only lots better.  At Lucky Bay we walked around to the rocky headland.

Lucky Bay

A cairn has been placed here commemorating the fact that Matthew Flinders pulled into the bay for shelter on his epic journey to circumnavigate Australia.  As we drove back to camp we both agreed that the coastal scenery around Esperance was spectacular.  The rocky granite outcrops contrasted brilliantly against the dazzling white sand beaches and crystal clear turquoise water.  If this was just the entrée to the rest of the WA coast then we are really keen to taste the rest of the dinner menu

GWALIA and LAKE BALLARD

3^rd March, 2012

We hitch up the van and head north out of Kalgoorlie.  Mitzi is booked in for its 15,000 km service at Esperance in a few days time.  The service is overdue by 1,500 kilometres but Mitsubishi dealers are non-existent on the Nullabor and the Kalgoorlie dealership was too busy and couldn’t fit us in until the following week.  So we have a couple of days to explore the more remote areas before making our way south to Esperance.  At the small township of Menzies 132 km from Kalgoorlie we check in at the council caravan park.  The once thriving gold mining town of Menzies now has a few houses, a pub, a council chambers, a service station/general store (only open on certain days) and a caravan park.  There is really nothing to see (tourist wise) in Menzies but it makes an ideal place for us to leave the van while we explore the surrounding area.  We have an early lunch and then pile into Mitzi and drive further north along the highway until we see the turnoff for Niagara Dam.  At least the road is tarred and surprisingly the dam is a pleasant picnic spot with family groups camping for the holiday weekend (Labour Day holiday in WA).

Niagara Dam

A few kilometres away lies the town of Kookynie.

Loved this corrugated iron cut out sign at Kookynie

Again this once bustling gold mining town has all but gone.  There are a few homes being lived in and the hotel still supplies pints and beds.  As we drive around the deserted streets, plaques with drawings of the buildings which once stood tell us the history of the town and its people.  Instead of backtracking to the highway we do a loop around on a dirt road until we arrive at the town of Leonora which is the largest service centre for mining and the pastoral industry in the area.  We fill up with diesel and drive 4 km southwest to the historic site of Gwalia.  The ‘Sons of Gwalia’ reef was discovered in 1896.  Gwalia is an archaic name for Wales.  Seeking to invest in the area a London based firm sent a young American mining engineer to Gwalia to evaluate its prospects.  That young man was Herbert Hoover – later to become the 31^st President of the USA.  Hoover designed and had built the Mine Managers House, the Mine Office and Assay Office in 1898 and designed the angled headframe, the only remaining wooden incline headframe left in the country.  On Friday 13^th December, 1963 the mine closed and almost overnight the town was deserted.  Trains were organised to transport the miners and their families out of the area.  People were only allowed to bring what they could carry, so homes were left fully furnished, with nik-naks, photographs and books still on the shelves.  A town of 1,000 people became a small commune of around 40 and the large government owned State Hotel finally closed its doors in 1964.  Today the mine is operational again.  With new mining techniques the old underground mine became a large open cut pit and now new mining methods are once again hunting underground for the elusive gold.  As we drive through the town it is quite easy to spot the State Hotel.

State Hotel in Gwalia

The two storey brick hotel is now privately owned and being used as office space.  Many of the miners’ houses have gone but some remain and a few of these are occupied by today’s mine workers.  Art’s place (named after a local who repaired the structure in 1980 after it had been damaged by strong winds) is typical of the cottages with its gabled construction, timber frames, corrugated galvanised iron cladding and cloth lined interior walls.

Art's Place

Inside, the kitchen is as the family left it with table and chairs, cooking utensils on the wood burner stove and faded plastic yellow daisies.

Kitchen in Art's Place

Another example of the resourcefulness of the mine workers is Little Pink Camp.

Little Pink Camp

Constructed out of whatever materials were available the tiny dwelling was built of timber and corrugated iron, hessian and newspaper walls and had the added bonus of a wooden plank floor instead of compacted dirt.  On the top of a hill overlooking the town stands ‘Hoover House’.

Hoover House

This substantial brick home is now operated as a Bed & Breakfast but the rooms are open for viewing when guests are not in residence.  Some of the original furniture from Hoover’s era survives to this day and other furniture has been left behind by Mine Managers in the decades following.  The dining/living room has a wonderful olde world charm

Dining/Living room in Hoover House

and Wok has trouble lifting the replica gold bar lying on the table.  

OK Wok - we know it weighs only 9 kg and not 25 kg

The bar weighs 9 kg.  If it had been ‘real’ gold it would have weighed 25 kg and Wok would never have been able to lift it in one hand.  When the mine was in full swing the equivalent of four of these bars (100 kg) was being produced every month.  The main bedroom was to have been Herbert Hoover’s, but the house was still being built when Hoover was sent by the mining company to evaluate prospects in China.

Main Bedroom in Hoover House

He did however manage to stay in the house on numerous visits to Gwalia after his return from China in 1902.  Today the house and grounds teeter on the edge of the mammoth open cut mine.

The Sons of Gwalia mine

The open cut is almost 300 metres deep and 1 km across and follows around the original shaft.  Together they have produced over 5 million ounces of gold.  The view would have been a lot different when Herbert Hoover was here.  No huge hole in the ground - just piles of rubble, the pit top maintenance and steam winder sheds and the massive timber incline headframe.

Timber incline headframe at Gwalia

Transport was difficult and expensive in the goldfields so the Sons of Gwalia mine constructed a woodline rail service to gather and transport the enormous amount of mulga timber needed to fuel the mine’s steam and gas producer engines.  The rail line ran west and south of Gwalia for up to 112 km covering an area of 1,280 square kilometres.  ‘KEN’ was named after three directors of the company and was one of four engines used on the woodline.

KEN

Built in 1934 ‘KEN’ ran until the mine closed in 1963.  It is starting to get late and we have 100 km to drive back to Menzies, so we leave Gwalia and her ghostly memories behind.  We could have spent ages in the Assay and Mine Office which were filled with photos and memorabilia of a bygone era.

After a quiet night in Menzies we are off to an early start.  On a dirt road 51 km to the west lies Lake Ballard and something a bit out of the ordinary.  As we round a bend we see the dazzling white surface of the lake shimmering in the sun.  

Lake Ballard

Lake Ballard is a salt lake which in itself is not unusual out here.  What is unusual are the 51 cast iron sculptures placed on the lake.  Renowned English sculptor Antony Gormley was commissioned to make the figures and a team of volunteers placed them on the lake in spots selected by him.  We pull up in the car park, don our sneakers and hats and set out onto the lake.  We walk towards the first sculpture.

Sculptures on Lake Ballard

In the background we can see more sculptures along with a small hill of trees and rocks, looking very much like an island in the sea of salt.  

Visiting the sculptures on our walk around the island

We walk from sculpture to sculpture around the island.  Each sculpture is slightly different.  Some are female, some are of children

This sculpture looks more like a small alien than a human child

and some are obviously male.

Male sculpture on Lake Ballard

Antony Gormley supposedly modelled his sculptures on the 51 (at the time) residents of Menzies.  We wonder what they thought of the completed product as we were less than impressed.  The sculptures seemed to be poorly finished off with the lugs used for casting the iron still attached.  Left to the elements out here we also wondered as to their longevity.  Like this fence the sculptures may not survive the harsh environment.

Remnants of a fence line on Lake Ballard

Apart from us walking on the salt lake there seemed to be no other living animal.  No other animal but lots and lots and lots of flies.  The old ‘aussie wave’ was really getting a work out and Wok decided to let everyone know that he along with 10,000 flies had been here.

Mother nature will soon take care of this message in the salt

Actually I think he was being pretty conservative with his fly stocktake.  There were millions in my book.  We left Lake Ballard and the stark lonely sculptures and drove back to Menzies.  After picking up the van we headed south and stopped for a free camp at Dundas Rocks (another deserted gold mining ghost town) just south of Norseman.  It looked as if we would finally be camped out alone for the night but just on dark a campervan pulled up and snuggled in beside us.  We are beginning to think we attract ‘whiz bangs’ as they are like bees around a honey pot.  Us being the honey pot.  We call campervans ‘whiz bangs’ as this is the sound their sliding door makes when they open and close it.  If the campervan manufacturers ever come up with a silent closing sliding door they will get a standing ovation from us and every other caravan, 5^th wheeler and motorhome owner out there.

We’d had a great couple of days touring the hot and dusty goldfields.  Gwalia is a gem – a nugget of gold in the hot red earth.  Lake Ballard is a brilliant glistening white salt lake that doesn’t need any human embellishments.  Sometimes memories of the past and mother nature are more than enough.

KALGOORLIE

2^nd March, 2012

We rolled into town early this morning after spending the night free camping at a picnic reserve on the outskirts.  It would have been a great spot except for the open cut mine just over the hill.  We couldn’t see the mine and couldn’t really hear it until ‘lights out’.  You know when those trucks back up they make that ‘beep beep beep’ sound.  Then it all goes quiet and then it starts up again.  Yep ….. you get the ‘beeping’ idea.  The first thing on our agenda was to stock up on groceries so a visit to the supermarket was in order.  On the way we stopped at the lookout to get a birds eye view of Kalgoorlie.

Kalgoorlie township

The pipe you see in the foreground brings water from Perth (600 kilometres away) to Kalgoorlie.  It was built in 1902 – a marvellous engineering feat.  The lookout is on top of the water tank that supplies the town with fresh water.

Wok playing in the water - straight from Perth

Kalgoorlie is on an ancient flood plain and fresh water is non-existent.  Until the pipeline was built, all drinking water had to be transported in as the only water to be had in the area was contaminated with salt.  When Paddy Hannan and his two mates stumbled across surface gold at Kalgoorlie in 1893, the gold rush began and although the gold is no longer on the surface and the town has had its ups and downs, Kalgoorlie today is the centre of mining in this part of the state.  It’s lunchtime so we decide to treat ourselves to a counter lunch.  The Exchange Hotel looks a likely spot and we step back in time as we enter the bar area. 

Exchange Hotel

Now bear in mind that even though Kalgoorlie is to all extents and purposes a modern town, it is still primarily a mining town and its hotels are full of overall wearing miners quenching their thirst and female bar staff clad in underwear and high heels known as ‘skimpies’.  The Exchange Hotel’s front bar doesn’t disappoint and Wok gets directions to the restaurant area from a scantily clad barmaid.  Fish and Chips is the ‘special’ on the blackboard menu so we order two and wonder if we will manage to get through the huge plate of food when it arrives. 

Wok is wondering whether he can do justice to his fish and chips

Guess those miners get awfully hungry as well as thirsty!  Wok managed to get all the way through his lunch and only needed to make four trips back to the bar to top up his beer.  Finally we made it to the supermarket and then checked in at a caravan park for a couple of nights.  The next morning we took a drive up to the Super Pit.  

The Super Pit

This jaw dropping open pit is humongous and at 3.8 klms long, 1.35 klms wide and 500 metres deep can be seen from space.  The Super Pit was once a collection of smaller underground mines now all joined together in one big open cut.  We watch fascinated as the massive tip trucks ply back and forth, zig-zagging their way up and down.  Large 4 Wheel Drive Utes look like toys beside these trucks

Little tonka toy trucks at the bottom of the pit

and Wok is fascinated by the size of the shovel from one of the cranes that loads the ore onto the trucks.

Wok is suitably impressed by the size of this shovel

We spend an inordinate amount of time at the Super Pit mesmerised by those tonka toy trucks and tonka toy cranes.  Simply captivating!

Our next stop was going to be the Mining Hall of Fame museum but much to our surprise this large complex was closed.  We made enquiries and found out that it had closed in December due to lack of funding.  You would think that with all the money being generated by the mines in the area some of these companies could spare some pocket money to keep this historical facility open.  So we opted for a walk up and down

Hannan Street

(the main drag) which has retained many of its gold rush era buildings.  After lunch we headed off for a tour of Questa Casa (This House).   It was pretty easy to spot with its many pink doors.

Wonder what's behind the pink door/doors?

Our instructions were to come to the main door and ring the bell.  After a few minutes a lady came and let us into the sitting room where we waited for the rest of the tour guests to arrive.  Pretty soon there were twenty of us scrunched up into the small parlour and our tour guide ‘Carmel’ introduced herself as the Madam of Questa Casa, the oldest (and still operational after 100 years) brothel in Kalgoorlie.  Carmel (a woman in her fifties) explained that she had never been a ‘working girl’ and in 1990 she and her mother had invested their money in buying and operating Questa Casa.  For the next hour and a half we learned a lot about the gold rush and Kalgoorlie albeit with a quirky slant and had lots of laughs.  Carmel made sure that we were on our way long before the ‘night shift’ arrived.

Our visit to Kalgoorlie was over.  It’s an interesting place with streets wide enough for a camel train to turn around – a necessity in goldfield towns.  And besides ‘crossing the Nullabor’ we can also cross ‘visit a brothel’ off our bucket list! 

THE NULLABOR

28^th February, 2012

At Ceduna we take the opportunity to fill up with diesel.  This will be the last cheap (well relatively cheap) fuel stop for the next 1,200 kilometres until we reach Norseman in West Australia.  Edward John Eyre was the first European to cross this unforgiving stretch of land in 1841 and the

Eyre Highway

from Adelaide to Perth is named after him.  The road signs warn us of roaming wildlife and although no live animals cross our path, we do see road kill in the form of lots of kangaroos and one camel.  

Camels and kangaroos we expected ..... but wombats?

Apparently the wombats are a bit more road savvy than the other two.  A couple of hundred kilometres into the trip the low scrubby bush and occasional scruffy tree disappear completely and the true Nullabor ‘treeless plain’ begins.

The Nullabor

Planning for fuel stops is a necessity on this highway as the last thing you want to do is run out.  It’s a long way to walk to get to the next petrol station.  By late afternoon we are about 80 kilometres from the West Australian border.  Our handy dandy camp book guides us to a lookout 2 kilometres off the highway where we decide to stop for the night.  We are joined by two other campers so once again we are not alone.

Free camping on the Nullabor

Our campsite overlooks The Great Australian Bight where the southern ocean pounds against jagged 80 metre high cliffs.

Wok watches the waves pound against the cliffs

The Great Australian Bight Marine Park is the world’s second largest marine park after the Great Barrier Reef.  From June to September the southern right whales migrate here from Antarctica for the breeding season and the cliff tops make an ideal viewing platform.  We walk along the edge of the cliffs (well not right on the edge as the ground is very unstable and prone to collapsing into the maelstrom below).   After watching the endless waves roll in we walk back to the rig and on the way spot some hardy little succulents trying to make a go of it in the dry dusty ground.  The tiny daisy like flowers are a stark contrast to the surrounding harsh landscape.

Wok used his big toe to show the size of these flowers

The next morning we set out for the border, stopping to check out the views of the Bight from several lookouts along the way.

The cliffs in this section had quite distinct layers

The cliffs are now starting to give way to long rocky slopes leading to the water but vegetation is still low and windswept.

Rocky slopes lead down to the water

We pass through the Border gate into West Australia with no problem, having eaten all the fruit and veggies we could and then cooked and refrigerated the rest.  Besides fresh fruit and veggies, plants and honey are not allowed to cross the state line.  We will now make do with what we have on board for the next few days until we get to Kalgoorlie where prices will be more reasonable.  At Eucla we turn off the highway and drive the few kilometres of dirt road towards the sand dunes.  Here the ruins of the 1877 Telegraph Station and the old town of Eucla is slowly being engulfed by the dunes.

The old Telegraph Station at Eucla

Thought we would take a photo of the aeroplane sign as we motor along the highway.

Sign for Emergency Airstrip

With no doctor or hospital or ambulance for hundreds or kilometres, the only quick way of getting emergency patients to help is via the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service).  And the logical place for the plane to land is on the highway which makes a perfectly good runway.  Hence at strategic intervals signs are placed advising motorists that this strip of highway can be turned into an emergency airstrip at any time.

Markings on the highway for start of the runway

Thankfully we were not buzzed by any planes trying to make a landing.  We are having enough trouble trying to keep out of the way of the numerous road trains let alone trying to take on an aeroplane.  We stop at Caiguna Road House to fill up with fuel and find one of the tees for the world’s longest golf course.  

Golf Tee behind Caiguna Road House

Stretching 1,362 kilometres from Ceduna to Kalgoorlie the Nullabor Links is unlike any golf course you have ever heard about.  This is an 18 hole par 72 course with holes scattered along the route, in towns and at road houses.  The parched ground can be as hard as steel (so don’t use your new ‘you beaut’ clubs) and you may need a hammer to get your tees into the ground, but playing the course can help to alleviate the boredom of a very long drive.  Just to the west of the road house is the start of the ’90 Mile Straight’.  This is Australia’s longest stretch of straight road – 146.6 kilometres.  

Guess we will have to do what the sign says - There are no other options

We did have a bit of a chuckle over this as we had just driven approx 800 kilometres from Ceduna and we’re almost certain that most of it was ‘straight’ with just the slightest hint of a bend now and then.  Wok was considering the intricacies of tying the steering wheel in one position and putting Mitzi on cruise control when thankfully he decided that it may not be a good idea.  You never know when an out of control camel may come lumbering along.  At this point we decided (well Robyn actually decided) that it may be a good idea to find a place to stop for the night.  Wok was obviously tired and getting delusional.  A good rest area was not far away and it didn’t take long to find a spot for the night.  It didn’t take long for this peewee to find us also and then spend the rest of the daylight hours admiring itself in our side mirrors.

Yep Mr Peewee - when you bend over to look at yourself you are upside down

Wok thought it was cute until he had to clean up all the peewee mess off the mirror brackets in the morning.  Our last fuel stop before reaching Norseman was at Balladonia Road House where we spent some time wandering through the little museum attached to the restaurant/shop.  Apart from the local history on the aboriginals and early settlers in the area there was a section devoted to Skylab’s return to earth.  Skylab crashed back to earth in 1979 scattering debris across Balladonia and making it the most talked about place on earth at NASA for quite a few months.  By lunchtime we were pulling into Norseman.  This was one road trip we had always wanted to do and it was as much about the journey as the destination.  Our journey across the Nullabor was at an end.