Up down and around a bit in South West W.A

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I keep saying this but I must get to WA to see the wildflowers. Some Irish friends loved Kalbarri so much when they visited they named their house Kalbarri

 

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Finishing off Kalbarri

Showing some Grass Trees to our visitor



Views from Red Bluff Lookout. Whale spouts could be seen everywhere from this lookout but they were always just far enough away that you couldn't see anything other than a possible glimpse of a whale.





Lovely late afternoon light on the sea cliffs south of Kalbarri



Some more views of the cliffs







Feral goats were around in large numbers and were making us of a convenient walkway





One last sunset over the Murchison River

 

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We then headed back down south.

But not before I had to replace a suspect tyre.



On the way down we had to make a detour via Geraldton Airport. My wifes cousin wanted to see a bit more of the 'outback' on her own so she had booked a 3 night farmstay at a station north of Yalgoo. Plenty of gravel roads were to be involved so she needed to hire a 4 wd. The easiest, and cheapest, way to do this was to pick up a 'mine spec' one at Geraldton. She had only once driven a 4wd drive before and that was small Suzuki on Crete. I had to give her a quick introduction to the vehicle including how to engage the various 4wd options - I did stress that if she ever felt like she needed to engage low range then she was probably going somewhere she shouldn't. After she returned the hire car the best way for her to get back to Perth was to take a 1 hour flight from Geraldton Airport. In the end she had no problems with the car and all the gravel roads had been recently graded and were in good condition.

She was highly amused at seeing Geraldton Airport never having been at a small airport before. I think the smallest airport she had ever used previously was somewhere like that on Crete. To be fair to the airport it is actually very nice and well equipped and has some nice little exhibits on display.



It is however safe to say that it is not exactly bustling.



Nice models of HMAS Sydney and the HSK Kormoran





A bronze cannon from the wreck of the Batavia



Many older West Australians like me fondly remember the old Mickey Mouse Airlines



Her car - complete with flashing lights, 2 way radio, first aid kit, roo bar, audible warning for reverse etc. When she sent photos back to Germany her friends were all amazed by it.



It was actually pretty nice inside.

 

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After she got back from Geraldton we had a couple of days in Perth.

The compulsory visit to Kings Park



The native flowers were starting to look nice there as well





Thanks to all the youtubers etc all foreign visitors want to see the quokkas on Rottnest Island. The weather wasn't the best for the trip - I bravely offered to stay behind and let them have a 'girls day out' on their own.

The ferry they took behind a nice piece of metal work. My wife took her own e-bike on board.



Going through Fremantle Harbour heads. They had 40 km winds on the trip over. Still they were lucky as the Rottnest ferries were cancelled yesterday because of 5 metre swells.

Quokkas







And as usual close contact with humans will drastically change the behavour of wild animals. This woman was apparently not trying to feed the quokka it was just demanding food.

 

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My wife's bike. Only service vehicles are allowed on the roads so bicycles or walking are the main means of transport.



Views around the island













The 9.2" Gun installed on Oliver Hill in 1937. There is an interesting tour underground through tunnels that contained the ammunition, control station etc.



A tram runs from the settlement to the battery site

Oliver Hill Gun & Tunnels Tour

Explore the history of the Oliver Hill Gun Battery with a guided tour of the impressive battery and underground tunnels.

www.rottnestisland.com

The returning ferry. You can see the sail training ship Leeuwin at the left of this photo. Sadly, a couple of days later a large container ship entering the harbour was apparently hit by a wind gust and crashed into the Leeuwin. The Leeuwin was dismasted and the hull damaged. Two crewmembers were injured and required hospitalisation. Extensive, and expensive, repairs have now commenced.

 

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And now onto Kalgoorlie

Passing by the remnants of the Rabbit Proof Fence







A quick drive through Coolgardie. It was the initial major centre in these goldfields hence the impressive buildings was was soon overshadowed by Kalgoorlie just under 40km to the east.











And then driving down Hannan Street - the main street in Kalgoorlie

 

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Some buildings around Kalgoorlie. The amount of wealth generated around the turn of the 20th Century by gold can be seen in these buildings.



















An historic post box

 

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Kalgoorlie continued ---
Why don't we have facades like this these days?





A few shots of Kalgoorlie's 'sister' city Boulder. Once a separate city but now one conturbation.







Wealth also attracts other activities. My mother worked in Kalgoorlie in the 1930's/40's and was always a supporter of the presence of the 'tolerated' brothels in Hay Street. She said that with so many single young men in town it always made her feel safer to know that there was somewhere to cater for them. It also helped that she was dressmaker and the 'girls', as she called them, were very good clients who bought lots of nice clothes and paid in cash.





There was also the two-up facility just north of town. Hidden, yeh right, in the bush off the Kalgoorlie - Menzies road. My father said that it was not allowed to open on pay day at the mines. It now supposedly only operates on occasions as a fund raiser for charities.







Me trying to explain how it all worked - despite never having ever played it.



Complete facilities are available





Even a bit of floral decoration

 

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Finishing off Kalgoorlie.

Firstly - the 'Super Pit' at night



During the day





We managed to see a couple of small blasts



Our visitor had wanted to do a tour of the Super Pit but the operators of the tour had apparently taken a couple of days holiday. The tour does not go down the pit at all but stops at the edge.

Instead we went here. To be honest I think if you only had one choice this is the better one as it gives a good overview of the history of the goldfields.



It covers the modern era as well the more historic times. The newer machinery is of course massive.





Old equipment and buildings have been transported here from all around the area.

 

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A simple demonstration of the weight and danger of the haul trucks. The sign points out that the driver of the haul truck didn't feel any 'bump' when he drove over the ute.






A small 5 head battery



I think Forward Down were operating until the mid 1960's.



The Dynamite Room was completely clad in timber




The use of a one legged stool seems an elegantly simple idea



The Mining Wardens office

 

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A miners humpy. This is a pretty luxurious one as it it has floorboards. My parents married towards the end of WW2 when he was guarding Italian POW's in the south of WA. (Multiple bouts of Malaria had him removed from the fighting New Guinea) After the war they moved back for him to resume prospecting in his old stomping grounds around Menzies. Their humpy had whitewashed hessian walls and a hardened dirt floor which my mother had to rake/sweep every day. When the birth of my eldest brother was on the horizon after a couple of years they moved to Boulder and a 'real' house.





Slightly more upmarket huts



My parents house in Perth still had a Metters No. 2 stove when it was demolished in 1997.



A decorative planter box



There is a small area for you to have a go at panning for gold. We were unlucky.



Sunset from Mt Charlotte overlooking Kalgoorlie

 

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We now headed north to spend a night in Gwalia before backtracking to Kalgoorlie for another night before heading south to Esperance.

I have marked, very poorly, in red our route for this part of the trip.


We passed through Menzies twice. The town is clean and well maintained but extremely quiet except for the passing traffic.

The Town Hall



My father had told me about the shipwreck causing the absence of the clock for a century but now it appears just as likely that it was because of a politicians lies - who would have thought such a thing could happen



A nice little outdoor display



You can never really get away from the trucks up here



Not exactly bustling on a Sunday morning


The only hotel and general store. It is now threatened with closure. The local council who owns the building and lease it out claims that it is unsafe and they can't afford repairs. The debate is ongoing.



There are plenty of metal artworks like this around town



The remains of the old bakery oven

 

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We then headed off to see the Niagara Dam and Kookynie

It is mostly only the main roads that are sealed



Niagara Dam. Built at great expense and effort and then became obsolete almost immediately after its completion. At least it is now a good spot for wildlife and camping.

Australia's Golden Outback - Official Website

An oasis in the wilderness of the northern Goldfields, Niagara Dam is a top rest stop on the Golden Quest Discovery Trail - perfect for a picnic, a refreshing swim, or a night camping in a swag under the stars. The dam is a 25-minute drive from Kookynie, one of the many gold rush ghost towns and…

www.australiasgoldenoutback.com

There were a couple of nice walk trails in the area.

 

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As usual my wife found lots of plants and flowers to photograph

 

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Just a few minutes away were the remnants of the town of Kookynie





The Grand Hotel is famous in W.A. Unfortunately its future seems very grim. It is operated by a very elderly lady and has been for sale for many years with no takers.



This is the entire bar area



The main hallway



The horse comes to visit every afternoon for a drink. When my son was there a year or so ago he said the horse wouldn't let any males pass by but was happy for females to do so



The old townsite



The remains of a hotel. You can just see the faded letters 'EL".

 

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Mine infrastructure







A deep shaft



I assume the horse in the foreground might be 'the horse'.

 

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We then headed off a pretty rough gravel road towards our overnight destination of Gwalia. We had been talking to a traveller in the Kookynie Pub and he had mentioned seeing a big patch of Sturt Peas by the roadside so I was keeping an eye out for them.

 

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We arrived in Gwalia, which is only 4 km from Leonora, to stay at the Hoover House B&B. This is housed in the old managers house of the Sons of Gwalia gold mine. Apart from being a lovely old house its claim to fame is that it was designed in 1897 by the future US President Herbert Hoover during his time as the mine manager. It is located in the grounds of the Gwalia Museum. There are only three bedrooms and you are left 'alone' overnight in the historic house

Hoover House » Gwalia Ghost Town & Museum

www.gwalia.org.au

The house











The house is perched on the edge of the large open cut part of the current mine. Despite its proximity there were no problems with noise etc overnight.







You tend to be very careful when parking



Facing away from the mine

 

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It has been beautifully restored inside. The furniture is either original or period correct.









I suspect that these ceiling details were added in a renovation as they look very art deco to me



This looks more original to my untutored eye.



The breakfast room. A substantial, self prepared, breakfast was provided with a separate shelf in the fridge for each room.



We had this room





The floors were the original Oregon Pine