The Nullarbor and Beyond

After leaving Esperance we were keen to have a look at Kalgoorlie which is famous for two things:

gold mining and houses of ill repute.  We achieved our aims as we gained knowledge of both things.  We visited the KCGM gold mine, including a tour of the ‘super pit”.  It was amazing to see this huge hole in the ground which continues to produce quality gold.  The machinery and trucks looked very small at the base of the pit.  It was also interesting to note how much soil needs to be excavated to get the smallest amount of gold.  We supplemented our tour by witnessing a blasting in the pit from a lookout in town.  It was also interesting to note the difference between a newly established fly-in, fly-out (FIFOs as they are called) mining town and a longer established mining town without FIFOs.  We gained more knowledge on the town and mining by visiting the mining museum and Miner’s Hall of Fame and various lookouts in the town, during the day and at night.

The Mt Charlotte Headframe which is located at the top end of Hannan Street off the Goldfields Highway

Blasts can generally be viewed from the public lookout

Superpit – lookout underground mining on the Golden Mile became singly owned in the 1980’s & 90’s & was converted into an open-cut operation – what is now known as the superpit. 

Working in the Super pit at night

Carrying 225 tonnes of material, only one in every 6 trucks carries gold. This gold, once processed, is the size of a golf ball, which is about 16 ounces.

The Mill

We also went on a tour of a working brothel which was fascinating if a little disturbing.  One worker had serviced 70 clients in a 10 hour shift!  Marty was one of only 2 blokes on the tour so the ladies gave him a hard time.  I think it will be the last time we go to a place like that.

After leaving Kalgoorlie we went across the Nullarbor.  We had heard a lot about the trip so were keen to experience it for ourselves.  We decided to ’free camp’ in the bush rather than accessing the roadhouse caravan parks.  There was a very strong head wind all the way across which made the drive difficult and expensive in terms of fuel usage.  We had free camped a few times but this was our first extended go at it.  The sites were fine but were we the only soft floor camper trailer.  Marty is used to wandering around a caravan park with a beer in his hand talking to other travellers.  This didn’t work as the other campers went into their vans early in the afternoon and didn’t come back out.  We had fun with mice at night and did manage to talk, one night, to students and staff from Willeton High School in Perth who were undertaking a solar car and solar bike crossing of the Nullarbor. 

 We had previously tried listening to CDs to break the monotony of the trek to the top of Cape York but the bumping around on the dirt roads damaged the CDs. This time on the long parts of the Nullarbor including Australia’s longest straight stretch of road (146.6kms) we listened to our first audio book, Mao’s Last Dancer which, seeing that we didn’t have great radio reception, was well worthwhile.  After crossing the SA border the Nullarbor travels close to the ocean along the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight.  The views were spectacular especially at Bunda Cliffs and the Head of the Bight.

Marty calls himself a South Australian although I haven’t met any South Aussie’s who are keen to claim him. 

Crossing the WA/SA Boarder

 As a South Aussie, oysters to him are synonymous with the town of Streaky Bay so that was the next stop after lunch at the lovely little fishing village of Smoky Bay.  We got unopened oysters straight from the boat and they were delicious.  But Streaky Bay is more than just oysters.  We camped 37 paces from the water’s edge in the town.  We spent a quiet hour or so at Point Labatt where we looked down the cliffs at the sea lion colony.  Normally when we have great views to look at I say “wow look at that” and Marty‘s response is “look at what”, but even he was quiet and appreciative of this.  We then made our way back to Streaky Bay via Sceale Bay and the Westall Way Loop drive which highlights Yanerbie, Speed Point, the Granites and High Cliffs.  Each has beautiful and slightly different views.  We had a lovely picnic on the way and felt special.  Whilst in Streaky Bay we also went to Cape Bauer and the Blowholes and Whistling Rock formations.

Smoky Bay

Sea Lions at Point Labatt

Point Labatt from the cliff top viewing platform

This colony of sea lions is the ony permanent one on the Australian mainland

On the way out of town we stopped at Murphy’s Haystacks, a weird geological rock formation where we found a geocache. 

Then to the fishing mecca of Part Lincoln. A highlight of our stay in Port Lincoln was a visit to Hopkins Island in the Spencer Gulf where we spent an hour or so swimming with the sea lions. It was wonderful. They were playful and curious and allowed us to get very, very close. The great weather made it a perfect day.

Port Lincoln and Boston Bay

The old mill