If you are ever going to visit Kalgoorlie I can recommend
the following: Find someone with 30 years’ experience in the area, get them to
organize a van and drive you around all day. Mark (Foxy) has been doing business in
and around Kalgoorlie for 30 years and has a really detailed knowledge of the
city and its history.
We all hopped in the van that was loaned to us by the Motel we were staying in and he drove us round the city all day. First stop was the Super Pit. If you haven’t been to Kal, it’s worth it just to see this. It is a massive hole on the ground, currently 1.5km long, 1.2km wide and 800m deep and it’s going to get bigger before they are finished. The Kalgoorlie gold mine is the richest strike ever found anywhere in the world and they aren’t going to stop until they have every last dollars’ worth.
We all hopped in the van that was loaned to us by the Motel we were staying in and he drove us round the city all day. First stop was the Super Pit. If you haven’t been to Kal, it’s worth it just to see this. It is a massive hole on the ground, currently 1.5km long, 1.2km wide and 800m deep and it’s going to get bigger before they are finished. The Kalgoorlie gold mine is the richest strike ever found anywhere in the world and they aren’t going to stop until they have every last dollars’ worth.
At the edge of the pit as you look down, there is a sign
showing how big and how expensive the mining trucks and vehicles are. Looking
down I added up 250 million dollars’ worth of equipment in use that day.
Next up was the Kalgoorlie Mining Museum. This was a lot
more fun than I expected. They have little historical diorama’s showing you the
history of mining in the area as well as tools and machinery used in the past.
The trucks are cool!, 3 stories tall at least!.
There is a beautiful Chinese fountain to commemorate the
involvement of the Chinese workers in early mining.
Kalgoorlie Mining Museum
A survival pod if you are ever trapped underground
Biker accommodation in Kalgoorlie
Breakfast!
Imagine waking up to make brekky in this every morning
One of the interesting things about walking around Kalgoorlie is the number of titty bars that appear to be open 24/7. They all have signs outside advertising the girls who work there and when they open. Often they are open 24 hours a day with shift change at 2-3 am and 9-10 am
Strippers and topless barmaids (known as Skimpy s)24 hours a day!
Chinese reflection pool was beautiful
Beautiful reflection pool
A BMW in Coolgardie
Coolgardie was one of the little towns surrounding Kalgoorlie as we headed west. It was actually rather beautiful with lots of historic buildings but they were all closed as it was early on a Sunday morning
Explorers
Lunch at Merredin
JR having a coffee in the middle of nowhere
Leeane have something to eat in the middle of nowhere
Jicki having a coffee in the middle of nowhere
Foxy wondering why he was in the middle of nowhere
The agricultural heritage of Western Australia. We were riding through an area that is basically several thousand kilometers of Wheat farms
Narembeen, Lunch halfway to Hyden, a rather good bakery!
We got to Hyden after several more hours of cursing the long straight roads. My ass and my tires were wearing flat strips in the middle. Its actually a fascinating place. The town was incorporated in the mid 20th century, something that is common in the USA but very rare in the USA. The locals own the town and run all of the various businesses in the town. There is a huge hotel, an airport that brings in 1.5M visitors a year and of course all of the facilities surrounding the rock itself. Its well worth the run from Pert to have a look, take a couple of days.
The rock itself is very similar to Uluru. Its the tip of a mountain of Granite poking above the surrounding countryside. The slight difference with Uluru is you are allowed to walk all around it and on it.
From the top of Hyden rock
Wave rock
Wave rock
Jick and I in front of the wave
A famous and apparently taboo place, a witch used to live there
Foxy, Leeanne and Jicki
A friend come to visit
A friend come to visit
Downtown Hyden
Downtown Hyden
A BMW in Hyden
A BMW with Bicycles in Hyden
An M109 in Hyden
Hanging out in front of the town hall
Bike Porn
Bike Porn
This is how far away from everything Hyden is!
We hung out in Hyden for a day and headed, gratefully to Perth.
Gorrigin Roadhouse, because it had a car on its roof!
The Big Dog in a Ute
York its practically a suburb of Perth!
A BMW in York!
Foxy, JR and coffee
York
The Indian Ocean!
We headed towards thew coast from York and we started to see glimpses of the ocean. But the feeling I had when we crested the final hill and saw beach and open ocean for the first time was incredible. We did it, we road from Sydney to Pert in one trip. It was an amazing trip and we made some fantastic friends in JR and Leeane. I would travel with them again in a heart beat.
That's one ticked off the bucket list!!
We made it!
A BMW in Perth!
A Beemer and 9, perfect traveling companions!
The Indian Ocean
All of us!
Sunset over the Indian Ocean
Total distance from Sydney