Kalgoorlie and the goldfields.

The weather in the southwest wasn’t looking too good so I managed to persuade Graham that a 400km round trip north to Kalgoorlie was a good idea. We stopped at Coolgardie on the way where gold was originally found before the discovery at Kalgoorlie although it is more of a museum town now as there is no mining there any more.

At Kalgoorlie we walked into town and along the main street which is full of very well preserved buildings and we visited the WA Kalgoorlie museum which showed some of the life of the prospectors. I had to explain to Graham as we were walking by a bar what a skimpy was (barmaid in few clothes) which are a throw back to the early years along with brothels etc. In fact we could have gone on a tour of a brothel if we had wanted. We then visited Mount Charlotte reservoir where water is stored after being piped from Mundaring Weir 563km away on the coast. Then on to the reason why Kalgoorlie still exists the Super Pit. An open cast gold mine that is approx 3.5k long, 1.5km wide and 400m deep. It is about the same size as Ayres rock but downwards! Amazing. Stopped in Boulder on the way back to the campsite and then spent the rest of the day watching AFL in the pub. Much like any normal Saturday.