Caravan Capers

Have spent the last couple of days looking around Kalgoorlie and doing little jobs on the van. We have added a fuel jerry can to the rear bumper as well as a holder for a 20ltre water can. I have also moved the plastic tube to the front 'A' frame. I have been with Tim to see the security people at the 'Super Pit' to see if we can come in as visitors on Tim's clearance. He has a licence to go into the 'Super Pit' because of his work, repairing and installing radio comms (motorola). He has to contact his sponsor at the site and arrange it through him. But it looks like we can go in if the sponsor gives the all OK. We had a quick look at the 'Super Pit ' Lookout yesterday afternoon but while we were waiting for the blasting at 1pm the security vehicle came and cleared the lookout and carpark because apparently they don't allow vehicles and people there during blasting because of safety issues.... The story goes that a rock from one of the blasts landed on a supervisors vehicle near the office area and since then OH&S have said clear the area until blasting is completed. So, we went home. I took some pictures of the hole and it is a lot deeper then when we were here a couple of years ago.

We also took a drive out to Coolgardie which is about 40 kms away but there wasn't much to see there. Funnily, as we are going out of Kalgoorlie we found that John and Peg who we last saw in Streaky Bay were driving in front of us in their coaster towing the little 'mira' heading towards Perth. We followed them all the way to Coolgardie thinking they may stop there for a while but they kept going.

On Saturday night Tim took us out for my birthday to an Italian restaurant in town called Saltimbucco. The food was very nice but expensive so I'm glad Tim was paying for it. Geraldine said it was the best food she had tasted ever!! Well, when you have been relying on Macca's and Alice food for all those years it is quite possible...

On Sunday we were invited to Tim's boss' house for a BBQ. That was nice as well. Today (Monday) is a public holiday in WA, Foundation Day, Karen just made some sushi to try and it wasn't bad for a first timer.

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Today we had our tour of the 'Super Pit'. Tim had arranged it for 11am for myself and 2pm for Geraldine. We arrived at the main gate security office and I had to do a 'visitor's induction' which consisted of a computer PowerPoint presentation and a questionnaire. I had to wear safety jacket and a hard hat into the site.
As we entered I saw a flattened 4wd vehicle up on display to emphasise safety in the pit, i.e., keep away from the big dump trucks or you will get flattened. Tim works here on and off so he knew his way around the place, as well as the road rules regarding where you can and can't turn. The dump trucks have a blind spot on their right side as the driver's cockpit sits on the left front and therefore he/she has difficulty seeing what is on their right side. You have to stay at least 50m behind these trucks and there is no overtaking at all. The winding roadway down into the pit is deceiving from the little lookout where tourists can look from. All the vehicles from there look like dinky toys and the roadways look narrow. In fact, the roadways are like double lane highways (unsealed) so that two oncoming trucks can pass each other easily with room to spare. There are also places where the roadway is taped off so that light vehicles go one way and trucks the other. Some locations have voids below so nobody goes there. The voids are old mine shafts that they keep digging up as the pit gets deeper. At present they are at the 450m mark and still going deeper. Each day there is a blasting window (if the wind is right to minimise dust blowing over the town) at 1pm. An area may then be blasted to provide loose material for the trucks to bring out. Not all the material contains gold, in fact, very little material contains gold. I think the going rate is 1 part per million, or about 14 truck loads to get one gram or ounce (not sure which). Taken that each truckload is about 225 tons, that is not much. The pit has a dispatch office overlooking it and from there they control all the machinery in the pit, displayed on a computer screen map via GPS , and controllers that speak to the machinery operators via radio, just like an air traffic control centre except these machines never leave the ground!!

This morning we packed up and said farewell to Karen, Tim and Danielle before heading off towards Norseman and the trek back across the Nullarbor. We left late so lunch was at the old campsite outside
Norseman where we stayed when coming over. We had left behind the door mat at this location so we were surprised to find it still in the same location in good condition. Obviously, not many people camp here or couldn't be bothered picking it up. I suspect the latter!.... We then decided that we could still go to Esperance before heading back. So after lunch we continued through Norseman and followed the road to the coast. The countryside is gentle undulating bushland with lots of natural flora on the side ofthe road, including lots of Banksias. The bushland changed to open farmland dominated by sheep and grain fields. We arrived in Esperance about 4:30pm and booked into the Seafront caravan park. Tomorrow we will have a look around and take the obligatory photos from lookouts and scenic harbour locations. Maybe we will see a whale!

After breakfast this morning we headed into town and the local lookout that overlooks the Esperance harbour. From there we travelled along the coastal scenic route past some magnificent cliffs, white sandy beaches and rugged coastline dotted with small offshore islands. Along here stands Australia's first wind farm at nine mile beach built in 1993 following 5 years of successful operation of a smaller experimental station at Salmon Beach. Off Observatory Point two French ships Recherché and L'Esperance took shelter in 1792 during a mapping voyage. This is how the bay and archipelago was named.

The coastal scenic route traverses close to the shore and then heads inland to pass the Pink Lake, so named because at certain times of the year when the algae blooms in it the colour turns pink. It then winds back towards the town.

After lunch we made our way to the Cape Le Grande National Park 56kms east of town. Here some of the most beautiful scenery and beaches on earth greet you. Lucky Bay, Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove are some of these. Frenchman's Peak, a granite outcrop stands alone in an area of natural bushland.

The only complaint I had was that it costs $9 per day per vehicle to drive in and to camp overnight it costs $12.50 per person. You may as well stay at the town caravan parks for that price.

Sunday morning we slept in and then had our usual breakfast of eggs and bacon with toast and orange juice. I know, you didn't need to know that!!... about mid morning we decided to walk into town along the beach and have a look at what was going on at the town jetty. A number of people had rods out but there was little fish being caught. An unusual sight was that at the beginning of the jetty there is a little monument for a sea lion that hangs around feeding on the fish entrails that the fisherman throw back into the sea when they have actually caught any. Low and behold, a short distance up the jetty near the fish cleaning station and directly below it was the sea lion 'Sammy' just floating about waiting for his next meal. After taking the obligatory photo we carried on and spoke to an elderly couple who were fishing. As the fish weren't biting they decided to go home. We then walked some more and headed back towards the shore. Near the jetty there was a 'coffee van' called the 'Coffee Cat' which sold delicious lattes so we had some with a macadamia biscuit while we sunned ourselves on the lawn. Whilst there a dog had found 'Sammy' on the beach under the jetty and was giving it a hard time, although I reckon if the dog got too close to its mouth the sea lion would have bitten its head off. Sammy just backed off into the sea and waited till the dog gave up. The dog realised it was out of its environment and decided retreat was the better deal.

We then wandered into the town centre and bought a newspaper before walking back to the caravan park for lunch and a restful afternoon. I thought I would wash the car because the locals had been complaining that there had been very little rain lately. Would you believe that after I had finished washing the car the local radio reported that a cold front would be there next day and to expect wind and rain....works every time!! :-)

The story continues...