We awoke to the sound of rain bucketing down – not a great start to the day hitching up the vans in the rain…..

Everyone gathered to say goodbye to Kerry and Gordie as they were staying in Kalgoorlie awaiting the repair of the Titan…. We were all praying that it would be a simple fix for the fuel filter – and then the next repair at an auto electrician for the lights/ starter issues that had been causing grief… and that they would be able to meet up with us in 2 days’ time to start back across the Nullarbor….

We drove out of the caravan park in the rain and turned towards Coolgardie – driving straight through we headed for the town of Southern Cross that was around 2 hrs away – and a stop for morning tea before heading south down some sealed and unsealed roads to the town of Hyden and Wave Rock….

It was teeming with rain and the roads were very wet – and quite busy with wide loads and traffic making the drive tricky… and we were starting to get concerned about the condition of some of the unsealed roads we needed to travel on to reach Hyden…

About 60 kms out of Southern Cross, Rose got on the radio letting us know they had decided to stop for a quick toilet break and would catch us up…not ideal as we usually discuss and all stop together so as to ensure no one is left behind if they have issues… there is little or no reception here and the potential for problems is quite real…

Anyway we kept driving, and just 6 km out of Southern Cross, Klaus needed a toilet break so we found a rest area and we both stopped… as we were pulling back on the road, Trev got on the radio to let Klaus know he was letting a couple of trucks go before turning on… and Rose got on the radio saying she and Dave could now here us and they were just about to turn onto Emu Fence Road…. Well thankfully due to the providence of God, Klaus’s bladder had caused us to stop long enough for them to get back into radio range because that WAS NOT the turnoff – they needed to come straight ahead with us to Southern Cross – this could have lead to some pretty dire circumstances as we found out later….

We all arrived in Southern Cross safely and the rain continued to bucket down as we went inside the Southern Star Cafe for a coffee and early lunch…. The coffee was great and the service and food excellent…. The 3 ladies (one of whom was a nurse) had not long started the business – and were doing a great job!

At the café we called Gordie and he gave us the great news that his car was fixed – the mechanic had put it up on the hoist and had managed to see that the fuel filter needed another turn to tighten it fully – fixing the issue!!!

The car was now at the auto electrician who said it would be fixed by this evening… which meant that Gordie and Kerry would definitely be meeting us at Afghan Rocks on Friday for the long journey home – what a wonderful answer to our prayers!! It was such a blessing getting both an mechanic and an auto electrician able to fit him in – as so many that we had called had no time for weeks….

As we were about to leave the café, we asked the ladies about the road conditions between Southern Cross and Hyden going via Marvel Loch…. They did not know… but as we were just walking to the door, the door opened and in came 2 men in hi-vis – and the ladies (who knew them) said these are just the guys you should talk to – they were the local council roads guys!!

Providentially again we spoke to them, and they told us that all the roads leading to Hyden south of Southern Cross had just been closed due to the wet conditions – the unsealed sections were too boggy and unsafe! In fact, all over the local shire north and south the unsealed roads had been closed that morning!!

We needed to come up with a plan B to get to Hyden, and looking on Google Maps I could see that there was an option that was about 25mins longer (but quite a few more kms) that went via Merredin and then south to Narembeen then via Kondinin to Hyden… and it looked like to whole way may have been sealed – Trev showed the guys and they confirmed that yes – those roads were sealed and still open so we quickly got on the road again to take the longer detour and hopefully reach Wave Rock Caravan Park by about 330 that afternoon… As we left the rain continued to pelt down…..

For those readers who believe in luck you may be thinking that we had some pretty good luck today – however luck really does not enter our equation.

There were so many incidents over the last few days that had happened that God had clearly been in control of and working it out for our good even if at the time we didn’t realise it…. Beginning with Gordon’s car breakdown – which seemed like a big issue and definitely caused some sleepless nights for Kerry and Gordy – however if we had not all been delayed in Kalgoorlie and had followed the itinerary and reached Elachbutting Rock 2 days ago – we would have been there this morning wanting to leave and drive down to Hyden – the roads around Elachbutting Rock are all unsealed and thus were now closed – and so we would have all been stranded in Elachbutting Rock for who knows how long! “God works all things for good for those who love Him” despite us initially thinking the Titan breakdown was bad – it was much better than what we could have been facing right now if it hadn’t happened!!

Meeting a mechanic and his wife at the Baptist church – one of many churches we could have chosen to go to that day – and out of many people at that church Gordie could have spoken to he spoke to a guy who was a mechanic and offered assistance …. again, God’s providence…

…And the bearing shop where Gordie and Trev went to find an O-ring –the stores person could not find any the right size in their big stock box… Trev noticing 2 random ones sitting on a bench in the corner – the store person did not know how they got there – or whose they were – but one was the right fit so he gave it to them no charge…

Then there was Klaus’s toilet stop only 6 kms out of town – as mentioned before if that hadn’t happened, then Rose and Dave would have turned down Emu Fence Road  and gone down the road, reaching the unsealed section – maybe getting bogged in the process and unable to turn the big rig around once they got to the road closure – and we would not have been able to find them…

Then just “happening” to choose the Southern Star Café over the other cafés in town and having the conversation with the ladies re the road just as we left…. And the very men who had the knowledge we needed actually walking through the door just as we were about to go out – again no coincidence – God at work caring for us each step of the way preventing us from a nightmare trip and potential disaster with caravans on flooded unsealed roads…

It is clearly evident the God is true to His Word and takes care of us – even if things to us seem like they are bad, troublesome or difficult He works it all for our good – sometimes the good is not always evident at the time but looking back on things you can clearly see the hand of God in your life… and sometimes there have been things you have been spared and will never know about …..

The detour drive to Hyden was great – the roads were good and the countryside beautiful – green pastures as we came through farming areas – grain and sheep farms…. The sun broke though the clouds and it seemed the rain had abated….

We finally arrived at Hyden and drove through to Wave Rock Caravan Park that was just a couple of kilometres out of Hyden….

The sites were great, and we set up…. The communal firepit was lit early – Gordie would have loved it!!

Before deciding what to do today, we waited for the NRMA to arrive to collect the Titan….. Fortunately, the tow truck guy arrived quite early and we all watched the sad spectacle of the Titan being loaded onto the back of the truck…. Gordie was able to start it and drive it on which saved time and effort…

Branch came out to inspect and farewell the big blue beast….

The Titan looked bigger than the truck carrying it!!

Trev and Gordie went with the truck to Phil the mechanics to discuss next steps and then came back (with bun and madeira cake AND cookies) for morning tea….

We decided to take a drive out to Coolgardie, the “Mother of the Goldfields”– the first town in the area and once the 3^rd largest in WA during the goldrush era…. Sadly, today it is very small – almost a ghost town….

However, the visitor centre and museum had an extensive collection and displays that gave a detailed picture of the history of the township…

The town of Coolgardie was declared in August 1893 and by the late 1890s there were over 15,000 people living there and another 10,000 people in the surrounding area. Coolgardie had 26 hotels, 3 breweries, 2 stock exchanges, 14 churches and seven newspapers in its heyday… Today the population of Coolgardie is around 1200.

On display was a large model of Coolgardie as it was….

There were antique tools….

An extensive bottle collection…

A large collection of old pharmaceuticals….

And antiquated medical devices and treatments that brought tears to the eyes at the thought of what people went through back then 😊

There was a display on nursing back then….

With the ambulance stretcher used!!!

Perspectives as to what constituted a healthy look have certainly changed….

Local rocks and minerals that had been collected over the years….

Memorabilia and quirky items…..

There were rooms set up as they had been in the late 1800’s…. the washing and cooking would have been quite laborious activities…

The setup of the old Salvation Army meeting place showed just how primitive some of the early structures were…

The old buildings outside were beautifully restored…. Some metal sculptures commemorating the mining history looked great in the park area….

We drove on to find the old Coolgardie Racetrack where Kerry’s dad would also have ridden as a jockey… the journey took us offroad along a muddy red dirt road much to the Pearl’s dismay… but we managed to locate the memorial stone… and all that was left was some vague tracks and bits of brick and tin scattered around…the bush had reclaimed it!

Back to Kalgoorlie and we did a drive by of the home Kerry’s dad lived in as a boy…. it was still there….

We then headed back to the caravan park for happy hour… mysteriously a “Lake Dave” appeared around the Wells’ campsite…. could there have been some clandestine car washing after the Pearl had been through the mud?????

Trev, Beryl and I went back to the Superpit Lookout to watch the sunset over Kalgoorlie….

And the lights of the Superpit coming on as the sun went down…. Haul trucks still pulling their loads up and down…

The Weiss, Wells and ourselves were departing Kalgoorlie for Wave Rock in the morning… Gordie’s car was not ready so the Hunters have booked another night in Kalgoorlie – we are hoping that the Titan will be back on the road by tomorrow arvo/ Thursday so they can then meet us at Afghan Rocks on Friday night! There has been a lot of prayers sent up over the situation and so we are sure everything will work out for the best! Things always happen for a reason and God has everything under control!!

Monday had arrived and it was time to sort out the Nissan Titan once and for all… Gordie had rung Cummins who said they could not assist, and it would take 2-5 days to get parts…

We had been booked on the morning tour of the Superpit however fortuitously the company called and said it was too foggy for the morning tour, but they could get us in the 1PM tour – which gave Gordie, Branch and MacGyver time to get stuck into the Titan!

Trev and Gordie went out to a bearing company, and they had a box of O-rings – however none suitable, but Trev saw 2 sitting across on the counter – the guy did not know where they came from but they tried one – it looked the right size and so the guy, Mark, gave it to them for free…

So back at the caravan park, remove and reinstall the fuel filter with the new O-ring…it seemed to fit snugly enough… Gordie used the purge function to get the air out… however it still seemed to have air in the fuel line and would not run properly… at this stage it looked like the O-ring was not suitable…

MacGyver and Gordie took the filter back off and decided to go to the mechanic who they had met at church – he had a workshop in Boulder…

As they were driving there, Gordie rang the mechanic’s wife, Heather, to make sure they could locate the correct workshop…but couldn’t get on so left a message… they found what they thought was the workshop – but turned out it was another one… who said realistically he could not see them for 3 weeks….

Gordie checked his phone and had a message from Heather – the workshop was in Kalgoorlie not Boulder – and she said her husband was expecting them, so they drove there pronto…

 Phil, the mechanic, gave them some grease to put on the filter to help seal the O-ring and he also suggested to ensure the tank was fairly full of diesel… so they picked up an extra jerry can of fuel which MacGyver put into the Titan while Gordie greased the O-ring…

Unfortunately, the Titan did not respond… in fact it was becoming increasingly difficult to start…. Gordie rang his mechanic back home and his advice (same as Luke and others) involved some more complex work, so the decision was made to call the NRMA (again) and this time ask for a tow to Phil’s workshop….

As it was time to go and do the Superpit tour, Gordie decided to leave calling the NRMA until we returned from the tour….

The tour bus left from the office in Hannan Street not far from the Visitor Centre…. With our hi-vis vests and safety glasses we boarded the bus and were driven out to the mine by the very entertaining tour guide, Wes….

First stop was the Superpit Lookout – the pit was alive with haul trucks and loaders bringing out the gold-carrying ore… It takes 1hr 15mins for a haul truck to drive up from the bottom of the pit to the top…

The Superpit Mine is owned by an Australian Company, KGCM (Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines). It began in 1989 after the amalgamation of multiple individual gold mines that had been started by Alan Bond, was finally completed. Currently it is 3.5km long, 1.5 km wide and 700 m deep. The whole mining lease covers an area of 36 000 ha.

There are 1100 people employed at the mine and all staff who work there must live in Kalgoorlie – there are no FIFO staff. All staff work 12 hr shifts – 50% nights/ 50% days – 7 days on/ 7 days off. Mandatory D&A testing is undergone daily. Refusal to take the test results in a lifetime ban from the site.

We drove past the new wall being constructed as there are plans to enlarge the pit – which will include mining the area that is currently the lookout… so the external wall is built first then the mining begins…

The crusher mill was hard at work as we drove by – the loads of 7 haul trucks are milled each hour… each truck carries a load of ore up to 250 tonnes. The mill extracts approx. 9000 ounces of gold per week…

A new mill is currently under construction as the old is nearing its end of life….

The haul trucks fuel up at the onsite fuel station…

The mechanics workshop looked very busy with a few trucks in for servicing – the haul trucks need to be serviced every 12 days!

The spare parts yard was very well organised and stocked – everything is so well planned so as not to lose any mining time.

Tyres for the haul trucks are $40k each, and for the front-end loaders the tyres are $90K each! The haul trucks travel at 40km per hr down into the mine, and 10km per hr when coming back up out of the pit fully laden. The front end loaders have a top speed of 2.4km per hr!!!

The decommissioned trucks and loaders are often used for spare parts and so they have them sitting in a specific yard – the decommissioned loader looked huge close up!

Spare trays for the haul trucks were also stored there…

The bus took us all the way around to the north end of the Superpit – the view again was astounding – the trucks deep in the pit looked like ants…. However, the same trucks working near us building a new road looked massive!!

It was fascinating watching the process of the road building – the haul trucks would dump the waste rock that the gold had been extracted from over the edge and the bulldozer (that looked very small) would direct the trucks where to drop their loads… it looked very precarious as the trucks were right on the edge dumping their loads…. And it was a really long way down…. The gravel road was being compacted by the sheer weight of the haul trucks driving over it….

As we continued on the tour, we drove past the regeneration areas where the company is trying different strategies to enable regeneration of the soil and native species in the areas that mining has now finished…

It was a great tour and a real insight into the massive operation that is the Superpit….

When we arrived back at the vans, Gordie rang the NRMA – and the tow was organised for tomorrow morning… at that point we all decided we would stay another night in Kalgoorlie to stay with Gordie and Kerry – we were only going to free camp that night anyway – and so we will leave on Wednesday to go straight to Wave Rock…

That night we went to the Kalgoorlie Pub for dinner – as recommended by our tour guide – and the food was delicious – the lamb cutlets and veg were the best!!

The pub was warm with a great atmosphere…..

We awoke to a cold and miserable Sunday…. Windy wet and freezing!!!

Today was a quiet day – we went to church at Kalgoorlie Baptist Church in the morning. The people there were very friendly and welcoming – one even has a mechanic for a husband and so they gave Kerry their contact details should we not be able to resolve the Titan issue….

The preacher was a 90 year old man who gave a great message based on his life on sharing the gospel and how Jesus is ready to open the door to those who knock and seek Him…. He is waiting for people to come and lay their burdens at His feet, and He will give them rest, hope for the future, strenghth to get through the troubles in this life and the security of eternal life with Him when we die…. A really encouraging message considering the many trials and troubles we all go through during this life…

After church we had coffee at the Kaoss Kafe in town – Klaus lashed out and had the delicious pancake stack!!!

Rose and Dave then headed to the Irish Pub to watch their beloved Swannies play – unfortunately their team took a dive ☹….

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, preparing for leaving Kalgoorlie on Tuesday and hibernating inside away from the artic wind and rain!!!

It was so cold overnight, and in the morning, a solid sheet of ice covered the Ranger’s windscreen…

The first priority for today was to sort Gordie’s fuel filter issue out as the Titan was not able to be driven….

Branch was a bit late to the scene… MacGyver and Gordie already had the part out and were inspecting it….

Seems that the mechanic yesterday had put the old fuel filter back in when he realised the one Gordie had left him was for the front fuel filter (the Titan has 2 and they are different)… and as the mechanic did not have a part for the one he removed he had put the old one back in and sealed it with some sort of sealant around the O-ring… unsuccessfully as the Titan was drawing air in through it…

Unfortunately, the dealership that had done the service was not open til Monday so Gordie had to try and source a part or a solution over this weekend…. It appears that there were no fuel filters the same that they could find on first investigation…

Gordie and MacGyver removed the O-ring and as much of the sealant they could from the part and the area it fits in to… and then tried to locate a similar sized O-ring to put back on… a plumbing part from Bunnings looked like it had an O-ring that would do the trick…

They sourced the O-ring and then we all took a break and went out to the famous Broad Arrow Hotel for lunch…. The last pub standing in the almost-ghost town of Broad Arrow about half an hour out of Kalgoorlie….

The Broad Arrow Hotel was built in 1896 and has served people continuously for over 100 years. The pub was very unique in a Daly Waters Pub kind of way… lots of memorabilia and graffiti with signatures all over the walls from many years past…. Apparently now you are no longer permitted to sign the walls…

We ordered the famous “Broady Burger” and chips – delicious home-made burgers and great chips!!!

All the food was really good and went down well sitting out in the sun away from the biting wind…. The wind chill factor felt like it was 1 degree!!

Broad Arrow was established in 1893 when prospectors O’Mara, Quinn and Pike left Kalgoorlie to explore for gold and found good deposits there. It was given its name due to the trail of broad arrows that O’Mara left for his nephew so he could find them as he was leaving Kalgoorlie later than them. At its height, Broad Arrow had 8 hotels, 2 banks, 2 breweries, a stock exchange, a large hospital with a special fever ward, several shops, a magistrate, a blacksmith and a Dramatic Society!

There is not much left of the township now – a water tower and a few run-down miners cottages….

After lunch we drove back to the caravan park and Gordie and Trev got stuck into repairing the Titan…. Unfortunately, Branch was napping…. And the plumbing O-ring concept failed….

So, Gordie contacted the NRMA for some advice, and Trev contacted Luke who was a great help sourcing different options for parts that may fit the Titan…. As tomorrow is Sunday there will not be much open… but Repco is and they may have one of the parts Luke has suggested so after church that’s the next stage of the plan…..

For the rest of the day we caught up on washing, blogging, reading etc… a fairly relaxing time….

Another sunny day in Kalgoorlie…

The caravan park awoke to an unusual sight – a large body of water that had run though the park and out the main gates….. particularly unusual since there had been no rain…. The river was traceable back to the Hunter Lotus – very unusual as large amounts of water usually run out of certain other vans but not the Hunters…..

Apparently earlier that morning Gordie had got out of bed to use the toilet… and it did not flush… no water!!Going outside to check, he soon realised that water was gushing out of the hose connection to the filter – it had disconnected and had been running full bore for several hours (time unknown) – resulting in Lake Gordon being created in the caravan park. The evidence of the flood was still visible that morning as we walked up….

Fortunately, no one was camping in tents nearby or they would have been inundated…. Branch inspected the culprit filter… all was back working OK….

Trev and Gordie dropped their cars in for servicing at the local Ford/ Nissan dealers as pre-arranged… then we all went out to explore Kalgoorlie…

Kerry’s Dad had grown up in Kalgoorlie and had been a successful jockey here as a young man, so she was keen to look at the Racing Museum – we all went for a look – there was a plethora of memorabilia dating back to the early 1900s….

After the museum we drove into the main street, Hannan Street, named after Paddy Hannan, the gold prospector who found gold in the area in 1893 sparking the major gold rush and resulted in the township of Kalgoorlie/ Boulder…. His statue was outside the visitor centre…

The visitor centre was quite small so we only stayed momentarily… there were a couple of unusual characters there so we moved on to walk up Hannan Street.

There were quite a few grand old buildings lining the main street many over 100 years old….

After a walk along the street and a quick bite to eat, we went into the Museum of the Goldfields which was a great place to visit to get the history of the area and a real insight into life back then during the gold rush….

The Vault had an extensive display of real gold samples… Klaus was salivating 😊…. There was lots of information about the different forms gold can take – leaf, nuggets, alluvial, veins in quartz etc… great to give you an idea what to look for when prospecting….

Original Kalgoorlie gold jewellery was also on display.

Upstairs were many exhibits of machinery, instruments and general artifacts from life back in the late 1800s/ early 1900s….

A “man trap” used to catch those who may trespass on other’s claim sites (watch out Klaus!!)…

The nurse’s kit was very interesting….

Gordie was fascinated by the hand made bike that a local character used to ride around the mine fields on….

Various mining implements were also on show….

Replica rooms such as a sitting room in a wealthy persons home….

And a dentists surgery…. Brought back memories for Dave of his dad’s surgery!!

An old pub was still located on the corner – no longer functioning as a pub but housing some of the museum’s displays…

Outside there was a miners hut fully set up – very similar to the miners huts we see in Helensburgh!!! It’s hard to imagine how they lived in such tiny homes in the extreme climate that is the mid-WA goldfield area!

Klaus took a look at the portable police station…

Trev checked out the office building that reminded him of some of the old firestations back home…

There was also the old bank building…

All in all the museum was a fascinating place, and the staff were very friendly and informative….

Our next destination was the Superpit Lookout….

The Superpit is the huge gold mine in Kalgoorlie that was created as a result of the amalgamation of many small mines in the area – the first person to propose this was Alan Bond, whose company failed to complete this in the early 1980s but by 1989 it was completed by a company that was then formed – Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines and the Superpit was born… on Monday we are booked to do the tour of the Superpit so more info on that then….

Looking into the Superpit the scale of the operation was unbelievable – so wide, deep and so many haul trucks going back and forth…..

A photo op at the lookout provided some amusement…..

The size of the digger buckets was incredible….

We had been hearing so many stories from locals about people stumbling across nuggets on bush tracks and in car parks (even at the Superpit Lookout!) so Klaus was rearing to go with his metal detector….

As we crossed the carpark, I noticed something sparkle in the sun… and picked up a rock containing what looks like specs of gold…. Klaus will check it with his metal detector later so it will be interesting to see if it is gold… it looks very much like one of the samples in the Vault in the museum… so watch this space 😊

Trev’s car was ready, so we went and picked it up…. Gordie’s also was ready about the same time… however when he picked his up and drove to Coles where Kerry was shopping disaster struck…. The Titan was sucking air into the fuel system…. Seems there was an issue with filter changes and the mechanics at the dealership who did the work…. Too much detail to go into – suffice to say it was 530pm on a Friday in Kalgoorlie – not a time to be able to sort it out…. but it has caused a serious issue with the Titan….. we approached the caravan park to see if we could all stay an extra night on Monday and leave Tuesday which hopefully will allow us time to get the Titan sorted…. Tomorrow Trev and Gordie plan to remove the culprit fuel filter and see what can be done…. The people at Discovery Parks Kalgoorlie Goldfields were amazing and worked it out so we could all stay another night on the same sites without having to move vans around!!

As our next destination was a couple of nights free camping the change is not an issue….

Our destination today was Kalgoorlie and so we were aiming to leave at 0800 so we could stop along the way at the historic ghost town of Gwalia and then Menzies. Dave and Rose were on a timeframe as they were booked in at 3PM in Kalgoorlie to get their tyres replaced….

We left Leinster on time and drive the 1.5hrs to Gwalia uneventfully…. passing active mine sites on the way….

And the by now familiar wide loads…..

Until we noticed that one of our skylights on the caravan was vertical!! A Branch moment indeed!!! It must have not been completely latched and when going over a bump somewhere along the road had suddenly flung open – a quick pull over and it was easily rectified with no damage….

The town of Leonora was just before Gwalia – being mindful of time we just drove on taking a couple of quick pics…

Turning off the highway to the Gwalia Historic Precinct…

we drove up to the museum and Hoover House past the empty miners shacks and shopfronts that were once part of the bustling town of Gwalia…

The museum was very interesting with exhibits inside and around the grounds…

including the old hearse….

The tram that used to run between Gwalia and Leonora…

The local mail truck…

Outside there was the old headframe and winder from the original Sons of Gwalia mine….

The locomotive that was used in the area to service the rail network…

On the top of the hill stood Hoover House – and exceptionally well built home designed and lived in by the American geologist and later president of the United States, Herbert Hoover. Herbert Hoover was the first mine manager at Gwalia.

The home continued to be the mine manager’s house for many years and is now a B&B and café… we enjoyed a coffee and scones/ cakes inside the café – a welcome break from the icy wind outside!!

Inside the house was a treasure trove of antiques and the rooms had been lovingly restored…

The house was right next to the mine pit…. The lawn stretching like a green carpet almost to the edge of the pit…. A very infrequent sight such a green and manicured lawn in this environment!!!

The view from the lookout into the mine pit itself was mind boggling – the mine was active with haul trucks maneuvering slowly up and down the steep roads bringing up the ore…. Gwalia Gold Mine is currently the deepest gold mine in Australia having just reached 2 kilometres deep below the surface…and is predicted to reach 2.5km by 2031. New ventilation has been installed to send chilled air from the surface to the miners working below…

The old Assay House designed and built in 1898 by Herbert Hoover was also in the grounds of the museum – the ore was analysed in these rooms to see if it was worth processing. Hundreds of samples were tested each week in the office and results were published to inform shareholders of the progress of the mine.

Rose and Dave left for Kalgoorlie, and we all followed shortly after …. However, Branch was on the loose…. As we drove out of Gwalia, Klaus noticed that Gordie again had no lights on the Lotus… so we all pulled over to check it out…. Still some issues happening with the Titan that could not be resolved at the side of the road, so we continued on to Kalgoorlie with Gordie driving in between ourselves and Klaus due to his lack of indicators and brake lights… another issue to sort in Kalgoorlie!!

Our next (brief) stop was the town of Menzies where Kerry’s grandmother’s family had owned and run a boarding house for people including European immigrants that had come to work in the surrounding mines…

Getting closer to Kalgoorlie we continued to see mullock heaps, abandoned and also active mines…

The Paddington Gold Mine was hard at work as we passed it…

We arrived in Kalgoorlie….

and got in to the caravan park… Trev and Gordie checked out about their booked car services tomorrow… Trev’s booking was OK but Gordie’s booking had not been confirmed… but they kindly said they would squeeze him in tomorrow as well… also tomorrow Gordie will sort out an auto electrician to look at the electrics which have been an issue….

We all had a slow start to the day – bacon and eggs.. a leisurely breakfast then some routine chores….

There was not a lot to do in Leinster but the surrounding area had some gold rush history sites to look at…

Kerry and Gordie decided to stay back and have an easy morning – the six of us all drove out to the site of the gold rush town of Agnew which is located near the current working gold mine of the same name.

The town had been pretty much decimated with only a couple of ramshackle cottages left and some of the old mine artifacts that BHP had placed on displays with information boards that were very helpful to work out exactly what we were looking at…

The large stamper mill (much like the one in the Mt Magnet Museum) was on display – it was used to crush the ore as part of the process of extracting the gold…

An old steam engine used to drive the machinery was rusting in the background….

 A big winder that was used to bring the ore up to the surface was also located nearby….

Looking around it was not difficult to imagine how hard life on the goldfields back in the 1800’s would have been – having to contend with harsh conditions like extreme heat in summer and very cold winters, flies, little water, lack of supplies and medical care…. And the greed which brought out the worst in human nature leading to a violent and unpredictable lifestyle….

After exploring the area, Rose, Dave and Beryl returned to camp and Klaus, Trev and I went on further for a bit of fossicking…. Klaus had downloaded an app which showed areas that were still unclaimed and thus were open for those with a prospector’s permit (which Klaus had) to fossick on.

We drove back along the Sandstone Road to a suitable area and spent the next couple of hours looking for gold…

Klaus again getting quite a few hits…. But again nothing worthwhile ☹

The area certainly looked promising with all the quartz scattered around…

There were some lovely wildflowers starting to emerge…. and interesting succulents…

Back at camp we spent the rest of the day relaxing, cooking damper in the coals from last night’s fire, Kerry baked a delicious fruitcake…..

We went to the Leinster Gold and Nickel Pub for dinner – great pub food at a reasonable price!!!

…and then sat around the fire after dinner….

Our drive today took us cross-country from Mt Magnet to Leinster along the Mt Magnet-Sandstone Road… after some careful maneuvering out of the Mt Magnet Caravan Park…

As we pulled into Sandstone we were impressed with the neat and tidy townscape…

and we stopped for morning tea at the café in the old post office…

The café had a great collection of memorabilia from the early days of the town including an old postie bike…

We had a great coffee and scones then walked across to the small museum and visitor centre for a look.

Sandstone was a booming gold rush town 100 years ago with a population of up to 6000 people. They had some interesting relics and displays in the museum…

the Womaton in particular caught our eye… we wondered what the ingredients were for such an amazing potion for “weak women”… after a bit of a Google search we discovered it had vegetable extracts and OPIUM!!

There was a short heritage trail we decided to do as there were some interesting sights to see… along the trail was the former State Battery where the gold was extracted and refined…

The natural stone formation “the London Bridge” is a “breakaway” – a unique structure formed from weathered basalt.. It was an area where the townspeople used to come for picnics and celebrations – they even drove horse and carts over the bridge (hard to imagine today!)…

It was a great place for another group shot!!

Klaus had a quick sweep with his metal detector as there were mullock heaps and quartz all over the place… unfortunately again to no avail…

Further along the trail was “the Brewery cave ” – a cave where beer barrels were stored. A brewery had been built on top of the small hill where the cave was by an Irishman Mr Kearney in 1907 to provide beer for the miners of Sandstone… The cave kept the beer really cool in the hot climate…

Back on to the main road to Leister and we passed through an RFDS landing strip – they do a great and necessary role in such a remote location with all the heavy industry around…

The Agnew Mine site was visible – as were the windfarm windmills which stood starkly in the distance – we had not seen any for ages it seems!

We arrived at the Goldfields Highway intersection and turned into Leinster – a BHP town run for the mining community here…

We entered the Caravan Park and picked a spot – then went across to the local supermarket to pay for the 2 night stay…

That night we sat around the fire… the temperature had dropped to single figures and the only way we could sit outside was to have a roaring fire!!

First job of the day was to get the brake sensor switch (that governs starting Gordie’s ute) out of the Titan to give it a good clean… Branch enjoyed the activity… they pulled the switch apart and cleaned the terminals so the contact was good – and everything worked like clockwork after that – for which we were all thankful!

Mt Magnet reportedly had a great mining and pastoral museum so we planned to go and check it out….and it certainly did not disappoint!

The museum had an extensive collection of artifact which gave a really good perspective on life during the gold rush era and early Australian settlement….

There was a replica of the hut which was part of a camel breeding station near Mt Magnet at the turn of the century which was the scene of a notorious triple murder. The famous author Arthur Upfield who was a boundary rider on the Rabbit Proof Fence was working on his latest novel “The Sands of Windee” about the perfect murder and he regularly discussed ideas with his fellow workers. His theme for the murder story was that the culprit burned the bodies and crushed the bones in a dolly pot … no body thus no proof the person was dead… unfortunately his friend Snowy Rowles used the idea to actually commit 3 murders  – the book was published at the time of Snowy’s arrest and led to a major controversy about which a movie (3 Acts of Murder) was made in 2013. Snowy was convicted and hanged in Fremantle in 1931.

A huge stamper mill used in the early mine to extract the gold from the ore had been preserved inside one of the sheds of the museum…

The historical society had compiled a wall of remembrance with all the names of those killed in mines in WA from the beginning of mining in WA until the present day – a very solemn thought as there were literally thousands – many of whom were very young…

After the museum we drove back through the town…

and out on the tourist drive route that took us past various sites of interest… First stop was Poverty Flats where the first piece of gold was found in the region – creating the gold rush to Mt Magnet…

A current working mine was in close proximity…

A flock of feral goats were grazing by the roadside….

Remains of a miner’s hut was the next stop which was very close to the Ramelius Mt Magnet Gold Mine currently in operation…

Further along the drive was the lookout where we could see into one of the open cut mines… and also an old open cut mine now used as the tip…

While we were exploring the lookout area we came upon some old drums and mullock heaps – looking much like a very old mine lease… Klaus had not brought his metal detector along unfortunately but we went into the bush for a look around… Trev found a  mine shaft opening and went inside – definitely an old mine with a seam of quartz that they must have been following… but we saw no gold (not surprising!)

We drove on and stopped at some interesting rock formations – the Amphitheatre… and some local caves….

The former township of Lennonville was our next destination…. The town began after gold was discovered nearby in 1894… at its height, Lennonville had a population of 3000 people and was a hive of activity with 5 hotels, shops, businesses, a school and church…

The only thing really left of the once-thriving town was its railway platform… a few metal pieces, some rubble piles and non-native plants where once gardens would have been lovingly cared for..

We left Lennonville and came across a large echidna crossing the road… so stopped to take a pic – he was very healthy and well fed!!!

Driving back to Mt Magnet township we stopped in for a look at “The Granites” some rock formations that have cultural significance for the local indigenous people….

That afternoon Klaus was keen to go out with his metal detector to fossick for the elusive gold nugget… an “old mate” in the caravan park had given him some info on a site out past the tip which was OK to fossick at as there was no active mine lease over it as yet…

So we drove out following the instructions… along past the cemetery and tip, turn left at the fence … follow the fence along until you see a wrecked Holden ute… which at first we could not see …

but then did a second left and went along the tip fence further finally locating the wreck… and then drove along a track to ????

“Old mate” was supposedly out there waiting for us but he was nowhere in sight… no surprises – you cannot trust any info any “prospectors” give you – people are very cagey when it comes to looking for gold! We were out in the middle of nowhere and felt that perhaps he had given us a bum steer…

In the distance on the track we saw a white 4WD… and what looked like a mine ute with the orange flag… as we got closer we saw a young couple talking to the “mine guy”… they were blocking the road and so we waited… but they waved us on so we went around them through the bush and got back on the track.

The area they were in looked pretty much like what the “old mate” had described to Klaus as the area but we could not start looking there so Klaus drove on a little further and we got out…

Klaus fired up the detector and got some quick hits… unfortunately only scrap metal…

The mine guy had left, and we decided to head back as we had not found anything – it looked better back where the young couple were…

but as we approached there was now a white ute with an old guy talking to the couple… and he had a big angry looking dog in the back of his ute barking profusely….

Trev and I drove around them and went on further while Klaus stopped to talk to them – the young couple were using a metal detector so were looking around, and the old guy with the dog was just checking what they were doing…. And he was quite rude to Klaus so Klaus drove on and followed us… and lo and behold the “old mate” from the caravan park turned up – Klaus got out the metal detector again and started looking….

Trev and I decided to return to camp as we  were having the communal roast for dinner so needed to start preparations…. We left Klaus with the “old mate” and went back to camp…

The whole gold prospecting thing at times seems like something from another time… gold fever is still well and truly alive out here with lots of dodgy characters seeking their fortunes… Trev was speaking to one guy who was saying that only 2 weeks before in Mt Magnet, 2 prospectors got into an argument… and guns were drawn so the police had to be called… things can get pretty wild when greed takes over…

Klaus arrived back safely emptyhanded… but we all enjoyed a great home-cooked roast dinner… as Gordie put it “better than anything you can have eating out!”…

That night we had an unexpected visitor check out our van… not sure why we attract cats… this one was very friendly and cute!