022 - Lucky Bay

Sorry... this had to be at the start of the post. There's just too much awesomeness in it to be swallowed up by a blog post that may be skimmed over...,

Waking up to the usual screaming early WA daylight found us parked literally in a paddock right next to the pub. A great little concept, making use of an otherwise low value piece of land and creating income and revenue for a small little township. Should be more of it.

Yep... lucky I've been working on my caravan parking skills...

We pulled out of Gibson early with the intention to try and get out to Lucky Bay (LB) mid-morning to try and snaffle a campground. The LB Campground works on a first in best dressed rule  and no bookings are taken. Being school holidays and an impending long weekend coming up for ANZAC Day, we didn’t want to take any chances.

Around 10km in, that pesky engine light returned…. Hmmm…. OK, maybe we’ll stop in Esperance and get the local Holden dealer to have a once over it. Except, Esperance is completely devoid of a Holden dealership. Has pretty much every other make under the sun, but not the General. So we took an impromptu breakfast on the waterfront whilst I once again tried to make some calls.

OK... so how many of you have had a bowl of Cheerios like this?

Turned out the nearest service centre was Albany, some 500km away. Whilst I waited for Holden to call back with a potential “local bloke” I took the opportunity to go into the local Telstra shop and change my phone over to the Telstra network in an attempt to improve our phone coverage around the country. A 45min wait in a queue was thankfully met with an incredibly helpful staff member who changed me over no problem whatsoever. And whilst we’ve still had limited reception over the past week, I think it will be a handy move.

Still no word from Holden, and with the clock ticking, we pushed on to Lucky Bay. With no issues from The Rock Truck, we arrived at the Cape Le Grande National Park with little to no fuss.

Now before I get into describing LB Campground and LB itself, it’s fair to say I’ll probably run out of adjectives and superlatives to do the place justice. In most instances I’ll just let the photos do the talking, but here goes anyhow.

In a couple of texts and Facebook posts I’ve made over the past week, I’ve described the region as “shockingly beautiful”. I was, and to this day remain, astonished by the beauty of the place. From the stark rolling granite hills, down through the scrub and shrubs to come out straight out onto pure white beaches, made from sand like which I’ve never known before. The sand is so fine, salt like in appearance, that as you walk on it, it literally squeaks under your feet.

And then, if you don’t think the place could get any more enchanting or breathtaking, a couple of local small roos bounce pass non-chalantly, as if inserting a random Australian landscape cliche. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought I was stuck in a Tourism Australia ad.

The campgrounds have recently had a significant overhaul with a new area opened up to double the capacity. They are marshalled by “hosts”, volunteers who live on the grounds for a month at a time who take the payments and clean the dunnies in lieu of fees… Geez… tough gig. The Rangers patrol the areas also, and maintain the rubbish bins and other amenities.

We found the grounds to be excellent in quality and more than acceptable. We were “officially” told to boil the groundwater before using it, but “off the record” were assured that it was fine to drink. For anyone wondering, we spent the week drinking it without any issue whatsoever.

Our site was large and easily accommodated the Big Green Lizard, it’s awning (when rolled out) and the Rock Truck without any issues. Each site was isolated from the neighbouring sites as well, giving you a nice little sense of isolation without making you feel alone. If that makes sense?

I’m probably going to get sick of recommending places that people MUST go to (remember Lincoln NP anyone?) but this is a non-negotiable. The fact that this region is so far away from most, so difficult to get to means that the reward for effort needs to be great. The reward for getting to Lucky Bay is so great, it’d be worth travelling twice the distance, with triple the amount of kids in the back at four times the cost and you’d still be ahead.

It is simply “shockingly beautiful”.

The Rock Truck and BGL admiring a perfect sunset....

White sand like they've never known...

Rock and sand and sea... 

Sam just fascinated by the texture of the sand. As was I. So unique.

Day 1 at Lucky Beach... Sam in charge of snags. He's a pro. I shed a tear...

Anyone interested in the following LB posts should study this picture as there's quite a few references. Maybe I should study it too...

Our site. I've had some ripper parks in my time, but we may have a new benchmark.

I love the way they don't make you park on top of each other

The World's best dining table.

021 - Kalgoorlie to Gibson

And with the last day of Easter upon us, it was once again time to hitch up and get the Gecko stretching her legs (or should that be webbed feet?), heading southbound for the coast.

A largely inefficient hook up occurred due to a few nomads being rather interested (i.e. sticky beaking) into the Andersen hitch set up we have on the van. I’m always happy to discuss things vans, but sometimes there are better times to do it….

We had earmarked The Hannans North Tourist Mine for a visit before we shot through and very glad we did. A spectacular display of mining equipment from both today and yesteryear. The crown in their jewel however is the ability to actually climb up and into the drivers seat of a decommissioned Tonka Truck. B has decided if she’s ever going for a career change, she’d love to have a crack at steering one. As impressive close up as they are from afar, I think the kids almost got whiplash from trying to take it all in.

It was also paired with a loader, which was equally impressive, but unfortunately unavailable for climbing on.

The mine is like Pioneer Settlement or Soveriegn Hill focussing entirely on mining through the ages. Lots of displays, signage and sound and light shows are on exhibition to learn from. I particularly liked the explosive storage shed, and the smart design used to keep temperatures stable (as they could) and prevent natural light.

"Just the two of us... making Islands in the Stream..."

That's one big tyre....

"Really... it's not that hard."

"Kind of like trying to find a spot at Bacchus Marsh Shopping Centre really"

'

"Bigfoot if doing it in the air!"

"It's fun to stay at the Y... M... C... A..."

That's one small Bob....

"Right... James... Pop\ says just lure them over here. Evie... you act as decoy.."

"Mum said don't come back until we've paid for supper...."

There was also a particularly relaxing Chinese garden, established to commemorate the immigrants that played a vital role in the mining industry. With a pond full of Koi, the kids wanted to know if we could go get the handlines from the van in the carpark.

Finishing off trying our luck panning for gold, it is a great museum and one we really cut our visit short on with the interest of hitting the road. I think you could easily while away a full day there and still leave some parts unvisited.

From there, we hit the road, with the Hawks/Cats game on the radio… Listening to that, we’ve come to realise that Sam’s talismanic powers are currently sorely missed. The word ‘rebuild’ comes to mind. Still… we’ve had a reasonable run.

And from there we trundled down the highway back through Norseman and on to a small town just outside Esperance called Gibson. The local shire maintain a free caravan park adjacent to the pub, both of which we’ve taken full use of tonight. A brilliant feed of various pub grub after a long afternoon in the car is always welcome. Arriving in total darkness, we’ve no idea what the local area looks like so it’ll be a bit of a surprise for all in the morning.

The drawing Evie made for me at dinner whilst we whiled away an hour or so. It is quintessential to the the personality of Evie. There is no "down time" in her mind. It's always on the move. Always thinking ahead. I love her.

Onwards into Esperance and possibly onto more free camping at Lucky Bay if a spot is available. Otherwise, we may head into town, plug into the wall and decide our plans for the next few days or week.

After bouncing around a bit, I’m keen for a bit of an extended stay somewhere to rest the heels. We’ve been setting a reasonable pace in the last week since leaving Port Lincoln and I think the area around Esperance is the perfect spot to put our feet in the sand.

We’ll see how we go tomorrow.

Intermission Part 2 - Albany

We're still here!

Now staying on the outskirts of Albany with yes, very little reception. I'm still writing the posts so hopefully my laptop and WiFi will both be in the same place at the same time soon.

Hang in there... blog updated soon!!

Intermission - Esperance and Lucky Bay

Hi All.

We're down here in Lucky Bay without reception so big blog updates not until after ANZAC Day at this stage. Maybe a few pics to the Facebook page when we pass through areas of reception.

Hang in there as they'll be rippers.

020 - Kalgoorlie

Happy Easter Everyone!!

This isn’t our first Easter away from home, although given this van now is our home, some could stay it’s the first in a few years actually at home… enough play on words…

Either way, inspired by the Superpit yesterday (which is completely understandable) we decided to spend Easter Sunday here in the heart of the WA goldfields.

The last of the few loads of washing was thrown through our little machine before the little box was packed away. I must admit, it’s nice to know we can basically last 2 weeks without clothes washing if required. But geez… it’s a bit of work to play catch up!

The kids had been promised by park staff an Easter Egg hunt at 10am which eventually happened around 11.15am and essentially put to pay any productive touristy activities in the morning. Still the kids were happy so one shouldn’t complain too much.

And in hindsight we got all we wanted to do done, and some, so nothing lost really.

Once away from the park we took a tour down the iconic Burt St in Boulder to the Boulder markets. A little lame and quieter than what we were expecting but the weather continued to be impeccable and it’s a beautiful setting so no real complaints here.

"Do I get to eat for free Dad?"

"No Sam. But I like the cut of your jib"

The very pretty Burt St, Boulder

A quick spin up to the public Superpit lookout to once again admire one of the countries great holes in the ground. Also got to be touchy-feely with one of the buckets and snaffle a cheesy family shot.

See... it's just as cool as yesterday!

A bucket load of Marshians.

I love this shot. Proves it's not just me that finds the immense hole in the ground entertaining.

From there we headed, on recommendation to the Goldfields Museum in Kalgoorlie. Now this, this is a real ripper of a tourist spot. Incredibly informative, entertaining and engaging. Displays ranged from flora and fauna of the area, interactive displays of yesteryear living and even an impressive $4.5m gold display in the vault downstairs. And to top it off you can ride up to the top of the mine head and get a great view of the Kalgoorlie ‘CBD’.

All this for a donation of whatever you consider applicable, and it represents fantastic value for money. I can this place being an absolute staple for any primary or secondary school in the region. Excursion written all over it.

The impressive entrance into the museum.

The trophy for the 1888 Melbourne Cup.

Downstairs, you find the vault where you find...

...things like this bad boy. At $1300 an ounce, this bar is around $520,000 in value...

A view across the main drag of Kalgoorlie. Incidentally the town's clock tower is gilded with real gold according to our tour guide yesterday.

I reckon this section of water main might be up for renewal.

Early model caravan? Even came with built in fireplace.

Then, getting weary we took a quick, or so we thought, out to the Mt Charlotte lookout nearby. This lookout is located on the Mt Charlotte water storage, the end point to the Goldfields water supply line, an incredible engineering feat of the very early 1900s.

Around the lookout is a number of plaques and information boards regarding the scheme, how it was built and what it took to ‘get it done’.

For a ‘water engineer’ it was incredibly interesting and, dare I say it, inspiring. There are many synergies to the struggles of the times to those that I have experienced in my own career, although I would never want to compare working conditions or lifestyles.

A couple of good bits of inspiration, which anyone can possibly apply to their work, but I found particularly relevant to my workplace include:

Just because someone says it can't be done, or shouldn't be done, doesn't mean you are wrong. Just because it hasn't been done before, doesn't mean it's impossible. Think outside the box. Challenge convention and change perspective.

Accurate cost estimation is possible. And important to sell your plan. Don't be afraid to put big dollars against big solutions. Quality solutions rarely come cheap.

"This is the country where you can learn the true value of water and how to be economical in it's use" - John Aspinall, 1/4/1895

What a great quote. Without the water, the gold is worthless as it was impossible to mine it either economically or without dying. Without water, there is no life.

I particularly like this one given my work with rainfall and stats. Trying to extrapolate trends out of very little data can be a risky practice. In this example at least CY O'Connor took the conservative approach and played it safe. Wise move.

One for my fellow asset managers... A good example of trade off on pros and cons.

Don't be scared to be innovative, providing you've got quality in mind.

And my favourite quote of all the signs. Ignoring the biblical references if you are so inclined, the message is clear. Think of the future. Think of those that come after you and then after them. As someone who works in Asset Management I found this particularly relevant.

I think it is important to note that CY O'Connor, the guy in charge of the whole scheme, the head designer and engineer, killed himself just 10 months prior to commissioning of the scheme. The public pressure, the scrutiny, self-doubt and magnitude of being solely responsible for such a huge job quite obviously took it's toll.

CY O'Connor was a brilliant man, upon which whose work the success of the Kalgoorlie and surrounding areas, is so heavily based on. I think it's quite the tragedy that he didn't come to see his brilliant idea and incredible hard work come to fruition.

I took from this that it's important to remain balanced and to have perspective. Have a solid support network around you and when you are in trouble, ask for help. It's not a sign a weakness. It's a sign of strength and bravery. No single person makes the world turn.

Sorry for the moment of reflection... 

From there, it was back home. An entertaining lightning show was seen, and as I type this rain falls on the van, soaking the parched earth of the area.

And I’m damn glad I didn’t get the chance to wash the truck like I hoped.

019 - Kalgoorlie

Oh yeah… Superpit Saturday!!

The other thing I’d earmarked on this trip for us to check out was the Superpit in Kalgoorlie. Essentially it’s a hole in the ground, just a really, REALLY big hole. I recall the evening in the Marsh when I floated with B doing the 400km-odd detour up to Kalgoorlie to see the mine.

“What’s the Superpit”

“Hang on, I’ll get a pic on Google”

“Woah… that’s cool. OK we’ll go.”

So that was the genesis of our trip inland. And in a way, it’s worked out well as it’s allowed us to remain away from Esperance and the key coastal destinations whilst the WA school holidays are on. Now it’ll only be the hordes of Grey Nomads when we head down that way.

We had originally booked in for Easter Monday for the tour, but the tour go bumped and we were rescheduled to today. No real issue on our behalf and allows us to explore the town at our leisure after tour rather than hang around for it.

Prior to the tour, we continued our considerable washing escapades before heading off into town to pick up some well needed supplies and stocks. A few news pairs of shoes, thongs and other bits and bobs filled up the morning successfully.

As Evie calls them, this pub has an "upstairs out". And a very impressive one at that.

The famous Exchange Hotel. No visit to go see the "Skimpies" this time around.

We then took the kids off to the recommended Hammond Park. If in Kalgoorlie with kids (and even without) I’d highly recommend going there. A beautiful green oasis in the red dusty Kalgoorlie landscape is presented with immaculate gardening and modern, clean and safe playgrounds, picnic facilities and amenities. An absolute ripper spot and the local government and supporting businesses should be very proud of it. Given the amount of patronage it had, a highly successful venture.

A great park, nice and secure and safe. Incredibly well maintained and serviced.

The park also has huge range of native birdlife, some in aviaries, some free roaming like the resident emus. Here we see Evie and a local having a bit of a stand off.

But hey… forget your stinkin’ parks, gardens, shopping and all that other hee-nee-shee-nee…

We’ve got to get to the Superpit!!

I was easily the most excited, and was practically dragging the kids and B there with enthusiasm.

The tour consisted of sitting in a coach and driving around the mine and supporting infrastructure and at key spots, getting out for some pics and kodak moments.

I won’t go into the tour too much, as I’ll let the pics tell the story. Quite simply the Superpit is more than super. I think a rename to “Epic-pit” or “Freakin’-amazing-pit” should be in order. The facts and figures regarding the pit and the machinery is are mind boggling. I can only imagine if you time-travelled some prospectors from yesteryear and showed how we now get gold out of the ground, they’d be even more stunned than we were.

But really, let’s look at the pics…

James was incredibly interested in the various polished up stones and gemstones in the tour shop. Not sure if he reminds you of anyone Poss and Pop?

OK, so Evie was pretty excited too. Rocking the High Vis and glasses like a PPE model.

Some new shoes, ready for the Tonka Trucks. At a lazy $40,000 a shoe, it's not your standard Bob Jane order.

I'm trying to work out just how big (and sharp) the rock was that peirced this tyre and essentially detroyed it in one go... Given the drivers can't see the first 50m in front of the truck, perhaps it's not surprising they missed it.

And at $40k a tyre, just how much money are we looking at here?

The "boneyard" where all decommissioned machinery goes to be recycled or used as spare parts.

All trucks are washed prior to servicing to ensure crew aren't hit with falling lumps of dirt. The water used is groundwater from the area and is 'hyper-saline' in that it is 7 times saltier than sea water. Which explains why you should NEVER buy an ex-mine vehicle. I did query the guide as to why the water wasn't treated prior to use. "Dollars mate". Of course... I should have known.

Our first siting of a big truck in action as he thundered past us. Amazing and just as big as you think they might be. To give you an idea, the tyres are about as tall as the coach we were sitting in.

The incredible Kalgoorlie Superpit. Quite simply the most impressive hole in the ground I've ever seen in my life.

I love this shot. The trucks crawling (at around 10kph) up and out of the mine. Just remember how big they are and it puts into perspective the size of the mine itself.

This landslide was on the far side of the mine from us and quite the interesting tale. The mine had known of the instability on that wall for around 5yrs or so and had shut the roads on that side of the mine down. Through millimetre accurate radar monitoring the watched the wall with interest and then two weeks ago, due to heavy rain, they predicted the wall collapse to within 3 hours. Mine was evacuated and not a soul in danger. Tours were stopped for 10 days so we were lucky to get our spot. That's some impressive predictive tools.

Not many things cuter than kids in oversize PPE.

This, um... Landcruiser I think... is located right at the front of the mine entrance where every person entering the mine every day is reminded about the risks. This car was run over by a Tonka under controlled circumstances to highlight just how big and dangerous the equipment is. On the mine, there are very rarely second chances. YouTube footage can be found here:

Squashed Ute

The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and had an answer for pretty much every question the group threw at him. Worth every cent in my opinion.

After the tour, we returned back to the park, with even more interest in Kalgoorlie and have decided to remain here as planned until Easter Monday. We feel this town just has so much to offer. An incredibly interesting town and worth the effort to get here.

The evening had us treated to karaoke and Easter Raffle/Party happenings in the park social area.

Me after being told my request for "Get in the Ring" by Guns N Roses was 'inappropriate'.

This entertainment, whilst very well intended and entertaining for the kids or nomads, wasn't holding my attention. I think I was still dreaming of horsepower and mine blasting.

Ahh… superpit afterglow….