Esperance With Friends.

Grass Patch on the way to Esperance.

On the day we left Kalgoorlie, we awoke to a cold, wet, and

Esperance.

windy day. Such a contrast to the weather of the weekend. Graham & Di's car needed a new part, so it was decided we would head off for Esperance ahead of them, and they could follow when the repair was complete. As things turned out, they didn't get the car back until 5.00pm, so stayed an extra night in Kalgoorlie, travelling down the next day. Meanwhile we headed south for Esperance. We couldn't remember the last time we had travelled on a day like this. In and

Port facilities at Esperance.

The Tanker Jetty at Esperance.

out of rain squalls, and buffeted by incredibly strong winds. Once past Kambalda, and the last of the really intense mining, the landscape started to change, with both forests and open pasture. We stopped at Norseman, the Western gateway to the Nullabor, for lunch. Something Hot please!! We will be back to Norseman on our trip esat. There are two holes on the Nullabor Links Golf Course to play! Hopefully in the sunshine!! Back on the road, the scenery was now beautiful green fields of new wheat, as far as the eye could see. We were back in the grain belt, and it looks so different to our last visit, when everything looked brown and dead after the summer and harvest. We passed through the small grain belt towns, that offer nothing other than huge grain silos, waiting this years crop.Towns like Grass Patch, with its huge welcome sign.

With Moira & Geoff, Di & Graham
at Esperance.

Whale Tail Sculpture.

We set up camp in the wind and rain, back at the Esperance Seafront Caravan Park. We decided to put up our annexe, to give us a dry place to get together. After an hour and a half of frustration, we had only managed to get one side, and the long wall up. I know we haven't had a need to use the annexe for more than a year, but this was ridiculous! I was cursing and just couldn't figure out why the annexe would not fit. Drenched, we decided we would make do, and have a better look in

New sea wall to stop erosion.

New lawns & gardens.

 the dry. That night, I woke up in the middle of the night, remembering that we had the awning replaced when all the repairs were done back in January. A quick measure in the morning revealed that the new awning was 6 inches wider than the old one, so our annexe walls would no longer fit!! A call to our maker at Coffs Harbour solved the problem, but we will be making do until the new extension pieces arrive. At least we aren't going mad!!

Along the new sea front.

Graham & Di on the new sea front.

Tired, cold and wet, we showered and decided that we would just go to the pub for dinner. What a good idea! The pub, The Pier Hotel, was packed, but we found a table, and feasted on lovely Wood Fired Pizza. Absolutely delicious, and just what the doctor ordered! In the morning, the rain had gone, but it was still cold. We just lazed around, and waited for Graham & Di to arrive. Esperance is a lovely town. We were a bit disappointed to find that

Dolphins at play.

Beautiful beaches.

the works along the sea front were still going on, but were then delighted to find out that the scaffolding and temporary fencing was coming down on Friday. The next 4 days were remarkable, with instant lawn, instant gardens, playgrounds, BBQ's and furniture installed in record time. By Friday afternoon, it looked a picture. The Whale Tail sculpture, is spectacularly good.

One of many Happy Hours.

Girls day out.

We made the most of the next four days of good weather. We took on the role of tour guides, showing the West Australians around their own back yard! We had been before, and they were all first timers to Esperance! We did the beautiful Coastal Drive, which is just amazing. Such beautiful beaches, one after the other. This time, we were even treated to a pod of dolphins, lazing around in a corner of a sheltered bay. Wednesday was Di's birthday, so the girls decided they would take a girly day out, while we guys took in the excellent Esperance Golf Course. The girls had a

Birthday girl, Di.

lovely day, while we had a challenging day on a golf course that surprised us with its excellent condition and layout. A tough layout with lots of water! That

At Lucky Bay.

afternoon, we all met up for Happy Hour. The champagne flowed. Di had decided that after such a great wrap on the pub and pizzas, we should head back for her birthday, so into two cabs, and off we went. The pub was packed. Carolyn some how found us a table, and the pizzas were just as good a second time round. A great night with new friends, followed by birthday cake back at the annexe. Next morning we were off to Cape Le Grande National Park. Undoubtedly one of Australia's most picturesque National Parks, with

The girls.

The Boys.

its unbelievable beaches. We did them all. It was surprising how they had changed since our last visit, with the movement of the ocean having caused a lot of erosion at some of the beaches. We did them all. Cape Le Grande, Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove and French man's Peak. We decided to have our picnic lunch at Lucky Bay. I don't think we could say any beach in Australia is better than Lucky Bay. Just a breathtakingly beautiful

Carolyn & Moira
among the wild flowers.

Giving Graham the salute at Lucky Bay.

spot. With the three Landcruisers parked side by side on the beach, we could have been doing a commercial for Toyota!! What a picnic spot. After lunch, we headed out around the bay, but couldn't get too far, as a high tide and a lot of beach erosion made it impossible to get to the other end of the beach and the lookout. So instead, we drove around to Rossiter Bay, where the wild flowers put on a show as well. We worked our way back through the park, and headed out to

It doesn't get better than this!

Toyota Commercial at Wharton Beach.

Duke of Orleans Bay, and the lovely Wharton and Little Wharton Beaches. There isn't much at Orleans Bay other than sea weed! But the extra few kilometres out to Wharton Beach is really worthwhile. On the way back to Esperance, we dodged the dirt road and followed the bitumen all the way in via Condingup. The drive through the rolling fields of green wheat and yellow canola was just gorgeous. This sure is amazing farming country!

Taylors on the Beach Cafe.

The week had flown by. Friday, we all just did our own

AFL Grand Final day.

things, before meeting up for Happy Hour. We went out for quick dinner at Taylors on the Beach Cafe. The girls had seen a sign advertising $10.00 steaks, and they proved OK. Cheapest night out in years! Geoff, had a couple of heaters, and despite the cold nights we managed to get cosy in the annexe. On the nights that we ate in, the girls all took turns at cooking up a feast, and there was no shortage of wine to wash it all down! Our last day was Saturday,

Time to pack up.

Always time for champagne!

and the AFL Grand Final. We set up our spare TV in the annexe, and settled in to watch the game. The Weber was cooking the lamb for the half time lamb and gravy rolls, which were delicious, and Carolyn & I got ribbed mercilessly as the Sydney Swans got flogged. Thank God no WA teams were involved!! That night, we cooked up some extra lamb and veggies, and had a farewell dinner, as the wind howled and the rain fell along with the temperature, as another cold front swept through. Carolyn had also finally succumbed to

More beautiful beaches.

On Cape Le Grande Beach.

all Geoff's begging, and made another Millionaire's Pie for dessert! We remained snug and warm in the makeshift annexe. Sunday morning it was all over! Moira & Geoff were heading back to Perth, and Graham and Di were  heading down to Albany for a couple of days with friends, on the way back to Perth. We had such a good time. It is so hard for us to imagine that we only met these people, 9 short months ago! It was so lovely that they wanted to see us one more time before we left WA. I am sure there will be many more adventures ahead with these wonderful new

Bye Moira & Geoff.

Bye Di & Graham.

friends. It was a quiet and melancholy Sunday afternoon, after so much fun and bright company. As if the Gods knew we were feeling flat, the phone chirped and a text message told us that Laurel & Adrian, who we had met at Tom Price and Karijini NP, had just arrived in Esperance, so we invited them around for a cuppa. They are at another caravan park nearby. We had kept in touch, and knew they were in the region. Nonetheless it was a pleasant surprise. We had a good catch up, and will meet again for dinner, the night before we head off. Probably do the pizza thing at the pub again! We have a couple more days at Esperance to stock up, pack up and clean up, before we start the long journey back east. We have now been in WA for just over a year. How the time flies!

Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Kalgoorlie from
Charlotte Hill Lookout

The Super Pit.

Kalgoorlie, home to the gold rush that started in 1894, and is still going strong, 120 years on. It is just mind boggling, the amount of gold that has come out of the ground around here. It is a commodity priced by the ounce, but produced by the tonne. Thousands of tonnes each year. Today, it is huge scale mining. You only have to visit the huge hole in the ground, The Super Pit, to understand the scale of today's operations, but it wasn't always that way. The history of Kalgoorlie is amazing. Hardship on a scale that is unimaginable, fortunes made and lost, disease, and an endless search for precious water, are all part of that history.

Kalgoorlie Town Hall.

Boulder Town Hall.

Today, Kalgoorlie-Boulder as it is officially known, is a thriving country town of 32,000 people, 600 kilometres east of Perth. What had originally been two separate towns, became one in the early 1990's. It is a bit funny really, as there are two town centres, both with their own Town Hall. Both with a fantastic array of historic buildings, and most have been retained and restored. In fact, Boulder's main street, Burt Street, is currently undergoing a complete face lift, restoring the

Restored Boulder shops.

Restored Pub.

street scape to its original form. What has been completed is wonderful. Many of the restored buildings are pubs. In its heyday, this place boasted 93 hotels, and as you drive around the town and suburbs, you find that many are still operating. You may recall, that Boulder suffered a pretty big earthquake just back in 2010. A lot of the historic buildings were damaged. Insurance money, now followed by a boost from the Heritage Fund, will see the main street of Boulder restored to its original glory.

Old Post Office & Court House.

The York Hotel.

We called in at the Visitor Centre, which is in the Town Hall, and inquired about various activities and tours. They are very proud of all the history and heritage of the town, and offer a number of free walking tours, some escorted and some not. For those not escorted, there are excellent brochures to help you find the way and explain the many points of interest. It is a busy time in Kalgoorlie Boulder, with the annual "Race Round" happening. This is one of the biggest country horse

Paddy Hannan found the first Gold.

The Exchange Hotel.

racing carnivals in Australia. It is a real carnival week. It starts with the Boulder Cup meeting on the first Sunday, followed by Ladies Day and the Hannan Handicap on Wednesday, and finishes with the Kalgoorlie Cup on the Saturday. All feature races carry prize money between $120,000 and $160,000, so it is pretty serious. We are going to the Kalgoorlie Cup meeting, but more on that later. We took our time doing the

Inside the Palace Hotel.

An Institution in Kalgoorlie!

walking tour around Kalgoorlie, checking out the the 35 listed historic buildings. The Town Hall is a treasure, the old Post Office and Court House is very grand with its gold turret, and some of the hotels are real gems. The Palace, The York and The Exchange, have hosted some big name guests and events, and some of the timber work and mirrors inside these grand old buildings are magnificent. Monty's is an institution in Kalgoorlie. We had to call in for a coffee. It is a grand old building, but the coffee was just OK. Everywhere you walk, there are historical old buildings. It just shows how much money has been in this town.

We drove up and stood at the Super Pit Lookout, just staring down into this huge hole. All of the original mining was underground tunneling, and on separate leases. It wasn't until Alan Bond started to buy up all the leases in the 1970's, that open cut mining commenced. He never got to finish the job, but others did, and now the great hole in the ground is visible from space!! And there is a lot more to go!! A drive up to Charlotte Hill Lookout gives a good view out over town and much of the mining activity. It is

The water pipeline from Perth.

Nickel Mine on the edge of town.

also home to the water tank that supplies the towns water. There is no natural water supply nearby, and back when gold was discovered and 200,000 people arrived, water was more precious than gold!! It was claimed, that in 1896, 90 percent of WA's population lived within a 100 mile radius of Kalgoorlie! Water was a major problem. In 1905, the amazing plan to pipe water from Perth was hatched and the pipeline was built. It was, and remains, one of the world's greatest ever pipeline projects, and along with the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, is only the third Heritage Listed Engineering project in Australia.

Oldest brothel in Australia!

Madam explains the Bondage Room!

Wherever there are lots of working men, there are "working" women. Kalgoorlie is home to Australia's longest running Brothel, and would you believe you can do a tour. Sorry fellas, no free samples, but it was a scream!! We joined 15 other people on a tour. The madam, who runs the brothel with her mum, gave us a real hands on experience. She didn't hold much back, and I think some of the older folks on the tour needed extra heart medication when they got back to their caravan park!! There would be some interesting stories tonight at Happy Hour!!

Happy Hour with Sue & Alan.

On about our third day at the caravan park, someone new arrived opposite us. The bloke stared at me with that "I know you look", and it dawned on us at the same time, that we had shared dinner and many drinks when we had been on the Horizontal Waterfalls overnight tour, when Jill was holidaying with us. That was a night to remember. We all went to bed with sore ribs from laughing! Alan & Sue are great company, so we renewed our

Desert style layout.

On the tee at Kalgoorlie GC

acquaintance over happy hour, with many more laughs as we compared travels since we parted company in Derby. They live at Engadine in Sydney, and we have found some new friends to keep in touch with. It was sad when we waved them good bye, but I'm sure we'll catch up again soon. To cheer ourselves up, we headed out to the golf course. Kalgoorlie now has a magnificent Graham Marsh designed golf course, rated among the world's best desert courses. It is a public course, with reasonable rates, and we

Oiled sand greens at Kambalda.

The gallery at Kalgoorlie GC.

 enjoyed a round on a beautiful sunny day. The Kalgoorlie Golf Club, is also the start (or end) of the Nullabor Links Golf Course, the longest golf course in the world, at 1350 kilometres. Yes that's right, kilometres! The final hole is at Ceduna, in South Australia. The course plays either way, and you buy a card, and get if officially stamped at each hole along the way. When you complete the course you present the stamped card, and head to the Ceduna or Kalgoorlie Visitor Centre, and get presented with your certificate. I have now completed 3 holes. The first two holes are the 1st and 2nd at Kalgoorlie, the 3rd is at Kambalda Country Club, about 60kms south of Kalgoorlie. This is going to be one hell of a game of golf!!!

Welcome to Coolgardie.

Old Coolgardie Court House.

We enjoyed a drive out to nearby Coolgardie, another of the gold mining towns. It is only 26 kms west of Kalgoorlie. There was another big gold find here in the 1890's, and mining continues around the region. It is a small town now, but there are some impressive buildings along the main street, which is the highway to Perth. We wandered into a second hand shop, and got lost for a while checking out the amazing array of collectibles and other prized junk!

Happy Hour with friends.

Off to the races.

Friday, we were all excited, as our Perth friends, Moira & Geoff and Di & Graham, were arriving from Perth for a holiday with us, before we leave the west. It is amazing how quickly our friendship has developed, and Carolyn & I thought it was wonderful when Moira & Geoff announced when we were up in Broome, that we couldn't leave WA without another catch up. So we agreed on the destination, Kalgoorlie for the Kalgoorlie Cup race weekend, followed by a few days in Esperance. Di & Graham were bringing their brand new Lotus Trooper caravan on its maiden voyage. A really nice rig, designed for serious off

Di, Moira & Carolyn.

A day at the races.

road, with a touch of luxury. Once set up, Happy Hour was huge, followed by a delicious dinner of Chili Beef that Carolyn had cooked up for their arrival. The weather was great, warm and balmy, and when Carolyn bought out the Millionaire's Pie for dessert, I thought Geoff was going to pass out from joy! The race weekend was a lot of fun. Everyone could get dressed up. The weather was hot, and the event was very well done. We headed out to the course early, collecting another couple

Orechiette Restaurant.

A huge crowd at the Cup.

of Moira's friends, Denise & Clive, who had come up from Perth for the Cup. As is usual, our betting was wide of the mark, though a few winners were backed, and a few champagnes were downed. Geoff and I as the drivers, were very glad of our decision to be cautious, as the police had half the exit street blocked and were breath testing every car that left the course!! My second breath test in 3 days!! For dinner that night, we had booked a night out at a lovely Italian Restaurant in Kalgoorlie. We had also booked taxis! Orechiette Restaurant, was lovely. Great food and friendly service. We were the last to leave, and when we asked them to book us a taxi for the trip home, were shocked to be told there would be a 45 to 60 minute wait!! The young lady maitre'd, solved the problem, when she told us she would drive us back to the caravan park in two lots! Talk about service!! We tipped her the taxi fare!!

Carolyn at the Mining Museum.

Bye Bye Kalgoorlie Boulder.

Sunday morning it was blowing a gale as we walked up to Boulder to do the markets. There was hardly anyone around. We thought it was the wind, but they told us that everyone was at Coolgardie for their markets and carnival day. So instead, we headed back to the caravan park, got the cars and went into Kalgoorlie for coffee. Good choice! That afternoon, Denise & Clive came around for Happy Hour. It was still windy but warm. We had packed most of the gear away, and when the park manager came by and invited us to a sausage sizzle they were putting on, we all decided dinner was solved! That night around midnight, the cold change hit! More wind and rain, and a huge drop in temperature. Sunday had been a record hot day at 35 degrees. Monday was forecast at 16 degrees and wet!! A good day for a drive to Esperance!! We had noticed a loose bit hanging from under Graham's Landcruiser, so took it up to Toyota to get it looked at. The diagnosis was slow, so we changed plans, and only us, plus Moira & Geoff headed for Esperance, while Di & Graham stayed an extra night at Kalgoorlie.

Esperance, here we come. Please get warm!!!