Wildflowers of WA.

Dazzling colour.

Not wrong!!!

We had expected to see more wildflowers before we arrived in Mt.Magnet. We have seen a small lilac coloured shrub and a light pink shrub, plus the vibrant purple Mulla Mulla all the way from Karratha, but little else. A visit to the Mt. Magnet Visitor Centre solved the mystery for us. The incredibly helpful lady informed us that this year, the rains had 

Great contrasts.

Vivid.

not extended as far north as usual, as a consequence, the wild flowers were at their best some 100 kilometres and more to the south. This was not the way we were travelling, so we took a decision to stay one extra day at Mt. Magnet, and do a day trip to see the flowers. It is a decision we are so glad we made. We headed down the Great Northern Hwy, passing

As far as you can see.

Miles of daisies.

the small mining town with the great name of Paynes Find, and then continued on to find the Wannara Mining Road the lady had told us about. This was a total of 220 kms, one way. She told us we should start seeing wildflowers in large quantities just before Paynes Find, and she was spot on. Sections of the highway looked like they had been snowed

Wow!

Perfect wreath.

on, with white daisies, stretching as far as we could see. Other sections had beautiful yellow and mauve daisies. We stopped regularly, just to walk among the fields of flowers. Once we turned onto the Wannara Mining Road, we entered a whole new world of colour. Here we saw for the first time, the flower known as the Wreath Flower, for obvious

Where to look next?

Double Wow!

reasons. We had never heard of this flower. What a beautiful thing it is. In this same area, were shrubs of brilliant purples and pinks, and the most startling buttercup yellow. We found lovely wattles and a soft leafed silvery shrub, that just shimmered in the sunshine, and had an amazing white flower. The mine road trains rumbled by us, hooting their horns.

And large.

Small.

What a contrast! All that machinery among the most beautiful wildflowers. There wasn't a soul in sight, as we stop started our way along the next 15 kilometres of the road. From the crest of a hill, we could see a vast area of cream colour. We headed down a dirt track, and came across huge fields of paper daisies, stretching as far as the eye could see. A small purple flowered ground cover, gave a

Shimmering colour.

Beautiful wreaths.

wonderful contrast to the cream. We wandered among the wildflowers for quite a while, taking in the fragrant air and the sound of bees and other insects buzzing through the flowers. We backtracked along the mining road, the return journey punctuated with dozens of stops, as it gave us a different perspective, seeing countless things we missed the

Stunning!

White pom poms.

first time. We stopped and had our picnic lunch that Carolyn had packed. She had cooked a yummy pineapple tea cake as well, which went down really well with our cup of tea. A picnic amidst the wildflowers, a priceless experience! Our return trip along the highway back to Mt. Magnet saw us making many more stops, as something new and beautiful caught

Xmas Tree??

Nature's garden.

our eye. Driving home, we got to talking about the day, and laughed at the thought of all those TV garden shows we'd watched, telling us how to prepare the soil and keep the plants well watered. Here we were, in a desert of red sand and gravel, witnessing Mother Nature put on a show Don Burke could only dream of!!! Back at camp, we enjoyed our glass of wine at Happy Hour, remembering a special day full of vivid colours and wonderful memories. Our thanks to the lovely lady at the Visitor Centre. Her information had been so accurate it amazed us. After so much red earth and mining, this was a breath taking and wonderful change.

Newman to Mt. Magnet.

Colourful welcome to Newman.

BHP's Mt. Whaleback Operations.

After a week in the wilderness, we rolled into the mining town of Newman, badly in need of a long, long, hot shower, as well as a fresh supply of food and water. Newman is a town built by BHP Billiton. It has a population of around 9,000 who almost exclusively work in the mines. It was here in the 1960's, that one of the richest ever deposits of iron ore was found at Mt. Whaleback. Today, that mountain is the world's largest open cut iron ore mine. A massive hole in the ground, a staggering 7 kilometres long and 3 kilometres wide! 
Our first priority was to choose a Caravan Park. We chose Kalgan's Rest Caravan Park, which is essentially a large miner's camp with about 30 powered sites for travellers. It proved to be fine, and the staff were very helpful, even letting me wash my red car, contrary to park rules. This park also offered free use of washing machines and dryers, and this time, after a week in the wilderness, we were ready to take full advantage. In fact, Carolyn did a Spring clean, washing blankets and doonas and just about everything we owned!!

Newman from Radio Hill Lookout.

Newman Golf Club.

We headed into town,and our first impression was how dirty and dusty it was. They are in the process of building a new shopping centre in town, which didn't help, but there was rubbish everywhere. Newman has a lot of Aborigines, and sadly, they and rubbish go hand in hand. Much of the town is green, and all the facilities are provided, many courtesy of BHP. Playing fields, Recreation and Swimming Centres were all very modern and well patronised. The town also has a grass golf course, with sand greens, and it was looking pretty good. The patrons do all the maintenance work. We 

Tyres are almost 3 metres tall!

Giant 200 tonne dump truck.

found that the Club House, had a lovely little cafe, that was by far the best place in town for coffee or lunch. Lovely sitting out on the shady veranda, looking out over the course. Woolworth's shares took a sharp rise following our shop in Newman. God they gouge these poor captive people. Thankfully they earn a lot of money. According to current projections, Newman will be mining iron ore for the next 100 years, so it will keep growing. The Visitor Centre is  lovely. It has a huge stained glass window, and is more a gift and housewares shop

New electrical towers.

Opthalmia Dam.

than just a Visitor Centre. Carolyn had a great time checking it all out. There is bugger all else to shop in town! We enquired what there was to see around town. Major attraction was the mine tour. Apart from that there was the Radio Hill Lookout, or drives out to Opthalmia Dam, the town's water supply just 16kms from town, or Kalgan's Pool, about 2 hours away. Carolyn was over mines, so John booked the tour for the next day. The Radio Hill Lookout gave us a good understanding of the town and mine layout, with a 360 degree view. We drove out and had a picnic lunch at Opthalmia Dam. It was pretty low, but there were a lot of water birds, black swans, pelicans and cormorants mostly. Along the really badly corrugated road, we saw some guys working, erecting new electricity towers. Looked quite funny just sticking up out of the bush.

Mt. Whaleback Open Cut.

Drilling a blast pattern.

John did the Mine Site Tour. I was expecting big things, as I had to dress in long pants, long sleeved shirt, a hard hat, safety vest and safety glasses. We sat in a bus like a bunch of dorks, and only got out of the bus at a lookout. The only danger was tripping up or down the stairs of the bus. I have to admit though, the huge hole in the ground was impressive. The lookout we were standing on was in fact 195 metres below the summit of the original Mt. Whaleback. Below us

Two of the 70 Giant trucks at work.

Loading a train with ore.

was this enormous hole. They have literally moved mountains! I won't bore you with all the details, but to give you an idea, they ship around 190 million tons a year, compared to 290 million tons from Rio Tinto's Tom Price, making BHP the third largest iron ore miner in the world. They did have a unique loading facility  here for the trains. Instead of a conveyor, the train goes into a tunnel under a mountain of ore that fills the train via a chute! Very clever. This is mining on a huge scale. The tour finished with coffee and scones with cream and jam. I told Carolyn she'd regret not coming!

Arriving at Karalundi Community.

Filled up quick at Karalundi.

Enough of Newman. Time to hit the road again. We bought a couple of those cheap Cd's to help pass our time along the long road towards Meekatharra. One was a 4 Cd collection of the greatest country hits from the 50's 60's and 70's, whilst the other was a 5 CD collection of Jukebox Favourites from the same era. So with Willy Nelson telling us we were Crazy, and then getting us On The Road Again, it wasn't long before Johnny Cash was telling us we were King of the Road! We had a blast, singing along to the music we grew up to, playing "guess the artist", as

Parked in Meekatharra.

Pebbles made herself right at home.

the miles flew by. We didn't know what to expect at Meekatharra. Actually, we hadn't heard anyone say a nice word about it. The last lady we spoke to described it as "excuse my French, but it's a shit hole! The caravan park should be condemned!" We had heard and read about a small Aboriginal Community caravan park, at a place called Karalundi, so decided to take a look, as it was only 60kms north of Meekatharra. What a lovely surprise it was. We had a lovely lunch at the little cafe, and the lady was so nice, and the caravan park had real grass, so we decided to stay. It is an indigenous Boarding School run by the Jehovah's

Not much cricket played here!

Hasn't seen a movie in a while!

Witnesses. We spent a quiet afternoon and evening luxuriating at the feel of green lawn under our feet. The manager's kitten, Pebbles found Carolyn in a flash and made herself right at home! Next morning we continued on to Meekatharra. We found a food and coffee truck parked on the corner, and managed to get a half decent cup of coffee! We walked the main street, and found it dirty and unloved. There were large groups of Aborigines everywhere. We decided to do one of the many tourist walks advertised in the

One of the pubs in Meekatharra.

Vandalised boardwalk.

tourist brochure. The Council should be ashamed!! We followed the trail at our peril. The boardwalk had broken and missing boards, all vandalised. The creek bed was full of broken bottles and beer cans, and litter was all over the place. We wandered past the caravan park, and could see what the lady meant. It looked like a no star slum! Even the new miner's camp on the edge of town looked more like a detention centre than a camp, with its high wire fence, security cameras and electric gates!

Welcome to Cue/

Old Post Office & Police Station.

We continued on down the highway to our stop for the weekend, Cue. What a delightful little town. Amazing the difference, when the council and local people put in an effort. Another chapter in our Australian history lesson book has been written, in our travels through this region. It had and still has, a rich history in mining, especially gold mining. Not once in all my history lessons did I hear the town of Cue mentioned. Yet, here at the turn of the century, was a thriving

Bell's Emporium & other stores.

Cue township from the lookout.

town of 10,000 people! How many towns with a population of that size existed in all of Australia at Federation? I bet it wasn't too many!! A lot of the old buildings have been restored and are still in use, as their original purpose, like the Post Office, Police Station and Council Offices. There are some grand hotels, and Bell's Emporium still operates as a real old fashioned store. It even has a Flying Fox that used to transfer the money from the cash collection points to the main office! No longer in use though. All around the district are

The grand old Fingall Mine Building.

One of the three pubs in Cue.

other old ruins of townships that came and went through the gold rush of the 1890's. Towns with great names like Day Dawn, Dead Finish, and a much later addition Big Bell. We wandered through the ruins of old schools and hospitals, railway stations and abandoned wells. Out at the rich mine that was The Fingall Mine, is a wonderful old building, built by the Italian owners of the mine. The building is at risk of falling into the pit, and the locals are trying to get it moved into town. A thirty kilometre drive out to the "Ghost Town" of Big Bell,

Lots of Iron Statues around town.

Abandoned Hotel at Big Bell.

was an eye opener. This town was built in the 1930's to support a new mine. It lasted 20 years and was then abandoned. Everything that could be moved was relocated, but the huge art deco hotel remains as a concrete shell standing forlornly in the main street. We drove around the town streets, where only concrete slabs remain. An interesting sight indeed. Sadly, Cue itself may suffer the same fate as Big Bell. Gold mining has continued in Cue since the first gold was found. However earlier this year, Silver Lake Resources, the

Walga Rock.

The Cue Hospital ruins.

current mining company, suspended operations due to the low gold price. A brand new miner's camp sits in town, never having been used. Hope the gold price recovers soon! Our last drive took us out to Walga Rock, a sacred Aboriginal Site, which according to old Stan who we met in town, had some of the best rock art in the world. Actually, Stan was a bit of a character. He had a second hand store in town, and waited outside to drag unsuspecting visitors inside. He told us he was a famous country singer commanding $2,000 an hour, and that

A sign of trouble.

Walga Rock art.

he was going to make a fortune buying up all the real estate in town and renting it out to God knows who! I think most of Stan's hits were taken above the neck! Oh, and sorry Stan, the art didn't live up to the wrap. Supposedly aged at 10,000 years, it was very hard to distinguish at all. Back in town, we decided to take a look at the pub, but had difficulty picking the hours! A new sign on the front door took our eye. We had been warned not to wander the streets of town after dark, as there were a lot of out of town Aborigines in town for a funeral. The sign on the door, warned that the police expected trouble! We were safe at our caravan park, but the noise in town went late into the night! Whilst the caravan park did not have

Tiny old Pensioner Huts.

The old gaol amenities block.

the lovely lawn of Karalundi, it was neat and tidy with a new amenities block. The old amenities block had once been the old gaol! There were also some quaint little old buildings, that were described as Pensioner Homes, provided by the government to destitute miners and others out of luck. On Sunday morning as we walked down town to get the Sunday Paper, we discovered the Cue Markets in full swing. There was a sausage sizzle and four stalls!! We did the market in 2 minutes!!

Morning Star Pit.

Part of Ramelius Resources
processing plant.

Next day, we were off late, only travelling 80 kilometres down the highway, to continue our history lesson in Mt. Magnet. Here is the longest, continually producing gold town in Australia. It doesn't have the grand old buildings of Cue, but it does have an active Gold Mine. Ramelius Resources has a big mine, with the grand name of Morning Star. They call Mt. Magnet the crossroads to the Mid West. It is the only town in WA where you can arrive from all points of the compass on a sealed road! We checked

Abandoned Lennonville Cemetery 

The Amphitheatre.

into the caravan park at 11.00am, and just as well as the little caravan park was packed. By 6.00pm the manager had them parked on every spare piece of dirt there was! Mt. Magnet is a town that is incredibly proud of its heritage, and the Council works hard on making it interesting for tourists. The Visitor Centre, which includes the Pastoral & Mining Museum, is brand new, and the museum is one of the best we have visited, all beautifully presented and maintained. The lady at the centre was so helpful. We

The Granites.

The Gold Battery at the museum.

headed off on the 37 kilometre Tourist Trail, that took us all around the old and new mining regions, as well as up to the Mt. Warramboo Lookout, past the rock formations called The Amphitheatre and the Cave, and on to the Granites, a popular picnic spot for the locals. We stopped at the abandoned Lennonville Cemetery, where we witnessed a scene of hopelessness and despair, that showed just how tough times were, and how most who came to the goldfields suffered. Lennonville had been a thriving town of almost 1,000 people. There is only one marked grave in the cemetery, and a modern sign records only a handful of names, mostly children, one whose life was just 15 hours. Our stay in Mt. Magnet was only 3 days, but most interesting. There is a reasonable supermarket, so we topped up supplies, and we went to the local butcher, who has quite a reputation. We will find out if it is true over the coming days. The weather has gotten cooler, and tomorrow we turn west, heading out into the region known as the Northern Goldfields. More history lessons to learn!