Kalgoorlie to Balladonia

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One thing that Wes did tell us yesterday that I forgot to record is that the mining staff in Kalgoorlie are not FIFO (Fly In, Fly Out). In fact in Kalgoorlie, they have a different saying for FIFO, Fit In or F Off. There must still be some FIFO though because Rydge’s guest car park was nearly empty on Saturday morning. In fact, out tariff last night was cheaper than for the previous two nights with Rydges offering a discounted room rate at weekends! Perhaps the workers who went home for the weekend work at mines other than the super pit?

Another thing I’ve been meaning to mention is the World’s Longest Golfcourse, the Nullarbor Links. Before we left home, we were aware of the fact that we could play 18 holes of golf between Ceduna and Kalgoorlie. Thinking it could be a bit of a laugh Tracey even went so far as to spend $5.00 at an op shop on a five iron. Cathy and Steve went a step further packing a five iron, a putter AND balls and tees.

But then we discovered it’s not a bit of a laugh, it’s deadly serious. Who knew it was so much more formal that just whacking a golf ball in the desert? We certainly did not. In fact it’s so formal that you have to pay $80.00 for your score card to record your strokes AND at least half of the holes are at actual golf courses.

Not being golfers and with the $$ involved we all cooled off on the idea and not a single golf ball was struck travelling west across the Nullarbor. This morning, we departed Kalgoorlie after three nights and two full days without finding our way to the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Golf Course to play the first (or last, depending on your direction of travel) two holes of the Nullarbor Links. Plus, we decided to drive back to Coolgardie to photograph old buildings before heading south to Norseman rather than travel via Hole 3 (16) at Kambalda. We didn’t venture into Widgiemooltha either for Hole 4 (15). It is safe to say that we won’t be presenting a score card at Ceduna to collect a certificate saying we completed the World’s Longest Golf Course!

Bernie drove us the 39-kilometres to Coolgardie. Damn, we should have stopped on our way through on Wednesday afternoon when we could have photographed the old buildings on a sunny, blue-sky day. This morning it was cool and grey and almost spitting on us as we walked up and back along Bayley Street reading the info boards. On our way into Coolgardie the town sign declared the town is the Mother of the Goldfields and the site of the last great gold rush. And yet Kalgoorlie has the Super Pit and seems to be surviving as a community whereas Coolgardie is just about dead.

H. M. Lefroy explored the area in 1863 and noted that there were masses of metamorphic rock, intersected by quartz reefs in all directions. He thought it probable that gold would be found in these quartz reefs, but it would be nearly two decades before gold was found at Coolgardie in September 1892 by Arthur Bayley and William Ford. They found an incredible 554 ounces (16.8kg) in a single afternoon and hurried to Southern Cross to register their claim with Warden Finnerty. As word spread of the find prospectors arrived from all over Western Australia, the rest of Australia and the world.

Deciding it was much better to drive in the morning than after lunch Tracey offered to drive the 167 Kilometres from Coolgardie to Norseman. We have had very little rain during our holiday, but we had light showers off and on during this leg of the journey. The automatic wipers were slow, slow, a bit faster, on, a bit slower, slow, slow, off several times as we drove along. Annoying!

We passed a few ‘New surface, No Lines Marked, No Overtaking’ signs. These were a bit annoying too as we never saw a new patch road longer than a few metres. Then we had a roadwork sign out that seemed to be about the burnt-out hulk of a road train rather than any roadwork. Admittedly there did seem to be a couple of utes and some workmen potentially scoping out the removal of the wreck?

This section of the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway passes through an arid zone of the Great Western Woodlands. At 16 million hectares the Woodlands is as big as the whole of England and three times the size of Tasmania. A truly vast wilderness that is the largest intact temperate woodland on Earth. It holds more than 20 percent of Australia’s known plant species and a staggering 350 types of Eucalypts. In addition to the salmon gums, there are gimlets, Dundas blackbutt, coral gums, ribbon-barked gum and red morrel to name just a few! As we drove closer to Norseman, we encountered a couple of burnt patches of woodland at about 40 and 30Ks out. Fortunately, both areas seemed restricted to the area adjacent to the roadside.

When we passed through Norseman on our way to Esperance, we could not complete the Dundas Coach Road Heritage Trail because the road had been left impassable due to rain. We knew we would have a bit of time to fill in today so resolved to drive the trail on our way from Kalgoorlie to Balladonia. Arriving in Norseman we returned to the Visitor Centre to check that the road is OK to drive now. Good to go!

With our tastebuds all excited to return to the Full Moon Café we were sorely disappointed to discover notices in the window stating they are closed from Friday 22nd of March until the 28th of April and that they are sorry for any inconvenience!! We continued past the IGA to Norseman’s other café only to find that its hours are Mon-Fri and Sunday. BOTH cafés closed today. That only leaves the BP Roadhouse on the way out of town.

Not wanting to go out of town for lunch and then back into town to do the heritage trail we decided that since it was only just after noon, we could drive the trail and then head to the roadhouse to fill the vehicles and feed ourselves before continuing to Balladonia.

Hmmn, we were way too interested in doing this heritage trail. Did the guy on duty at the Visitor Centre last month oversell the scenic drive?? Site 1 was the Norseman Racecourse which we drove straight past. Site 2, the old Cumberland and Kirkpatrick mines and the coach road and its coaches. Converted to an open cut in the 90s this stop suffered from comparison with the Super Pit, ha, ha.

We resolved that we wouldn’t stop at any of the sites that did not have a structure. At least the trees in the Brockway Timber Reserve were picturesque. Our next stop was at Site 7 where there was actually a headframe to be seen at yet another old mine working. Site 8 was the old east-west telegraph line where a couple of the telegraph poles were still visible. This heritage trail was … riveting!

One feature that we were looking for and looking forward to was the Dundas Rocks. In the lead Tracey and Bernie managed to drive straight past the rocks at Site 9, the Old Dundas Dam. We did see the dam wall, but the rocks were not signposted and not at all conspicuous. Fortunately, when we reached Site 10 where the original Dundas Townsite once was Cathy and Steve were able to alert us to the Dundas Rocks being back at Site 9. The stops were not far apart so we doubled back.

Hmmn, our Norseman brochure has a lovely picture of Springtime at Dundas Rocks and there are rocks and sedges and trees covered in blossom reflected in water. The site was not at all like that at the beginning of autumn after a long, hot, dry summer!! The description does say that the large boulder and rock formations are scattered throughout bushland. Well hidden in bushland might be more accurate??

Now 25-kilometres south of Norseman we drove out to the highway to complete the return segment of this circuit drive on the highway. We should have had lunch early because now we were lunching late at the BP Roadhouse!

Time to point the vehicles east and head on home. For our first night crossing the Nullarbor we returned to Balladonia. About 31-kilometres out a guy with his bonnet up waved us down. We were actually past him before Bernie realised he might be needing some help so had to turn around to go back. It’s hard to know if you should in case it’s someone who is not being genuine about being in trouble.

Anyhow, his car was not well. Bernie thinks maybe an alternator problem? Not that he knows much about cars. The guy wanted to be towed to Belladonia, but Bernie told him he couldn’t help him with a tow. He seemed vague about whether or not he had someone else who was potentially going to come back for him from Norseman? We left him to it.

We arrived at the Belladonia Roadhouse mid-afternoon and checked in. As Bernie filled out the paperwork Tracey mentioned that there was a guy broken down about 31Ks out. The girl on the desk was not at all interested. There was Tracey thinking that people in the outback look out for people in trouble?? Can they not jump on the CB radio and find out from some truckers if the guy is still stranded and then send the tow truck out??? At least it wasn’t 40-degrees and at least he had several hours of daylight left to get sorted out. Hopefully he’s OK?

Too much driving and not nearly enough walking so, after unloading the car, we headed out for a walk. The choices are – walk along the Eyre Highway, do laps around the petrol bowsers, do laps around the caravan park or … head out to the runway at the back of the roadhouse and walk to the end of the runway and back! As you do.

The roadhouse was ridiculously busy for dinner tonight. At check-in there was no suggestion made that we should book a table for dinner. Who would have thought it would be necessary? It’s Saturday night so maybe the locals head to the roadhouse for dinner for a big night out?? The boys had burgers; the girls ordered chicken parmis.



Steps: 10,179 (7.04kms)

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