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5 March 2013- After arriving in Fremantle, we spent time catching up with friends, getting a few things fixed on the van, plus flying to Sydney for a very beautiful wedding of the son of one of our friends. We flew home via Melbourne and spent a night there catching up with our family which was a lovely way to finish the weekend.
For the next week or so, we alternated between parks in Fremantle and Perth trying to take in as many of the sights as possible.
Kings Park was one of our favourites and a must for anyone coming to Perth. They have over 6 million visitors a year and it is only 1.5 kms from the CBD.
We then spent 5 days in York which is about 97 kms from Perth. Beautiful old town and first inland European settlement in WA. From there we toured around and went to Wave Rock at Hyden, Shackleton which is home to the smallest bank in Australia and Kokerbin Rock, third largest monolith in Australia plus a few other places along the way.
Back to Perth for a few days in time to take in the Caravan and
Camping Show and then left for Melbourne for four weeks.
26 April 2013 - back in Perth after 4 weeks in Melbourne. Good to catch up with family and friends again. Claire celebrated her 40
th birthday while we were home and everyone had a great night – some people forgetting to go to bed until nearly daylight but we won’t mention any names.
Sadly while we were home we lost a very dear friend - Vale H. Wonderful memories are ours to have forever.
We headed across to Kalgoorlie (which is known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder) for four days and stayed in Boulder. Kalgoorlie started in the 1890’s after Paddy Hannan struck gold which led to one of Australia’s great gold rushes. Today, the Super Pit produces up to 850,000 ounces of gold each year and is the biggest gold open pit mine in the country.
Played golf at the Kalgoorlie Golf Course as part of the Nullarbor Links. Certainly was a step up from some of the courses across the Nullarbor. We also did tours of both the Boulder and Kalgoorlie Town Halls. The Boulder Town Hall is beautifully preserved with pressed tin ceilings and wrought iron
Cottesloe
Beach Sculpturebalconies. They also have a priceless curtain depicting the Bay of Naples and is believed to be the last surviving example of a working Philip Goatcher stage curtain. He was paid 50 pounds in 1908 to paint the curtain. The Kalgoorlie Town Hall is just as impressive with ornate pressed ceilings, chandeliers and a sweeping staircase.
We also did a very interesting tour of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. We were able to have a look in one of the jets with all the equipment set up for any emergency. The Kalgoorlie base has a service area of 750,000 sq kms. Rio Tinto and BHP are large contributors to the RFDS.
On the way back to Perth we stopped at Coolgardie. They have a couple of very interesting museums with all the history of the town. At the height of the gold boom, Coolgardie had 23 hotels, 3 breweries, 7 newspapers, 6 banks and 2 stock exchanges, 1 hospital, 14 doctors, 13 chemists, 30 storekeepers and 10 restaurants. The population was estimated at 15,000 with a further 10,000 in surrounding districts. Today the population is approximately 800 with 1 hotel. It was once the third largest town in
WA after Perth and Fremantle.
6 May 2013 – as we start to head north, our first stop has been Cervantes. Some of the attractions include the Pinnacles in the Nambung National Park, the Stromatolites at Lake Thetis and the Lobster Shack. The Pinnacles are limestone formations and are quite spectacular. They were virtually unknown to most Australians until the 1960’s but the area now has over 250,000 visitors a year.
The Stromatolites are the oldest living lifeforms on our planet. They grow through sediment and sand and these layers slowly build on top of each other with each formation growing at a rate of 5cm in 100 years.
Vic was in his element at the Lobster Shack. Well worth a visit to see the processing and packing of the Western Rock Lobster. The holding tanks hold 20 tonne of lobsters and the company exports to Japan, Korea, USA, Europe and China.
Meant to be leaving in the morning for Geraldton but as there is a strong weather warning we may stay put for another day.
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Nicole
non-member comment
All sounds great, enjoy your time doing nothing while you wait for better weather xx