SUPER PIT OF GOLD KALGOORLIE Australia Big Righthand Turn Day 4 WESTERN AUSTRALIA
DAY 4
'Sheepishly with car bonnet up I told the auto electrician the problem solved itself'
-in the WA goldfields,
Traveldriven
KALGOORLIE REGION FIVE DAY FORECAST
DRIVE
NORSEMAN - KALGOORLIE - PERTH
Norseman
The small town is in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, seven hundred and twenty-five kilometres (451 mi) east of Perth. Norseman is a small town of almost six hundred people. The town is surprisingly spread out.
Norseman is a town in the middle of nowhere really. A sensible overnight stop for rest and petrol. Mostly small gold mining operations operate in the area. The Norseman Gold Mine is Australia’s longest continuously running gold mine. Drive past these mine sites and a gold mine tailings dump to Beacon Hill Lookout
The town centre has life size ‘Corrugated Iron Camels’. A tribute to camel trains of the early days. Norseman is the start or end of the Eyre Highway. Depending on driving direction. Driving back east, the last town of any note before Ceduna, South Australia. 1,200 km eastward.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder
Known just as Kalgoorlie, this Outback centre is a large regional city in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. Almost six hundred km (370 mi) east of Perth and connected to Perth by the Great Eastern Highway.
Kalgoorlie is a wealthy gold mining city. The Fimiston Open Pit (super pit) is an open cut gold mine 3.6 km long, 1.6 km wide and over 600 metres deep. Trucks take round trips of about 35 minutes. The Superpit is located on the edge of town. See Kalgoorlie’s famous or infamous Hay Street brothel museum. Visit Western Australia’s only legalised Two Up school. Many hotels and motels. Worth a day or two’s rest from the Great Eastern Highway.
Car Trouble? Outback Western Australia
During daytime and a two hour drive heading to Kalgoorlie I unknowingly knocked the interior lights button on the car's central display. A small unlabelled recessed button I have never used. Four interior overhead lights shone brightly and I wasn't sure how to turn them off. Lights are normally a press on/off type. Lights remained on even after a brief stop. Driving in remote desert country I thought not a good idea for extra drain on the car battery. There is no cell phone reception in remote Australia. Seldom seen are vehicles other than road trains. Realising I cannot push start an automatic transmission sedan due to a flat battery.
Here in the stopped car. All lights shining. Under the hot sun in a cloudless sky, raising a sweat just by sitting there with the engine off. The occasional road train passing by I thought best to restart the car and drive to the next town for a car check.
The battery wasn't a problem yet. I restarted the car and continued non-stop to Kalgoorlie several hours drive away.
AUTO ELECTRICS WORKSHOP HELP
Upon arrival in Kalgoorlie I pulled into a roadside auto electrics workshop to get it checked. Expecting the worse outcome. After a short while wondering if I had done something inadvertently. I pressed the unused unlabelled central button and all lights went off. Sheepishly with car bonnet up, I told the auto electrician the problem solved itself and thanked him for taking a look. He wouldn't accept payment for his time. The point is, solo driving for long periods in a remote hot area 35c many hours drive from civilisation does play on your mind when even small unexpected problems arise.
Traveldriven
THE SUPER PIT, KALGOORLIE
YORK HOTEL
THE RABBIT PROOF FENCE WAS A FAILURE IN THE LONG TERM THE PROJECT, ALTHOUGH GRAND, PROVED TOO LITTLE TO LATE
KALGOORLIE GOOGLE MAPS
