THE SLOW DRIVE

The day started off with Brett and Glad having a interview with GWN and the Kalgoorlie Miner. Then we were off for a visit to the Kalgoorlie Super Pit. This enormous pit stretches 3.5km long, 1.4km wide and will soon reach a depth of 600 meters. This region is the largest gold producing area in Australia and has been called the Golden Mile, for obvious reasons.

Gold was first discovered in Kalgoorlie in 1883 by an Irishman called Paddy Hannan. Since then over 50 million ounces of gold have been found here. This landscape surrounding Kalgoorlie is known as The Great Western Woodlands. It certainly is a beautiful part of Australia. In this landscape studies have found 101 species of mammals, birds and reptiles, 19 of which are recognised as threatened. Therefore, it’s an important part of the country in terms of conservation as well as being rich in gold.
We headed north towards Menzies and stopped off at the Ora Banda hotel, for a nice lunch. We had a look around Menzies (also an old gold mining town). Yet another town with a colourful past. The staff at the Visitor Centre were very helpful - thanks ladies. Time was a factor and we also wanted to have a look at Lake Ballard and the Gormley Statues. These are amazing figures of art that are scattered about on the dry Lake Ballard. We could have stayed in Kalgoorlie for weeks just looking around; the region is full of colourful heritage and magnificent scenery.
After returning to our lovely rooms at the Rydges Hotel we had a delicious dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Here you can get an amazing fillet of barramundi or a juicy steak without mentioning the array of scrumptious desserts and cakes that are on offer.
If you would like more information on this region check out the Golden Outback website. The site is very informative and full of things to see and do in the area. You will certainly need longer than a day or two to see the sights. We would recommend that you stay for a week at the very least.

The Super Pit in Kalgoorlie (note the trucks at the bottom)

The bucket on the loader.

"What the heck is that" says Chris (Lake Ballard and the Gormley statues)

Still a bit unsure

If you look at the top of the hill you can make out the shape of Chris

Which one's Brett?