Thursday, November 20, 2014

Boulder - Kalgoorlie, WA.

Kalgoorlie City Council has a free 24 hour RV Camping facility at Pioneer Park for Self Contained Vehicles. The Council Ranger circulated at about 4:45 PM and gave us the OK to stay. I am pleased, once more, that I made the necessary modifications to the waste plumbing of the caravan for this is not the first RV Camp in which we have stayed that require the vehicle to be self contained. This will be the way of the future.

We stayed 5 days in total in Kalgoorlie and visited all the major Tourist attractions. Kalgoorlie has a population of approximately 32,000 and every where you look there is evidence of it's Gold Mining History.

On our final afternoon in town we were doing a top-up food shop prior to us leaving the next morning. A sudden and violent storm struck town at about 3:30 PM. Shopping trolleys and other debris was sliding along the streets and visibility was near zero because of the rain. We got back to camp to see the caravan awning flapping like a crazy banshee and rain entering the open windows and the now fully open roof vents. We were a trifle wet inside but didn't suffer any permanent damage. Twenty years ago we struck rain for the two days that we stayed - apparently the weather hasn't changed any in that time.

On the previous blog I included a photo similar to this but with the background shrouded with mist and rain. This is how it looked the following morning! The lake is clearly visible now.

The third weekend of each Month Boulder has an extremely well attended Sunday Market with traders in the park and also under the wide verandahs of the shops along the main street.

The Boulder Sunday Market is very Family Orientated including pony rides for the young.

The Boulder Hotel on the corner of the main street.

The Palace Theatre from a bygone period and a busy fruit and vegetable vendor in the carpark beside the theatre.

This statue in the main street recognises the mining history of the City of Boulder.

Here in Boulder and also in Kalgoorlie they have huge displays of Kangaroo Paw in their street gardens.

The Tourist Information Centre is located in The Kalgoorlie Town Hall. Much of the Town Hall is open to visitor inspection. This stairway provides a grand entrance.

I never found out what this building once was but it certainly doesn't look out of place in Hannan Street of Kalgoorlie as there are many grand old buildings from Kalgoorlie's Golden Era.

The Exchange Hotel, another of the fabulous buildings along Hannan Street.

The imposing Kalgoorlie Court House also in Hannan Street.

The Poppit Head over the entrance to The Mining and Historical Museum in Kalgoorlie.

The very narrow British Arms Hotel is only one room wide. This is located and accessible from inside the Historical Museum.

The same type of CAT Hauler that is used in The Super Pit. Weighs in at 130 tonne empty and can carry 230 - 280 tonne load at 11 kph up the inclines of The Super Pit.

With Jude standing beside the front wheel you can see how immense these machines are.

Jude is sitting in the 35 tonne bucket of this CAT Loader.

The Super Pit as it is today. The extraction of ore from this pit is expected to be complete in the year 2019.

A close up shot of the platform that they are working on now. The Black Rock is what they are after here. The seam runs diagonally across the pit.

After a busy 5 days here I felt justified in having a period of Rest and Relaxation.

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