And so it was, we finally left the south-west coast and headed inland towards Kalgoorlie. We had 400klm to go and plenty of time to get there. We set our sights on Norseman, roughly half way. We had heard about a free RV park near the center of town and arrived just on lunchtime at a fenced off footy field with just a couple of vans for company. “This looks good” we thought and set -up. However by 3pm, it was looking more like a drive-in on a Saturday night. “This doesn’t look good” we thought and after a quick look on the net headed back down the highway to a bush camp about 15klm out of town.
Now the landscape had changed considerably since we left the coast. Dense heath had become open scrub and we had noticed plenty of open areas on both sides of the road – some natural, some man-made. We had barely left the town limits when this large clearing loomed on the right. After a quick walk around, picked out a spot and set up for the weekend. Only the distant hum of a nearby mine site murmured through the trees and the traffic was sparse. Internet and privacy, two essentials now satisfied and there was much relief after a heart stopping Swans win and the West’s Tigers rise, phoenix like, from the premiership ashes
We know the epic across the Nullabor is looming on the horizon, so we’re happy to take short journeys for now. Our next free camp was a stop about 12klm this side of Coolgardie. We were now entering goldfields country. Mine access roads started to appear at intervals on both sides of the highway, mostly with large signs and stern warnings. We arrived (and almost missed) our destination. What appeared to be a roadside rest area was merely a portal for a rambling campground running hundreds of metres into the scrub. We snaked away from the highway and were set up by lunch. The night-time temperatures are plummeting just as the last of the fire bans end. Timing couldn’t be better. Now, where did I put that chainsaw?
Next morning we drifted into Coolgardie. Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie and Boulder are the three points in the golden triangle, all foundered within a decade of each other in the gold rush of the 1880’s. Sadly, Coolgardie has fared badly over the decades. It felt like a living ghost town on the cold Monday we passed through, even the obligatory cafe was no-where to be seen. But the history was well sign posted and we were coffee revived at the local servo. We didn’t know it at the time, but we would be back.
A short time later we arrived at Lake Douglas Rec Reserve, just 10 minutes from Kalgoorlie. This would be our base for the next week. Gold fever had once again gripped our heroine and prospecting was definitely on her agenda.