Return to the Outback ... and loving it

We decided we'd fit Kalgoorie in after all, seeing as we're all the way over here.  What a great decision, we've had a terrific time!  From Esperance we drove north to Norseman and it didn't take long at all for the country to change.  The weather too - finally a return to summer conditions!  We spent a night at Kambalda, just south of Kalgoorlie.

Kambalda - Lake Lefroy is a 500km square salt pan

Another great outback place name

Kalgoorlie's a bigger town than we'd imagined but every bit as interesting as we hoped.  We've had a couple of days of full-on sightseeing including everything from a walking tour to a tour of a brothel.  Yep, the last surviving original Hay Street brothel.  It's still open for business, though as the 'madam' told us, it's the tours that keep the place afloat.  This was actually a really informative tour as the brothels are so closely linked with Kalgoorlie's history.

We would have been the youngest of the 14 people on the this tour

One of the first things we did on arrival in Kalgoorlie was go out to the Super Pit, which is the amalgamation of all the smaller gold mines.  Wow, you can imagine something huge but until you actually see it ...

From the lookout

And again at twilight.  The headlights are on the enormous
tip trucks that travel up and down, up and down, up and down
that haulage road.

There are some gorgeous old buildings here
in Kalgoorlie

We also did a tour of the Royal Flying Doctor Service base and found that very interesting too.  We were able to have a look inside one of their planes which is fitted out just as an intensive care unit in a large hospital would be.  Pretty amazing what they're able to do.

So that's where we are right now.  The weather's in the 30s, clear blue sunny skies and we want to stay here!!  However, we have to head back to Victoria, so tomorrow will 'hit the Nullarbor'.  We've got about another two weeks.  As it's highly unlikely we'll have internet access "out there" this may be our last post.  Certainly our last from beautiful Western Australia.  Once we've been to Streaky Bay, it'll be a fairly direct route home most likely.  See you then!