>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom)
…from Esperance via Kalgoorlie-Boulder to Albany
“Yes, we too wanted to take a look into the deep hole, and perhaps we would have been as lucky as those men who triggered a gold rush north of Esperance over a hundred years ago.”
But here too, the distances were long; very long.
We left Esperance on the west side, followed the beautiful coastline and later turned north. Our first destination was Peak Charles National Park, where we wanted to spend the night at the foot of the mountain of the same name. We planned our route and checked it on our maps; we were sure that we could drive relatively directly to the national park. But in Australia, many things are possible or even impossible. Our planned route was blocked because some company was mining raw materials at a salt lake. Even the nearby alternative routes were also blocked. So we had to take a very long detour and spend another night in the bush.
In the afternoon of the following day, we arrived at our desired destination. We immediately set up camp so that Tom could finally set off on his hike to Peak Charles. Perhaps it wasn’t the best time, but I (Tom) really wanted to go up there. Well equipped for the first few kilometres through the open bushland, I climbed the mountain relatively quickly. Based on my assessment and the condition of the path, this mountain trail is not used very often, and during the ascent I missed the right track once. At the top of the granite hill – a full 651 metres high – I was very surprised by the view and enjoyed this moment of total seclusion. During the descent, I had to climb up three times to find the right path again; the path was heavily overgrown in places and difficult to find.
After the mountain experience, we followed a rather flat landscape through wide bushland and countless salt lakes. Before reaching Norseman, we turned off the Esperance Highway and followed a tourist route through the bush. The first gold discoveries were made along this route during the settlement of Australia, and there were old and historical things to discover everywhere. Mining is still carried out in Norseman itself. In addition to gold, other minerals are also mined and exported.
It was not far to Kalgoorlie-Boulder, and the huge articulated lorries with 4 or 5 trailers announced the active operations early on. Despite an active search, we could not find the viewing platform for the Super Pit, the largest hole in Australia; our maps always led us to the wrong place. Even Google Maps didn’t know the right way. Somewhat disappointed, we roamed the surrounding area and the centre of Kalgoorlie. Thanks to it being Sunday and the upcoming national holiday, the streets were very quiet, but unfortunately, to our chagrin, the mining museum was closed.
We finally found the Super Pit, the big hole in the ground, the next day. The visitor viewing point and access road had been rebuilt. We suspected that there was probably a gold vein under the old viewing point and that the area was therefore being extensively excavated. The hole is approximately 3.5 kilometres by 1.5 kilometres and over 600 metres deep. The huge machines move back and forth like busy ants on a variety of paths. Even the giant dump trucks with a total weight of up to 250 tonnes looked cute and small, and we kept wondering whether the very small pick-up trucks would often get run over. In this hole, people work 365 days a year in two 12-hour shifts; the precious metal must be in high demand. 😊
West of Kalgoorlie-Boulder lies the Goldfield-Woodlands National Park. We were unable to ascertain whether the name has anything to do with the former activities. It was also not entirely clear to us what exactly is being protected here. Yes, the landscape looks great, but you can admire it almost everywhere. However, we did arrange to meet up with a couple we got to know on the Panam tour and booked a whale watching tour in Walpole together. We were looking forward to seeing them again.
On our way south, we drove through a landscape that is intensively farmed. The huge cornfields seem to stretch endlessly to the horizon. While driving through this area, we stopped at the Humps, where rock paintings by the Aboriginal people can be admired in a cave. Of course, we couldn’t miss the Wave Rock in nearby Hyden. We weren’t alone at this famous spot; crowds of people were milling around the wave, and watching them was almost more amusing than marvelling at the natural wonder.
Actually, a short stay at Fitzgerald River National Park was still on our wish list. There were supposed to be many plants there that only grow in this area. The animal and bird life was also supposed to be unique. At the turn-off in Hopetoun, there was a huge illuminated sign that clearly stated that the park was closed due to a bush fire. Although the smoke plume did not seem too big to us, the park was also closed on the west side. Well, force majeure, which we couldn’t influence. So we drove north along Fitzgerald River National Park through the vast landscape and hoped to experience something special in Stirling Range National Park. Unfortunately, our stay in this national park was somewhat disappointing.
I (Tom) was becoming increasingly concerned about our car. During the last service in Albury, certain issues were identified and repairs were recommended. Now the front axle was dripping more and more, as the shaft seals had probably reached the end of their life. The starting process with a warm engine also caused certain problems at times, i.e. the starter motor turned for a very long time before the engine started and there was usually a nasty smell of petrol. I couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from, but I was afraid that something might suddenly catch fire. So we drove straight to the Toyota workshop in Albany, where an appointment was made for the following week. In the meantime, the workshop was able to order the necessary spare parts based on the list of defects in Perth. Not to forget, we have an old car with 22 years under its belt, so probably not all parts are available everywhere anymore.
We spent the following night east of Albany at Betty’s Beach, and it was only by chance that we were allowed to stay there for the night. The free campsites were all completely overcrowded and conditions around these sites were almost chaotic. At Betty’s Beach, a groundskeeper kept things somewhat orderly and assigned us a parking space. The free campsite is beautifully situated in the bay, surrounded by huge granite boulders. The next morning, the groundskeeper told us that this would continue until mid-March and that the salmon fishing season would begin on 24 February. Normal campers would then have no chance of getting a spot. It immediately reminded me (Tom) of big game hunting in certain cantons of Switzerland, where everything else comes to a standstill during the hunting season. 😉
We set off towards Walpole, crossed the centre of Albany again, followed side roads to Denmark and continued west on the South Western Highway. Shortly after Denmark, Chantal’s phone rang. On the other end was our friend from the Panam tour, who excitedly told us that we were going to the wrong place and that the whale watching tour was in Bremer Bay. We were a little surprised and at the same time wondered whether we should just skip this tour. We decided to go on this tour together after all and drive the 300 kilometres back to Bremer Bay.
We had already been on our way back for some time when the phone rang again and we were told that the tour had been postponed by one day, giving us more time to get to Bremer Bay. This meant we had an extra day with our friends, and there was certainly no shortage of things to talk about; travelling brings people together and creates friendships.
The whale watching tour out on the open sea; Chantal and I (Tom) have almost opposite opinions on this. First of all, the sea was very rough due to the wind and the waves caused the catamaran to rock back and forth violently. For many of our fellow passengers, this rocking motion was too much and made it more of a horror trip than a sightseeing tour. I (Tom) enjoyed the trip and saw lots of orcas. Unfortunately, my camera was often too slow and the large whales had already disappeared into the waves. Despite the swell and the rocking ride, we were able to admire many of these giants of the sea and I (Tom) will remember them fondly. The short detour to see the sea lions on the way back was almost a compulsory exercise, as these animals could hardly top what we had seen before.
After three days, we went our separate ways and drove back to Albany. On the way back, Castle Rock with its skywalk tempted us to make a short stop. It was also the first time that a long snake slithered directly into the undergrowth right in front of my feet. Slightly startled, I slowed down my walking pace and paid even closer attention to the ground in front of me. In addition to the great view from the mountain, I returned to the car with a new experience and was glad that the encounter with this crawling animal had ended so harmlessly. We soon covered the last few kilometres to Albany. After checking into our accommodation, we took our car to the garage. The repair was scheduled to take two days, so we booked the bungalow for three nights as a precaution. Since the spare parts were already at the garage, this should have been enough time.
But suddenly everything took much longer. We were informed at short notice that spare parts would still have to be delivered from Perth and that the repair would be delayed. This was a demoralising statement from the garage. While I (Tom) was able to move around freely, this meant waiting and sitting around for Chantal. Somehow, it suddenly didn’t feel right for us anymore, and the bad weather and cold further dampened our spirits. The atmosphere was sometimes tense, and suddenly other things started to go wrong, which contributed even more to our ‘motivation’.
Well, what else could we do but wait patiently and endure several days in Albany? Our ‘home’, the car with all our equipment, was in the workshop, and we were in a cold, uncomfortable little house. We don’t know whether garages care what travellers do in such moments. But such moments were and always are a horror for travellers. Let’s hope that the garage keeps its promises and we will soon have our car back. Hopefully; otherwise we could soon be homeless!
Chantal and Tom/February 2026
>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator