RV TRAVEL
“ DON’ T THINK THAT YOU CAN SPEND HALF AN HOUR HERE AND BE SATISFIED.”
Could it be that in 2003 a party of 51 extraterrestrial beings landed on the remote saltbed of Lake Ballard, and indeed were turned to black pillars of salt as punishment for some biblical misdeed?
Or could it be that the Perth International Arts Festival commissioned a wildly creative project by the artist Antony Gormley, leaving behind an art-legacy titled Inside Australia of 51 carbonised steel statues rendered from the full-body lazar scans of the citizens of Menzies?
While your mind will confirm the latter scenario, your imagination will prefer the former. Without doubt, the statues of Lake Ballard are not to be missed by anyone visiting Kalgoorlie and the Western Australian goldfields.
KALGOORLIE HISTORY
Kalgoorlie continues to draw miners after 120 years with the ground still yielding gold in quantities unequalled anywhere else on earth.
Wander along Hannan Street from the visitor centre to the WA Museum to see the numerous historic buildings. The museum is mandatory, with exhibits depicting the life of prospectors both successful and not. It includes a reproduction of the Golden Eagle: a nugget weighing in at a staggering 1136 ounces found by a 17-year-old boy. There is also a Cobb & Co carriage, a bicycle made from wood, and more.
From the visitors’ lookout above the Super Pit, you’ ll see just how far we humans will go to dig shiny stuff up out of the ground.
DISCOVERY TRAIL
Gold fever struck further north as well, and to commemorate the history of the region is a selfguided drive up to Laverton known as the Golden Quest Discovery Trail( 956km return).
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