Niagara Dam, Kookynie, Western Australia

Friday July 29th saw us on the move once again. We hooked up the caravans and retraced our steps into Leonora first. We topped up with diesel and a few grocery odds and ends at the local supermarket (very subjective use of the word, I believe).

We then traveled only a few kilometres South of town to the Historical Precinct of Gwalia. This is a must see if traveling through Leonora. There is a very good museum with quite a bit of mining equipment from "The Sons of Gwalia" Gold mine. The mine closed in the 1960s but appears to be operational again as a open pit mine. The pit is adjacent to the museum and you get an excellent view from a lookout.

There are a number of buildings utilized in the museum including the Hoover House that Herbert Hoover (later became American President) lived in. Beautiful old building that has been restored and you can stay in 4 of the rooms overnight. It is still open to tour however which was nice.

Other highlights of the museum are the Huge Winder and Shaft utilized for transporting men and ore some 1500 metres into the ground. Lot's of tools etc involved with maintaining this equipment as well. Get a look at the size of the spanner Rans is playing with! Weighed a ton!

Another building focused on the effects of World War I on the staff and mine. Over 25% of the 85 employees that joined the war effort died. I found the display moving as it talked about each of the individuals and when/how they were lost. Also had a very negative effect on the mine and it's profit results (staff shortages etc).

Lots of interesting memorabilia involving regular life during the early days as well. Vehicles, Trains, bicycles, washing machines, etc.

The parking lot is huge and you are allowed to free camp there as long as you are self contained and tour the museum. The museum is free, with a gold coin donation if you wish, so not much of a commitment!

The girl at the entry/gift shop was lovely and the whole experience was really good. It's great to see how these small towns are really encouraging tourists and making it appealing to come to their towns. Such a pleasant change from the more touristy areas with poor customer service and substandard facilities.

From Gwalia we traveled about 60 Km South before turning West towards Kookynie. A short 20 Km saw us at Niagara Dam (not related to the famous falls in Canada). This is another large free camping area but with the bonus of flush toilets and a dump point. We ventured down to the lower camping area which had lots of space and private areas. The roads/tracks were a bit rough and winding so you have to be a bit careful with larger caravans. That being said we found a nice area where we could set up with minimum fuss.

Once setup we had a quick lunch before heading off to explore the area. This time we supplied the transport as we traveled to the "Living Ghost Town" of Kookynie. Another major Gold mining town of the early 1900's. Kookynie had a population of 3500 with 11 Hotels in 1907 only to shrink to about 20 residents currently (which is why they call it Living). The only significant building left is the Grand Hotel (not that Grand if we are honest). The few other remaining residents appear to be prospectors and/or recluses (only my uneducated opinion). A bit like a number of Opal/Gem towns we have visited previously but with even less services! We stopped for a beer in the Pub, which is for sale ($400K) if anyone is looking for a lifestyle change. Wow! The beer on tap was beautifully cold, and both the hotel and owner were very interesting. Check out the picture of the Keg Room below. That being said we only stayed for one and we won't be making an offer.

We returned to the campground where we completed a walk around the dam. Very different rock formations here as well and an interesting walk.

A few other campers at this campground as well. although I think some might be long term residents. We enjoyed afternoon drinks outside but moved inside for the evening as it was cool.

Malcom Dam, Leonora, Western Australia

Wednesday, July 27th saw us heading further East and South in the Northern Goldfields. We traveled another 150 Km East to Leinster. Along the way Sandra & I stopped at Peter Denny Lookout about 40 Km from Sandstone. A nice big camping area with views of the Breakaway rock formations that populate this countryside. Would be a nice free camp for another trip.

After turning South at Leinster we traveled another 130 Km to Leonora along the Goldfields Highway. We topped up with Diesel before visiting the Visitor Centre. Another lovely historic mining town with some beautiful old buildings. A bit more commercial development than our last few stops but still a fraction of its glory during the Gold Rush.

The lady at the Visitor Centre was a good source of local information and on her recommendation we decided to stay at the free camp at Malcom Dam. This is only about 12 Km East of Leonora towards Laverton. We found an area adjacent to the Dam wall with a picnic table and fire pit. We were able to park the vans overlooking the dam which made for a nice outlook. No facilities other than the picnic tables and rubbish bins. The dam was fairly depleted but still had some water and a fair amount of bird life. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon enjoying the view and another nice sunset.

Thursday morning we left the caravans and took a day trip to Laverton with the Ransleys. About 100 Km East of our location and a fully sealed road. This is the beginning of the Outback Way. The "Longest Shortcut" travels from Laverton through Uluru ending in Winton, Queensland. Maybe another trip! The highlight of Laverton is the Great Beyond Visitor Centre and the Explorers Hall of Fame. An interesting multimedia history of the exploration of Australia's Outback. Quite interesting and as a bonus the girls found a piece of gluten free Cheesecake for a snack.

The Laverton Outback Gallery was also an interesting stop. Displays and sells local Aboriginal Art at very reasonable prices. Wasn't quite sure how I would have transported it home or I might have bought a piece myself.

We took the Old Laverton Highway for some of the return trip. We stopped at a few historic mine sites/cemetery's along the return journey. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Mt. Margaret which is an Aboriginal community. Had a bit of a view from the lookout and then had a good laugh at the local football field. You wouldn't want to get tackled taking a mark on this one!

Our next stop on he return journey was Mt. Morgan. Another Ghost Town although there is an active mine operating there again now. Lovely old Town Hall building is the only remnant of the town other than some street signs.

Our final stop was a lookout near our campground which had some interesting rock structure. A lot of the rock actually looked like petrified wood with grains running through it. Interesting.

We returned to the caravans in mid afternoon where we relaxed by the dam and planned our next few days of travel. Very nice free camp here and one we would definitely return to again.

Sandstone, Western Australia

Tuesday July 26th saw us continuing our journey through the Northern Goldfields. We traveled the short 80 Km South to Mt. Magnet along the Great Northern Highway. We had a quick break/stretch here before heading East towards Sandstone. We didn't see much of Mount Magnet and may need a return visit some day to explore.

Another 160 Km saw us arrive in Sandstone where we checked into the Sandstone Caravan Park. This is another Shire operated Caravan Park and excellent. Was quite busy with prospectors and there were only a few powered sites left when we arrived. The park has nice grassy areas in the common areas and artificial turf under the clothes line which is a good idea. There were two amenity blocks for 40 sites and the ones near us were unisex ensuites. These were modern and spotless so 4.5 Stars for them. Prices are very reasonable as well at $25/night for a powered site. Such a pleasant change from the $40+ we were paying in the North for much lower quality facilities.

Once we checked in and had some lunch we set off with the Ransleys to explore the town and it's sites. The town is small but with a lot of character. A number of the old buildings still exist with the Visitor Centre also functioning as a local museum. Very interesting. A number of lovely park areas and historic displays around the town centre as well with lots of parking for caravans.

 We had a quick stop at the National Hotel Pub (which also doubled as the General Store) and got a few pictures. Very old with some interesting art/antique displays outside. We heard from some fellow campers that they do good meals as well.

We then took a drive around the Heritage Trail. First stop was the Old Brewery which was basically in a cave in a very unique rock formation. Quite interesting, although no equipment was left.

Next stop was a rock formation called "London Bridge". This would probably be the most well known feature of Sandstone and was well worth the drive. An arch has formed in the breakaway rock formation which is unfortunately gradually wearing away. Thus the name as eventually it will collapse. We enjoyed a walk around the area and got some good photos of the "Bridge" before continuing on our way.

The rest of the Heritage Trail included a Former State Battery (Gold Ore Crusher) and the remains of the Contradiction Well. Neither of these were in good condition but still an interesting glimpse into the history of the area. We did stop and enjoy a few sites where the wild flowers are beginning to bloom.

We returned to the caravan park where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a BBQ. Another lovely old town with a lot of history. This one is a bit more active primarily because of the number of prospectors that visit the area searching for Gold.

Cue, Western Australia

Sunday July 24th saw us on the road heading South again. We passed through Meekathara after 150 Km where we topped up our diesel. Doesn't look too appealing and we were glad we hadn't planned to stay there. We traveled South for another 120 Km arriving in Cue around lunch time.

We checked into the Cue Caravan Park which is lovely. It appears to be operated by the Cue Shire and is very neat, modern, and clean. The amenity blocks were big with a number of unisex ensuite units as well as separate Male/Female toilets. They were spotless as were the laundry facilities, kitchen area, and TV Room. I'll give them 5 Stars!

Once we got settled in the girls got some laundry started. Sandra and I took a walk around the town site in the afternoon. It was a Sunday and the streets were literally deserted. Only saw two people during our walk. The town is beautiful with lots of historic buildings. Unfortunately, the majority of these seem to be vacant and we didn't see any active businesses. The original Gaol is located at the caravan park as well. Was having some renovations done as a storm had ripped off the roof.

The afternoon was spent cleaning and relaxing. Monday morning the four of us jumped in the Jeep for a ride out to the historic Big Bell Town site/Ghost Town. Big Bell was a thriving town of some 850 established in 1936 that emptied in the mid 1950s when the mine closed. The Hotel was still standing as were pieces of other buildings including a Church. Sad to see that not much is left.

From there we traveled on to Walga Rock. The road was unsealed most of the way but excellent. Very wide and hardly any corrugation. Walga Rock turned into one of the pleasant surprises of our current adventure. The first feature of note is the significant Aboriginal Art display at the base of the rock on the west side. At 60 metres it would be one of the larger displays we have seen with a fair amount of variety. The Second impressive feature is that this is the second largest Monolith in Australia behind Uluru. Approximately 5 Km in diameter and 1.5 Km long. The climb to the top was fairly easy and the view from the summit was outstanding. We got lots of photos and enjoyed our morning tea at the summit.

We headed back to town for lunch stopping to take some photos of wildflowers that are just starting to come out.

After lunch we headed back out to explore some sites to the North of town. First stop was Nallan Lake Nature Reserve. This is a huge lake area that was all but completely dry. Would be full of bird life and wild flowers during the wet season and later in the year. Quite a nice camping area for us to keep in mind for a future trip.

We also stopped at Milly Soak which was a well a meeting place in the early days of Cue. Not much to see now unfortunately. We then stopped at an unnamed rock formation just on the edge of town. It reminds us a lot of the Breakaways near Coober Pedy. Beautiful colors with lots of shiny quartz.

The Cue Lookout was our final stop on the return journey to our caravans. Good view of the town site but not much else.

We topped up our diesel supplies and made trip preparations in the later afternoon.  Cue is a lovely little town with a great caravan park and lots of history. Unfortunately it is going to need a few more active businesses to prosper as a town or a tourist location.