Today we travelled north for about 400km to Kalgoorlie following the original paths of some of the miners that flocked to the goldfields in the 1890s.

The restored Tanker Jetty was the site of the original Esperance port.

This statue at the Tanker Jetty shows the physical nature of grain loading onto ships in the earlier days of settlement. Despite all his effort, this guy got the sack.

Banksia at Esperance

Helms Arboretum north of Esperance is a local orchid hotspot.

Blue sun orchid

Purple sun orchid

They weren’t hard to find.

Bee orchids

Cowslip orchids

This held us up for a bit on the highway as a front end loader pushed the trailers upright. Thankfully, it looked like no one was hurt.

Western wattlebird at Scadden

Green lake near Salmon Gums (the town)

Salmon gums (the tree) near Salmon Gums (the town)

We have entered the Great Western Woodlands.

Bromus Dam was built in the 1920s to supply water for the early steam trains.

The sole inhabitant of Bromus Dam when we were there. I asked Ducky if he likes it here and he said it’s not all its quacked up to be.

Track into Dundas Rocks south of Norseman.

Dundas Rocks is a reserve with a ghost town that had mostly disappeared. The granite rocks are 550 million year old.

Dundas ghost town was the location of an early gold find in the region in 1894. Who would like a ghost pun? That’s the spirit!

Wildflowers at Dundas Rocks

Crossing the salt lake north of Norseman

We are back in mining country – off the road for another wide load.

Lake Lefroy from Red Hill Lookout at Kambalda.

The lake’s extensive clay pan is covered with a crust of salt that supports little vegetation. I know a salt joke that’s sodium funny.

Some of the extensive gold and nickel mining operations below the hill and across the lake.

Kambalda is a town servicing gold and nickel mines. I asked a miner which one he preferred and he said, “Either ore”.

A trail across the hilltop with a Desert kurrajong (Brachychiton gregoryi).

Desert kurrajong flower

Some flowering plants in this harsh environment.

We arrive at Kalgoorlie for a few nights to look around the goldfields. This is the Government building in Hannan Street that housed the Registrars Office, Kalgoorlie Post/Telegraph Office and Wardens Court.