Tonight we are luxuriating in the caravan park at Leinster. Leinster is a mining town, originally gold then nickel but BHP is closing things down and things are going bad for the local business people. The post office & newsagency has its last day tomorrow and from what I saw was probably a good business. It must be very hard for the owner to pack up and quit.

We drove up today from the dam, stopping briefly at Leonora. It seemed that the only thing to see there was the Sons of Gwalia mine historical precinct, but we have sort of done our dash for that sort of thing for the moment......so on we went.

According to signs along the wY we should have seen emus, but no such luck.

Monday April 27

I started today with a walk down the main street of Menzies. Actually the only street, not counting the residential areas set well back either side of the main street which is the Goldfields Highway. There is very little commerce here just the pub/general store, a small cafe, a card operated fuel outlet and the mainstay of the town the local shire whose offices are in the very nice old town hall building. This building dates from the early 1900s and with various additions etc is a fine centrepiece for the town. There is also, of course a very nice visitors centre and the caravan park that we stayed in. Then would you believe it a water playground! The history of the town is documented by flat metal statues with story boards showing the sites and broadbrush history of the activities at those sites spread around the town. A lot of effort has gone into make this informative and interesting.

I expect to see a lot of this sort of thing on this part of the trip as this area is goldrush territory and the towns here got big and rich quickly then mostly died just as quickly. Menzies had about a 12 year life of riches but survives today as the seat of local government. 

The hilight of this section was always going to be the Inside Australia sculptures on Lake Ballard by Antony Gormley. For those who aren't aware of this it is a series of 51 sculptures commissioned here as part of the 50th anniversary of the Festival of Perth in 2003. The drive here is 53 kms of largely unsealed road from Menzies but is not bad as unsealed roads go. There is a campground basic but ok and we got here just in time for lunch. Too hot to go walking across the enormous salt lake so we waited until 4.30 then walked across to the first 2 figures and a small but very tall island in the middle of the lake, not the real middle but a far way from the putative shore. We then climbed the hill to a lookout that enabled us to survey the whole area from a great height! That's correct for those who noticed we both climbed it, well done Elaine.

Tuesday April 28 - still no coverage so written in notes to be copied and pasted at a later date!

Another day another walk this time further out on the lake to visit a few more of  the Insiders. There are lots of footprints  showing that people have walked all over to see the Insiders but the further one walks the more the numbers are reduced.....surprise, surprise. Also as I walked further the surface underfoot became sloppier, eventually I reached actual salt on the surface and decided that that was far enough. There are signs everywhere advising the various precautions, ie. 5 litres of water, for walking on the salt. We did our first walk late afternoon and this one was moderately early (can't be too early as that would mean getting out of bed at an early hour) in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. There was one poor Insider with both feet amputated and the body replanted a few centimetres behind the feet! According to the per work etc this sight was chosen by the artist, but I wonder how come he was here? Probably at the suggestion of someone local?!? Anyway the site is a long way from population centres and the statues are very spread out all of which limits their 'viewability'. Still for me it was a hilight of the trip as expected. 

Ever onward, this time to Kookynie. Another goldrush ghost town and again more building remains with explanations to be seen. Including what was the local brothel and I guess that business would have been brisk in the boom times, but I wonder how many prospectors got credit?

Then back a little bit to Niagara Dam, that's correct but note not Niagara Falls. This dam was built by CY O'Connor  to service the steam trains only to find, shortly after completion, that there is/was ample ground water in the area. We then settled down for the night to share a fire with a neighbouring motorhome. 

Well today was a little different. We started of with the usual walk, cleaned up after my tap installation efforts (we had to empty the locker under the sink and of course I spilt a little water), then headed to town. A bit of shopping, empty toilet cassette, top up water and headed off. Before I detail our travels, the park where we stayed has (in addition to the Kokoda history story boards) a significant Vietnam Memorial, the first such that I recall seeing - probably just lack of observation on my part - but quite impressive.

Anyway leaving town we found the local cemetery and the found the Jewish section. It is fairly small and had about 20-30 graves dating back to the turn of the century. We also noted that a little bit of repair and cleaning up is needed. If any knows who does this please advise them of our comments.

Then we headed off to Karlkurla Park which is a huge bushland park on the northern edge of Kalgoorlie showcasing the huge diversity, surprisingly huge, of woodland in this area. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to spend much time doing the extensive walks. It was set up using work for the dole people.

Back on the Goldfields Highway we drove northwards looking for a campground from one of the websites that we use. Despite 2 off highway rough road excursions no luck. But that meant that we kept going to Menzies where we are now bedded down in the shire run caravan park, very nicely set up, for the princely sum of $12!

Lazy bones slept too long to go to the dawn service!
Interesting day today, after Elaine did some washing we went sightseeing. I have heard about the super pit ever since Alan Bond first floated the idea and tried to get a huge gold mining combine going. He didn't suceed but born out of the idea came the companies that set up the so called Super Pit. Up to now I had never seen it and like a lot of other things that are just part of discussion it turned out to be unbelievably huge, and I mean huge. Lots of those huge haulpack trucks were actually dwarfed because of the distance away from us and we were standing in the lookout at the edge of the pit and they were a long way down. A real long way down! Elaine even found some rocks lying around with tiny, tiny specs of gold - maybe!!!
Then on to the Mt Charlotte Reservoir lookout. This is the end of Golden Pipeline where all the water from Mudaring is pumped. The view, as one would expect, superb.
On the way back we stopped at Bunnings to get a replacement tap for the leaking galley tap. Now that proved to be fun, firstly the fittings to join into our system were female and we needed male! So I used the old fittings, meaning the flexible hoses that connect to our system. Now all we have to do is clean up the mess that I made......in the morning!

Yesterday I walked to the peak of the big rock then continued on the 'long' walk trail to another, not quite so big rock, following the marked trail. Then I ran out of markers, little metal posts with arrows indicating where to go, as I got to the other side of the second rock. To go further would have taken me into bush and, not being an experienced bush walker and not having a compass etc and with hand held 2 way having run out of battery, I took the safe option and backtracked. Today I followed a track from the camp which turned out to be this missing part of yesterday's walk and it turned out that was was nearly home when I turned back! It was still interesting as I saw more of the system of acquaducts that made up this catchment area.
Meanwhile back at the ranch/van, Elaine had turned on the hot water system to have a shower and the water wasn't getting hot, which meant I think that the hws wasn't working. After a consultation with the operators manual I turned it off then on a couple of times and it started working. That wasn't soon enough to stop Elaine freezing and using a kettle of hot water, but later on I got a hot shower!!!
Back to the Great Eastern Highway and on to Kalgoorlie passing through Coolgardie.
We then picked up Elaine's hard drive of movies which our lovely house sitter Kath had posted to Kalgoorlie after we forgot to pack it. Then a wee bit of shopping before heading to Centennial Park where we shall spend the night. We have about 9 other vans for company, unusually 5 of them are motorhomes like us.
Good night all I trust that you will enjoy tomorrow and remember the sentiments and sacrifices that Anzac Day commemorates.

I am writing this on the morning after a pleasant sleep in the rather nice camp at Karalee Rocks. This camp is run by volunteers from the National Trust and encompasses the usual walks and story boards telling the history of the area and its association with the 'Golden Pipeline' from Mundaring to Kalgoorlie.  Another project that has me wondering at the type of mind that can consider creating something of this magnitude from nothing. I know that you all know this but just a reminder that it consists of a dam (Mundaring Weir) the pipeline (650 kms) and a reservoir (Mt Charlotte) in Kalgoorlie all built at the beginning of the 20th century.
No less inspiring is the water collection systems devised by the pioneers, the gold prospectors and the early settlers. Here there are 2 rocks and associated acquifers bringing the water into a dam. I walked around the dam, along an acquifer made of half steel pipe and complete with control gates to send the overflow into the bushland. Then I climbed to the peak of the rock and added a small rock to the customary cairn.

Today started with a prebreakfast walk. There is this great big rock in Merredin known as the peak. A small wall is built all around the outside to create a gutter, this is a considerable distance as it is as I have already stated a great big rock. This gutter channels the water runoff into an acquifer, about 3-400 meters long which takes it into what is known as the railway dam. Once again a decent size dam. All this was done many, many years ago and was the town water supply until CY O'Connor built his pipeline. This system using the runoff from the big boondies that are spread through this part of the country is quite common and was learned from the aborigines who got here first (by many thousands of years apparently). I walked over this 50 mtr high rock and through the surrounding bushland. One could feel like an early explorer except that most of these walks are shown on a board, clearly signposted and have lots of story boards telling one all there is to know - making it all very interesting.
We then headed east stopping at another rock call Moorine Rock, mainly to see one of the wells which we're also part of the early water supply. Not quite as big as my morning rock, but pretty big just the same and without marked walking tracks. Elaine joined me and we climbed to the top, took in amazing view, then climbed back down.
On to Southern Cross, checked out the lookout and the town before proceeding to our overnight stop at Karalee Rocks dam.

Another day and more nice things to see. A short drive from our overnight stop, after doing some washing, water filling and solar panel cleaning we arrived in Bruce Rock. First at the information bay some plaques relating to long term, if you call 100 years long term, farming residents of the area. Then into town and a rather grand, for a small town, amphitheatre with an attached garden. The garden had some scrap material sculptures and the whole thing surrounded by a bunch of memorials to soldiers of all wars including women.
Then we moved on stopping at Totadgin Rock, another big granite thingame. We both climbed to the first level , then I climbed the rest of the way and was rewarded with a magnificent view of the local farms. I also saw lot of little lizards scurrying around. A walk well worth the effort.
Onwards, ever onwards to Merredin where we settled in, after much toing and frying to find a level spot, in the free RV park. It would appear that some effort is being made in this part of the world to provide these to encourage tourists like us to stop overnight.

  Here we are on day two of this years trip and once again we are finding so much to see. As much as we say that we are only scratching the surface. Every where we go there are things to see that nobody seems to promote. Today we went to look at Toapin Weir which is just west of Quairading and which is located by a small sign on the side of the road and a small note in the local tourist brochure. Anyway the story is that an Esquire Parker obtained 28000 acres in the area for $175! Then in 1912 he located a suitable rock formation and built a relatively small dam wall to hold around 4 million litres of water - note a private person building a big dam. It is a very picturesque site and after a middling climb a great view. It has had some additions over the years and an interesting history. There was more today including some very very big rocks. 
We are spending the night at the Kwolyin Free Camp Ground, created to breathe some new life into the town, only trouble is that we can't find the town. It is very basic bush camping with toilets, picnic tables and bbqs, but very pleasant. 
That's all for now, more tomorrow when we head for Bruce Rock and Merredin. 

Well our motorhome (aka van or motorised caravan) now properly named 'Loose Ends' has finally broken its city shackles and is heading east. Furthermore we are actually travelling with it! After a hectic couple of weeks making sure that our house was shining like a new pin. Before leaving had the pleasure of spending quality time with our children and grandchildren, that made it just a little bit harder to leave but we will keep in touch. After stopping in Mundaring to top up fuel and a few supplies we have stopped at a small picnic area about 34kms west of York for the night and to just sort ourselves and the van out.