Outback - Western Australia

Kalgoorlie November 2009

In a complete change to the green of Europe we have had a few days in the Australian Outback. We travelled with a few friends by train to Kalgoorlie,a goldmining town 650km east of Perth .

We took the Prospector Train from Perth for a very comfortable 7 hour journey. The train is airconditioned, reclining seats, buffet Car and movie or music entertainment.

On the way we passed through wheat farming country and saw the water pipe line which brings water from Mundaring reservoir in Perth 600km to Kalgoorlie and the Mt Charlotte reservoir.

then on through Mallee and into the red earth county of Kalgoorlie.



Bayley and Ford picked up 554 ounces of gold nuggets in Coolgardie in 1892 started Australia's richest gold rush and then in 1893 Paddy Hannan found gold in Kalgoorlie. A strip of land between Kalgoorlie and Boulder became known as the Golden Mile.
After the easily won nuggets became scarce the miners started digging and sinking shafts. Each mine had its own frame ( a Poppet Head) used to haul the ore to the surface and many poppet heads can still be seen today on small mines.

During the late 1890's and early 1900's the Goldfields were at their peak of prosperity and many beautiful buildings reflecting the wealth of this period have been faithfully restored.Wide verandahs to walk out of the sun and beautiful lace work wrought iron were a feature.





We visited the largest open cut gold mine in Australia. It was started in 1989 and takes up what was once many of the deep shaft goldmines on the Golden Mile. The Super Pit will eventually be over 3 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide and about 500 metres deep. The mine works 24 hrs a day all year and the big buckets on the shovels carry 60 tonnes and fill up the giant Haul Trucks with a load of 225 tonnes. I wonder what the prospectors would say if they could see what looking for gold is like 100 years on from their day.





After Kalgoorlie we toured Boulder, a mixture of beautilful old buildings


And on the outskirts the corrugated iron houses. In the 1930's building materials were very hard to get so far from Perth so the Corrugated iron sheeting was recycled for many years.






We also visited the Boulder Cemetary as our friend's grandmother and father were buried there. It was very sad to read many of the headstones, starting life in the green of Ireland, one mother lost 4 of her children to typhoid in 1903 and then to bury them in the red earth must have been heart wrenching.

Lace work around the graves softens the baren landscape.

We hired a car and took a trip around part of the 900km Gold Discovery Trail which takes in the outlying gold mining country which has many small historical towns.

First we visited the historic Two-Up Ring where the betting game of Two-up has been played since beginning of the century. Because it used to be illegal to bet the ring was out in the bush about 5 km from Kalgoorlie.

The game of two-up was played by putting two pennies on a piece of wood (a kip) and then toss them in the up in the air a certain height and the betting was if two heads or two tails landed face up.If one of each faced up they were tossed again. A very simple game, goldmines, nuggets or a few dollars were won or lost on the toss of the pennies.

Next we visited Broad Arrow, in 1900 it was a thriving municipality with a mayor and councillors,
a stock exchange,
a magistrate,a hospital,
8 hotels,
two breweries,
shops, a blacksmith
and a dramatic society for entertainment.
Now in 2009 it has a tavern and two houses but is still surrounded by goldmines.

The tavern has been here for 100 years serving beer and meals and a welcoming environment to locals and visitors.
When visiting here everyone adds a signature. However as the only place we could see was the ceiling we decided to have a beer instead.



On through the Mulga

our next stop is Ora Banda Tavern built from local stone in 1911 and all that is left of the goldmining town.

A welcome drink on the shady verandah.

I think the gold prospectors' dogs must be big and fierce around here.

Soon it was time to drive back to Kalgoorlie

on the way we passed the start of the worlds longest golf course.


For Golfers interested the 18 hole par 71 will span 1365 kilometres with one hole in each town or roadhouse along the Eyre Highway from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. Each hole will include a green and a tee and rugged outback terrain fairway

After three great days we said goodbye to Kalgoorlie and the red earth and enjoyed the train ride back to Perth

Holland 4 - Princinhof to Kuikhorne

Now it is getting close to the finish of our 2009 trip and it’s time to turn towards Kuikhorne where Gitty and Hans Moses have a very good marina called Eibersnest, they also speak English which is good for us. We left the boat there last year and were very happy.

DRACHTEN
From Stavoren we travelled across the Heegermeer to the Princes Margriet Canal, the major route North East. We reached Grou and turned off into the Pikmeer lake area and then up the Monniken Ee to Drachten as we needed to organise our train fare.

In Drachten we caught a bus to Groningen train station and bought our tickets with seniors and summer discount. We will be able to take a train leaving 9am from Veenwouden, 2k from Kuikhorne to Leeuwarden, then an intercity train to Rotterdam and then the High Speed Train to Paris Nord then to Charles De Gaulle Airport and arrive at the airport at 5.30pm.

PRINCINHOF
Now it is back to the boat and we cruised up to the Alde Feanen National Park and the Princenhof, a beautiful lake and channel area created from the days when Turf was dug and transported heating. The turf was dug out down to the sand level and created the marshy channels, the areas of deeper blue is where storms washed away the land in between the channels and created the lake areas which often have small islands. You can see from the pink lines on the map above over the next few days we crisscrossed the area. The red dots you can see are the Marrekrite moorings dotted all around the water edges and on island in the lakes.

The orange flag below is purchased for 10 euro from the Marrekrite non profit organisation who build and caretake the free Marrekrite moorings found all over Friesland.

Some are pontoons where you can’t get off of the pontoon onto land and others are grassed moorings which are nice for a longer stay. Usually the stay is for a maximum of 3 days and rubbish removal is also supplied but no water or power. The rubbish containers are removed by a very good system by barge and we were lucky enough to see one in action at one of our moorings. Each mooring has an identifying number and this can be used in case of a medical emergency so you can be found easily.





As we cruised down the channel to the lakes we saw a farmer moving to his paddocks on the other side of the channel, a bit different to driving the truck around the farm he needs a barge to move from field to field.

We had various types of scenery for our overnight stays and it is wonderfully serene. On this mooring we had a tree view and were fortunate to see fishermen come and check their nets in the morning. We have seen these fish netting poles all over Holland and it was good to see the action.





One of our night stays was on a pontoon mooring surrounded by rushes, thank goodness we had the mosi screen up so we had a good nights sleep. This is the view from our windows.




Time for breakfast or is it brunch, we usually don’t get up until 9.30 ish.

One day we went through this narrow channel and into a lake where kids were learning to sail.


Cruising along the outside channel of the Princenhof to another lake are we came across these homes what a great position they have.


Back down another channel and time for lunch and a swim. We passed this ferry used for taking people and bikes across the channel.

We stopped here for lunch along the side of the lake, each boat seen here is on a long pontoon suitable for about 20 boats. I think it must be busy here on weekends and holidays to have such a lot of room.

After lunch we go on to find a nice overnight stop. This family is doing it the hard way paddling across the lake with the kids having fun trailing behind.

We turned left down this little channel which is suitable for 1 metre depth. As it started to get more and more narrow I wondered what would happen if a boat came the other way.


As we came out onto the lake 2 small boats were coming into the channel, did we miss a sign saying one way only? !!!

Out to the lake and across to the island ahead.

We found a wonderful overnight stop on this mooring in the shade of the trees. A small boat come came by selling fish and icecreams, so it was fresh blackberries courtesy of Kevin and Magnums for dessert.

Next morning the garbage barge with a compactor pulled up to empty the bin. What a wonderful service.
EARNWALD
Leaving late we cruised into Earnwald the village on the edge of the Princinhof as we needed to charge the batteries, get some water and visit the Skutsje Museum. We tied up at the marina just down the road from the museum and asked if we could buy water and power while we visited the museum. They only charged 2 euro so the batteries got charged while we enjoyed ourselves at the museum.

We joined in a tour through the boat house, all in dutch but very entertaining and some great photos also.

The photos of the old Skutsje and the woman made me happy I wasn’t a boat owners wife in those days




These show the Skutsje racing, they are around 45 ton and 20 metres long. It was very exciting when we saw them racing on Langweer last year. They were originally made of wood but have been built from steel since 1900.


Diana and Arthur Dixon visited here a few months ago when they were building a Skutsje in the traditional way from wood. Volunteers have taken 5 years to build it and it was launched a few days before we arrived, I am looking forward to seeing their photos.

It was interesting seeing the patterns for the parts of the boat when they searched for the right shaped Oak trees in Denmark large enough for the ribs.



This Skutsje is called Aebelina built from plans of the 1861 Aebelina, shorter than the modern Skutsje as the locks in the 1800’s were shorter than they are today.



Time to go back to the lakes for the night and what a beautiful spot we found.
It was very hot so Kevin went in for a swim with his crocs on as it was only a little over 1 metre deep and the bottom was very muddy. Not for me, so fortunately just a little after the frantic floundering on the wall I got the camera and took the photo of Mr Beached Whale as he climbed out .

We met a lovely couple Betty and Ysrand here who gave us a history lesson about Friesland and answered all of the questions we had been wanting to ask someone. In the evening we were entertained by 6 hot air balloons floating in the distance.

Paradise always has a little demon and ours was the presence of the European Wasp, every time we got any food out, around they came for a visit. They seem to be all over, as this year we have had the same problem in any province we have visited. I guess the hot weather has increased the population The electronic swat is worth the 3 euro we paid for it and Kevin has become a very good hunter. I am glad we have been able to keep them out of Western Australia so far. It is a pity we can’t take an electronic swat home.


Next morning we walked around the little island making sure we kept to the path as it was marshy in the centre. There were lovely wildflowers along the way.




We left and travelled through the little village of Warten to Leeuwarden. A storm is brewing so we will stay put there tonight then go to Dokkum then back to Kuikhorne. You will notice the flag pole with the Ausralian flag on the front, in case you have wondered it is our measuring pole for the height of the small bridges which don’t open like the one you see here. We have 10 cm clearance so if this touches we have to quickly back off.

We had a big storm last night, very strong winds with thunder, lightning and heavy rain. From what we were told later it had been experienced all over Holland.

It was calm in the morning and back to nice warm summer weather so we travelled to Dokkum, on the way we saw these cute duck houses. What a lot of trouble someone has gone to.


Next stop was Dokkum to sort out our Lyca Mobile sim cards. They have changed providers to Vodaphone and we need to make sure the same system applies, using Lyca we can call Australia for 9 euro cents a minute to a fixed phone and can talk Lyca to Lyca for 18 euro cents for 15 minutes in Holland. As most of the Aussies have Lyca it is a good way to catch up cheaply. Also we can keep the same number and as long as we recharge within 9 months so it suits us perfectly.

Kevin went to the Motor shop for filters etc and came back with a new toy, a battery load tester and a hydrometer to check the batteries, so it was into the hole to check things out. The diagnosis was two batteries a little sick and fatigued and one is on the danger list.

At the VVV tourist bureau we got a Kabel Noord card for using the internet, you can buy cards for1 hr, 4 hours or 1 day, it is a good system and can be used anywhere in the harbour area.

After 4 months away we are starting to dream of what we are missing back in Aus, of course one of the things we don’t miss is the winter, having Spring and Summer twice a year is a great way to go.

We are missing the children and the grandchildren and doing family things with them. We miss our friends and having an easy conversation over a beer or wine. If we lived closer it would be wonderful to go home to see the kids and then come back.

We are starting to dream of using lots of hot water for a shower and no timers. Our shower on the boat is great and outputs plenty of water but water is usually limited to us being able to fill the tank often enough and the showers in the harbours are always timed so it is a rush to make sure you are not standing at the finish of your 50 cents still covered in soap.

We are also dreaming of a nice easy chair in front of the television. We don’t miss the tele as we have the laptop and DVD’s if we want to watch a movie. Maybe it is more peaceful not knowing of the problems around the world, but it would be nice to have some world news sometime or the weather report to see what the weather is for the next few days.

We miss walking into a supermarket and recognising what product we are looking for straight away, rather than having to translate a picture or a few words. Kevin is always busy trying out the different beers, cheese and chocolate and the labels are no worry to him but he is looking forward to an Emu Bitter.

My lettuce and herbs are just about finished for the season, once again they have been fantastic having them fresh for our salads. The Marigolds and Lobelia are still flowering after 3 months but I do miss the garden at home.


However, when we look out the front and back of our boat where we are moored here in Dokkum between the two windmills it reminds us of how much we love wondering where we will be and what we will see and who we will meet the next day.

For now it is back to Kuikhorne to pack up Courlis, pack and repack the bags and head for home and start the planning for 2010.

Bye for now