Day 705 – Australia – WA [Coolgardie to Kalgoorlie]

15/05/22

39.5km

  From Coolgardie (Western Australia) to Kalgoorlie (Western Australia)

Australia

Reaching the city emblematic of the Australian gold rush, Kalgoorlie – and on to a rest day

A “road train” – familiar sight on the highway (up to 40m or 50m long)

It’s been 9 marathons in a row, a little more than what I usually do – but it seems that because of the sheer distances here in Australia, I may actually get to run a lot more marathons between breaks. It does not really bother me physically, I guess it will be on a need basis. Meanwhile today was another pleasant run on the Highway, very light Sunday traffic, lots of encouragement from the locals, some even stopping by to ask if I needed a lift.

Reaching the historical town of Kalgoorlie

Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie… strange names, sounding all very exotic and beautiful. Kalgoorlie is apparently derived from the Aboriginal “galgurli / karlkurla” which means “silky pearl” (a local plant also called “bush banana”). I shall try and see if I can have a taste of this before I leave the place. There is a lot I want to see tomorrow and especially catch up a bit on the history of the place and the mining facilities around.

York hotel Kalgoorlie, our place for the next two days

There is a sense that the journey will soon enter a new turn, with that desert crossing. I always imagined it would be the hardest part of the world-run when I was planning it. Of course I was planning a solo run. But even now, having James by my side driving the motorhome (and the comfort of a place to sleep and ample water and food available) I still think it will be a bit of a challenge. I am quite excited to get started and see how it goes. Meanwhile, a nice rest day in Kalgoorlie and another few days to Norseman after that.

Enjoy the video of today’s run: https://www.relive.cc/view/vmqXNEDD5oO

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: