Day 706 – Australia – WA [Rest Day in Kalgoorlie]

16/05/22

 Rest day in Kalgoorlie (Western Australia, Australia)

A very interesting day, loads to see and discover about Kalgoorlie

With artist Anne Mitchard in Kalgoorlie

The day started with the usual rest-day chore, looking for a laundromat where to wash our clothes. As I walked the streets I found some beautiful street art, aboriginal stories painted on the walls. A bit later as I was looking for a small aboriginal flag (to hang on my backpack alongside the Australian flag) I ended up at Anne Mitchard’s shop. Anne is an artist who does really nice aboriginal designs, paintings and also photography. We started talking and learnt that Anne’s family is Ukrainian and still lives there, near Lviv. When she learnt I was running for Women for Women International (helping women survivors of war) she quickly gave $100 AUD towards the charity. Thank you Anne for your generous contribution!

The “Big Pit” of Kalgoorlie – impressive….

Next on the program was the Super Pit tour. Kalgoorlie has one of the richest gold deposits in the world. Operations started in 1893 when Paddy Hannan discovered 100 ounces of gold in Kalgoorlie-Boulder – which sparked the gold rush in the region. The pit is really impressive, 3.5km long by 1.5km wide and 600m deep. Looking at it, I imagined it would be pretty cool running around it. But it is a very protected area, full of dangers obviously. What a sight though!

Last night in Kalgoorlie, looking beautiful at night

Then it was back to town. As suggested by the ladies at the Tourist Office, I contacted the local paper “Kalgoorlie Miner” and I now have an appointment with them tomorrow morning before starting the run. A good thing as I have been in touch with the prominent paper in WA (The West Australian”) but am still to get an answer. All in all, a very productive and pleasant rest-day if you ask me! As always after a rest day, I am looking forward to hitting the road again tomorrow!