Beanie Bunch reach Wiluna at 12.32pm today via Menzies, and amazing abstract art at Lake Ballard 
Inside Australia sunset. |
Hi Garth
We set off from Kalgoorlie around midday on Wednesday following completion of repairs to the pretender Defender.
We ran a bit of silicone around the fridge power socket and plug in Rodeo to ensure the plug didn’t work loose. Also fitted a new globe in the cabin interior light.
All food supplies stocked up, water, Diesel and LPG for cooking.
Discovery Holiday Park Kalgoorlie Boulder, the Top Tourist Park was our home for 4 days. It provided easy access to sites, boom gate security and is conveniently located and reasonably close to Kalgoorlie’s famous Super Pit. Their camp kitchen was a blessing providing shelter from Kalgoorlie’s cold winds, drizzle and cold nightly dews.
Bush Camp Lake Ballard |
We all had Everett Butchers of Kalgoorlie prepare orders for our meat requirements, vacuum seal and freeze in portions for us to collect prior to our departure.
This was a wonderful service and their staff were understanding of our requirements
The SR5 and Defender are fitted with two fridges. One set on freeze and the other as refrigerator whilst 2000 Hi Lux and Rodeo operate one single fridge set on high to freeze the lower sections which is separated with newspaper to allow normal operation of the upper part as a refrigerator.
This seems to be working well although there has been some problems with the auxiliary Waeko fridge charging system not charging correctly and sending error messages to the control unit.
The Rodeo Engel is operating full time on the single vehicle battery which was replaced during trip preparations.
Travelling North took us past many gold and nickel mines and we stopped at Menzies for a break. The Shire is in the process of setting up a totally new caravan park on the old site and this facility has been added to the GoSee database.
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Menzies Town Hall (2) |
To date the site has been levelled, planted out and fenced with new amenities block being installed within the next few weeks. There is an Eco sewage system and dump point along with powered and unpowered sites.
For almost 100 years, Menzies Town Hall had a blank faced clock tower.
According to local folklore, the clock that was originally intended for the building was onboard a ship that sank near Fremantle in 1905.
A replacement clock was eventually installed in 2000.
An interesting detour off the good bitumen highway will take you 51 kms on a quality gravel road to Lake Ballard and the Inside Australia sculpture installation by the London born Antony Gormley.
This incredible cultural display of 51 abstract cultural shapes cast in alloy is situated in an eerie setting on a salt lake. As Antony says in a brochure, the installation reveals an attitude in a taut abstract shape formed by the passage of the persons life.
Early morning abstract Lake Ballard |
"Out on the salt lake, they become antennae in space in relationship with each other but also with the land and the limit of our perception, the horizon".
In the lake there are also several high rocky outcrops providing ideal vantage points and photographic opportunities.
We took advantage of the remoteness of this amazing place and set up our first bush camp in designated camping areas amongst the red sand dunes and enjoyed our fire and star gazing late into the night.
Menzies is located in the Northern Goldfields region of Western Australia taking in the tourist route north of Kalgoorlie to Leonora, Leinster, Wiluna before turning east along the Gunbarrel Highway to Warburton onto to Uluru and Alice springs or south west back to Laverton and Menzies.
The 1,400 km Gunbarrel Highway was blazed by Len Beadell and is another of Western Australia’s four wheel drive must do’s. GoSee staff travelled this route in a diesel Pajero 4x4 in 1987.
Hi Ho from the Beanie Bunch.
Alan & Pam, Sue & Geoff, Phil & Barb, Bert & Shirl
lets Travel the Gravel before we unravel.
Editors Note: Follow the Beanie Bunch and their adventures in South Australia and Western Australia on the trip to the Canning Stock Route -
Beanie Bunch about to start Canning Stock Route challenge on one of toughest, most remote tracks in the world
For more information
contact: Garth Morrison
Editor Go See Australia and Go See New Zealand Directory
Email: garth@contact.com.au
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