RV TRAVEL
“ DON ’ T THINK THAT YOU CAN SPEND HALF AN HOUR HERE AND BE SATISFIED .”
Could it be that in 2003 a party of 51 extraterrestrial beings landed on the remote saltbed of Lake Ballard , and indeed were turned to black pillars of salt as punishment for some biblical misdeed ?
Or could it be that the Perth International Arts Festival commissioned a wildly creative project by the artist Antony Gormley , leaving behind an art-legacy titled Inside Australia of 51 carbonised steel statues rendered from the full-body lazar scans of the citizens of Menzies ?
While your mind will confirm the latter scenario , your imagination will prefer the former . Without doubt , the statues of Lake Ballard are not to be missed by anyone visiting Kalgoorlie and the Western Australian goldfields .
KALGOORLIE HISTORY
Kalgoorlie continues to draw miners after 120 years with the ground still yielding gold in quantities unequalled anywhere else on earth .
Wander along Hannan Street from the visitor centre to the WA Museum to see the numerous historic buildings . The museum is mandatory , with exhibits depicting the life of prospectors both successful and not . It includes a reproduction of the Golden Eagle : a nugget weighing in at a staggering 1136 ounces found by a 17-year-old boy . There is also a Cobb & Co carriage , a bicycle made from wood , and more .
From the visitors ’ lookout above the Super Pit , you ’ ll see just how far we humans will go to dig shiny stuff up out of the ground .
DISCOVERY TRAIL
Gold fever struck further north as well , and to commemorate the history of the region is a selfguided drive up to Laverton known as the Golden Quest Discovery Trail ( 956km return ).
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