COMING HOME

Last week I had meant to include these sculptural installations from the Perth Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe. Which, as you can see, we visited at days end.

View of Perth from Kings Park, Botanical Gardens area.

Looking down stream in the direction of Fremantle.

On the first day of our return journey we travelled to the goldfields of Western Australia. Below is a picture of the pipeline of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme that brings water 530 kilometres from the Mundaring Weir just east of Perth to Kalgoolie and Coolgardie, completed in 1903. 

The pipeline ran alongside the road for most of the distance.

Unfortunately the Coogardie museum closed for the day just as we arrived. However, we admired the former Mining Registrar’s Office in which it is housed.

The main street of Coolgardie

Here is a photo of the original pit in Coolgardie and below a rock with quartz veins.

I assume that gold was found in the quartz seams.

Some of the eucalyptus trees in the area between Coolgardie and Norseman had the most beautiful glossy copper coloured bark.

                                

We drove on to Norseman where we stayed the night in the Railway Hotel which has an amazing Art Deco extension showing its age a little, but a wonderful atmosphere.

                                      

                                  

The Anglican Church in Norseman.

Typical bushland around Norseman.

On our second night after travelling 1499 kilometres in two long days of driving we had crossed the state of Western Australia from Perth in an almost straight line and had reached its eastern border with South Australia. Yes it is a very big state (3.6 times the size of Texas). Here we had our first view of the sea from the top of the Eucla pass. Late afternoon sun over the sea.

       

This next photo is taken at the Nullarbor Roadhouse 198 kilometres east of Ecula.

The view to the south.

A close-up of the flowers in the foreground of the photo above.

Our next night was spent at Ceduna, in South Australia. This view is from the jetty in the morning.

Pelicans seen from the jetty.

Roadside mallee scrub between Kyancutta and Port Augusta.

 Roadside flowers.

A freight train we passed between Port Augusta and Port Wakefield made us think of Geoffrey Smart's painting in the Performing Arts Complex in Melbourne. In the background Mount Remarkable National Park.

At Port Wakefield we came across this magnificent 147 year old Peppercorn Tree.

Our last night before coming home was spent in Mount Gambier, famous for its Blue Lake in the crater of an extinct volcano. The colour of the lake changes to blue from around November to the end of March, we were fortunate in our timing.

                 

      

Greetings from Laurence and Christopher now returned to Torquay.

29th March 2014