Day 74: Kalgoorlie, WA
Distance cycled: 36km
And we were wondering why we have not seen wild camels. We woke up in the morning and there it was! A wild baby camel wandering in the caravan park at Balladonia! This baby camel hung around the Enfield crew who fed it water. It really grew fond of Russ’ bike until Russ playfully wrestled it away for the cameras. We said our goodbyes to Scott and Liz who decided to take the day off while contemplating which route to take to Esperance: the shorter unsealed road or the longer paved highway. Either way, we hope you had a safe ride!
Today, our hitched ride ended at Coolgardie and we parted ways with the Royal Enfield crew. It was after 2pm but we were determined to pedal to Kalgoorlie in the hope that Trekkie with a wobbly rear wheel will hang in there. And for 36km, it did! Considering the circumstances, we even made good speed and arrived at Kalgoorlie around 4:30pm.
Kalgoorlie, with population approximately 30,000, is the largest outback city in Australia that was established as a mining town. It was evident that the mining industry supported by a workforce of locals as well as foreigners is still booming. A distinct traffic of road trains and trucks were evident, presumably coming in and out of mines in this area called the Golden Mile where … We could see the red dirt in our surrounds. We could hear the road trains in the distance. We could almost taste the dust and the parchedness of this outback city. It was a unique experience.
After settling down at a caravan park, we went into town centre in search of dinner. Most shops were closed, even Woolworths, where in Sydney it opens until midnight, was closing at 6pm! Thankfully we eventually found ourselves a pizza place that was still open and we inhaled our dinner as we watched news. AHH… the good old days. ;)
Destinations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson - Moss Vale - Goulburn - Queanbeyan - Yass - Gundagai - Wagga Wagga - Narrandera - Darlington Point - Hay - Maude - Balranald - Euston - [VIC] Mildura - [SA] Renmark - Barmera - Morgan - Burra - Orroroo - Port Augusta - Kimba - Wudinna - Streaky Bay - Ceduna - Nundroo - Yalata - Nullarbor - Border Village - [WA] Eucla - Balladonia - Kalgoorlie
Posts
...Camel...Camel...Camel... (smoking can endanger your health, kill you and your family down to the eighth level)
ReplyDeleteThe cigarette industry has changed their strategy: There you will find cute, little camels, send them to campsites and Aussies and Oessies (pseudonym for Australians and Austrians) stumble into the trap ...
You wonder that the shops are open until midnight in Sydney and 3000 km further west in Booogulalonicombaschi (expression of the aborigines for "village on the ass of the world") at 6pm? Push your bikes a few thousand kilometers further west to Greece: They are begging the world for billions, then keep their shops closed and show Europe and the world the middle finger sitting in the rocking chair...
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