Day 121 Kalgoorlie-Boulder, (Golden Mile Loopline Tram Tour)WA

 Once again it has been proven to us just how useful it is to go on a tour in the place you are visiting.  You receive so much more information and insight about the area from someone who lives in the area.  Today was our Golden Mile Loopline Tram Tour.  The tram is a replica from the goldrush era and is driven on the road and not on railway tracks.  The tour took us to a couple of sights that we had already visited but having a tour guide we learnt so much more about these places that we would not have known. 

We had to meet outside the Visitor Information Centre at 10am for a prompt departure.  There were fourteen of us onboard and that almost filled the tram.  Our tour guide, Malcolm, welcomed us all onboard as we started making our way down Kalgoorlies Main Street. All the heritage listed buildings in the Main Street were pointed out to us by Malcolm and I would think that Kalgoorlie-Boulder has probably the most concentration of heritage buildings in Australia.  They truly are beautiful buildings and it is so pleasing that most have been restored.  We were told that Kalgoorlie-Boulder had a strong earth quake rock the area in 2010.  A lot of the heritage buildings were damaged but are slowly being restored courtesy of State Funding.  Our first tram stop was at Australia's Narrowest Hotel - the British Arms - that is housed inside the Museum of the Goldfields.

Mt Charlotte and Super Pit Lookouts were next on our journey and both places I have written about in this blog.  The Super Pit looked a little different today with the sun almost overhead.  We asked about the landslip that you can see in the centre of the photo and it happened in 2018.  The mining company has excavated a hole under the slip to catch any falling rocks but it still doesn't look very safe in my eyes!  Our guide told us that you used to be able to see the bottom of the pit but now it is too deep to get a visual.  That is one helluva big hole in the ground! 

Next stop was Chunkys Woodworks and Carving.  Chunky is a likeable chap who showed us the finer details of wood turning and you can tell he loves his work.  Not a single piece of wood is wasted.  Even flaws in the timber are filled with wood "beads" that look amazing when they are sanded back and oiled.  We had a walk around the showroom where he has some beautiful pieces.  I was tempted to buy a cheese slicer but storage is a problem in a caravan.

Next stop was the Boulder Town Hall, a beautiful building that also houses the diggers museum.  If we had more time we would go back here and explore in depth but for now we are content to walk into the lovely auditorium where many a function would have been held since its opening in 1908

This was our last stop on the tour but we were driven around the Kalgoorlie town centre where all the street art murals adorn so many buildings.  They really give interest to the town and it is a shame that we didn't stop anyway to get photos.  But I can tell you that there are murals of everything from Native Flowers to Native Animals and Indigenous Australians to Dancing Australians.  It would be worth a walk around the town centre to have a proper look.  But not today.  It is freezing.  Although the temperature gauge says it is sixteen degrees with the wind chill factor it is probably around six degrees.  Certainly too cold to go walking.......