Gold and rain

Esperance in Australia’s Southwest is known for its beautiful beaches, and Lucky Bay is the one everybody wants to get to. Camping is limited to 50 sites and you must arrive early, before nine, to grab a spot that might get available. So that’s what we did, left Esperance early morning and drove the 60 kilometres to Lucky Bay. We were car number three when we arrived there just after eight. And we were lucky and got a great spot in the lowest row, surrounded by low gum trees and with a stunning view over the bay. Spending the day snorkelling, reading, relaxing and playing games, we felt quite lucky at Lucky Bay.

Unfortunately our happiness didn’t last too long. When it was time to go to bed it started raining, and it hasn’t stopped since. Right now I’m sitting in a barbecue shelter and the rain drums loudly on the tin roof. The night was not too bad, the bed only being humid, not wet. We had breakfast in our tent, just enough space for three chairs and a table, though not enough space to spend the day for the three of us, so I really hope the rain will stop, the sun will come out and we can hang out our humid sleeping bags and sheets.

Before we came down to Esperance, we spent a few days inland. We drove along the Woodlands and Granite Discovery Track which was a very pleasant trip through beautiful gum forests, except for the areas that recently or less recently burnt down – quite a common sight here.

Fires are usually just left to themselves and burn out eventually. Area and remoteness are too enormous that any fire fighters would stand a chance to extinguish it. We also learnt that nature is gaining from a fire now and then, some plants are even depending on it. So we’re not as shocked or impressed about it as we were on our first trip years ago; it just belongs to this country. As long as it’s not close to civilisation or us! On the way, there were lots of signposts with interesting information about the area and its history. Since the 1890’s people have been and still are digging for gold and other minerals. We also drove by very fascinating granite outcrops, huge monolithic hills lying here and there in the landscape.

We did a few walks on and around them (Disappointment Rock and McDermid Rock) and enjoyed their complete remoteness. We hardly met anybody on these 300 kilometres, except for one or two road trains working in the mines. Wave Rock in Hyden was much busier, being one of the most visited tourist attractions of Western Australia. It is an impressive scene, though we agreed that we prefer places less commercialised.

At the local museum we read that there were 93 hotels here in the twenties! We also learned a lot about gold, how it originally was created, how it is processed and what it is used for today. I liked the spirit of this town, its Mediterranean flora, its architecture, the heat of the day and the cool nights.

One day we went to see the Super Pit, one of the world largest open mines (producing around 20’000 kg per year, 250 to 300 kg for every million tonnes of ore extracted). From the lookout we had a great view all the way down into the big crater, 3.7 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide and 480 metres deep.

Huge, heavy loaded Caterpillars drove up along the sides at a snail’s pace. We even witnessed a blast – the times are daily published for the tourist. It was a great sight!

…It is still raining heavily and I’m afraid it is going to continue for hours. That means wet clothes, meals cramped in our 4 square metres and in the worst case humid beds tonight. But that’s part of this way of travelling, being exposed to the weather. We can’t even check the weather forecast, since there is no coverage.  We can only wait, be patient and make the best out of it.

PS: the rain actually stopped a few hours later and we got a couple of beautiful days at Lucky Bay. I used the opportunity and did a few walks, Lucky Bay to Rossiter Bay and Frenchman’s Peak. Absolutely stunning!

During our third and last night there it started raining heavily again, accompanied by endless thunder and lightning. We left this paradise with a wet tent, humid sleeping bags and sheets, and are taking in to a cabin tonight!