Travel guide Golden Outback

When gold prospector Patrick “Paddy” Hannan and his mates discovered a gold nugget in 1893, they never could have imagined the impact it would have on so many people. Paddy, Tom Flanagan and Daniel Shea’s find enticed thousands of people to move into the harsh West Australian desert from all over the country and the rest of the world in a matter of months. Soon, this quiet region was home to the largest outback town in Australia – Kalgoorlie.  Today, more than 30,000 people live in this dessert oasis now known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder (towns Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamated in 1989), many of whom mine the richest gold reef in Australia, known as The Golden Mile. More than 50 million ounces of gold have been mined in the area since Paddy first found his precio... Read more

With a reputation for producing a decent slice of Australia’s gold bullion, it’s not surprising that Kalgoorlie is home to one of the biggest open cut mines in the world. This massive operation, known as the Super Pit forms part of the 'Golden Mile', reputed to be the richest square mile of gold bearing earth in the world. Getting up close to the Super Pit, is a dwarfing experience.  At 320 metres deep, about 3km long and 1.4km wide this massive man made hole in the ground makes an awesome sight. While it’s not possible to enter the pit, which operates 24 hours a day, you can still get a feel for it’s enormity from the nearby lookout platform which you’ll find just off the Goldfields Highway. The view is amazing – giant mining trucks w... Read more

Seeking adventure this summer? You may be surprised to learn that there’s plenty to kee... Read more

The drive from Perth to Kalgoorlie is becoming a holiday in its own right with the recent launch of the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail. Weaving romantic stories of Western Australia’s Gold Rush era with tales of hardship, water shortages and human endeavour, the Golden Pipeline follows the water pipeline between Mundaring and the Goldfields. The statistics about the pipeline are amazing. Few would realise that it is regarded as one of the world’s greatest engineering feats and is the longest fresh water pipeline on earth.  Still operating, it provides water to an area of 44 0000 square kilometres, 100 000 people and about six million sheep. Now, this piece of WA history is being brought to life and made accessible to visitors through a series of walk and dri... Read more