Kalgoorlie or Bust

Kalgoorlie, The Wild, Wild West in WA!

Matt and I had discussed a trip to Kalgoorlie, a famous gold-mining town in the middle of Western Australia – literally the middle of nowhere. Matt wanted to see the KCGM Super Pit open pit mine, and I always want to go anywhere. After our three-day driving trip to the Pinnacles, New Norcia, and Wave Rock a couple months ago, Matt agreed that taking the train for the 7-hour journey was a good idea. Suddenly having a lot of flexible time on our hands, we began looking into it. I mentioned this to Peter and Galina during a tutoring session and they were very interested in joining us. Galina had already visited Kalgoorlie a couple of years ago for a mining conference. She was working for Barrick in Tanzania at the time and had a very rushed trip to Perth and then Kalgoorlie.

So it was settled, we would go by train and spend two nights in Kalgoorlie, giving us one afternoon and then one full day to sight see. 

On Thursday, July 18^th, we met Peter and Galina at Midland train station and boarded the Prospector at 7:20 AM. The train was very comfortable and modern with personal TVs, power outlets, and a buffet service. Unfortunately, my headset, along with Peter and Galina’s would not work. There was a lot to see out the window though, for the first few hours as we passed through Toodyay, Northam, and other Avon Valley towns.

We arrived in Kalgoorlie at 2 PM, Matt and I checked into our hostel (we booked a private room, and then found out it was the only one available) while Peter and Galina checked into the York Hotel on Hannan Street, the main drag. The hotel was very old by WA standards and really interesting inside. The only defect Galina and Peter found: the only access to the tiny women’s shared bathroom was outside via a balcony. Seeing as it is winter here and about 35 degrees at night, this is a bit inconvenient!

That afternoon we headed up Hannan Street, taking photos and visiting the WA Museum, Kalgoorlie. There was an interesting display on gold mining and the history of gold, and exhibits on the history of the area including aborigines and early gold prospectors. There was also a special exhibit on Antarctica, but Matt and I didn’t make it to that. 

On the advice of a Barrick co-worker, we also searched for and found the “world’s tallest bin.”  Apparently it was a tidy town award or something back in the 1990’s. We all tried to throw rocks in…only Peter got one.

We then headed to Paddy’s Pub for something to eat and drink. After that we stopped into the Exchange Wild West Saloon next door, one of the several bars in Kalgoorlie with “skimpys, ” or barmaids in bikinis. Over the course of the night they collect tips and then become topless barmaids when they get enough money. We didn’t witness this on the first night as we were tired and left the bar at about 10 PM.

The next morning we met Peter and Galina and caught a public bus to take us to Boulder, so we could walk to the SuperPit lookout. There is a tour bus that runs but it was fully booked and it cost $50 each…not really how we planned to spend our money. We walked up the side of the Superpit to the lookout. It was pretty amazing. 

All of the huge “jumbos” and trucks they use to excavate and work the mine looked like little toys since they were so far down. Seeing as I was with three geologists, they used a lot of terms I wasn’t familiar with, but I can tell you they located a dike, several stopes, and some other things. It is the largest open pit mine in Australia. 

Open pit mines are very economical, but not ecological at all. There is a lot of debate over what will be done with the pit when it closes in 2021.

As it was starting to sprinkle, we headed back into Boulder. We took the bus back to Kalgoorlie and had lunch at Hoover’s Café in The Palace Chambers. It is called Hoover’s because the Hotel received a mirror from President Hoover as a gift. This is because after being born in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover worked as a mine engineer and geologist in the goldfields of WA. How crazy, two Iowans hanging out in Kalgoorlie. Maybe I will send them a mirror someday. 

After lunch, and a quick stop back at the hostel, we took a taxi to what was the Mining Hall of Fame, now the Institute of Tech (or something like that). 

It is also the KCGM shop with souvenirs and posters of the Superpit. We toured the museum, which used to have interpreters and guides, but due to a lack of interest is no longer running. You can still wander the displays and see the big machinery. 

It was pretty sad, really, as it must have been a pretty cool museum before, with gold-pouring shows and underground tours.

After rushing through the museum, we took a taxi back to town and onto Hay Street, a block away from the Gold Dust Backpackers YHA Matt and I were staying at, to Questa Casa Brothel, where we took a brothel tour. It is over 100 years old and still operational. I wont go into any details as kids may be reading this, but the tour consisted of the madam telling us about the history of the brothel, Hay Street, which was once full of them, and the history if the industry in Kalgoorlie. We then saw a few rooms. The most startling aspect was when the madam’s dog scrambled out from under a bed, scaring me to death. It was a pretty interesting tour, probably not worth the money we paid, but I bet a lot of people visiting the brothel say that :).

After the tour, we returned to our respective hostel/hotels and had a rest before meeting up for dinner at the Balcony Bar, right next to Hoover’s. We had a lovely meal and then decided to stop in quickly at the Palace downstairs. Skimpys was in full force this night. I guess I am happy to say it made Matt and Peter a bit uncomfortable and we left after a drink, to go across the street to The Exchange and enjoy the people watching that Kalgoorlie provides. No need for topless waitresses when there is this to watch…

Saturday morning we were up early and on the Prospector at 7 AM to head home, tired and with a new perspective making us appreciate the civilization that is Perth.

To see more of my photos from Kalgoorlie, click here. 

To see Matt's photos from Kalgoorlie, click here.

Malaysian Me Crazy

Happy July!

Happy Birthday Uncle Dave, Alex, Aunt Yolly, Peter, and to all of the other friends with birthdays this month. Happy Anniversary to my parents as well – 34 years!

It has been a while since I have posted. We are experiencing a lot of change and I can’t say that I have dealt with all of it wonderfully, even though it was fairly anticipated. Matt has been laid off from his position as geologist in the latest round of lay-offs as Barrick prepares to close Plutonic Mine, where he worked. He was among 11 other geologists and 30 or so other employees who were let go. More lay-offs are expected in the coming months. If you pay attention to the stock market, you can see that Barrick has not been doing well for a while. They are experiencing issues worldwide due to a lot of factors and are trying to sell and close all of their Australian mines.

As I said, Matt had an idea this would happen, and when we heard that our housemate Jack and several other geos had been laid off on the first day of our vacation to Malaysia, we had a pretty good idea that when we returned to Perth, Matt would find out he was also out of a job. The good news is that Barrick have provided him with “garden leave,” so his last day of official employment is at the end of August and this means that Matt can stay in Australia on his (ended) work visa until November. I have changed my flight back to the US to early October, when our lease on the house ends. If Matt hasn’t found a new job by then (he jumped right in with looking and applying, bless him!) he will head back to England and we will go from there, figuring out what to do. Fingers crossed and positive thoughts that something will come through for him sooner than later. He is applying to jobs worldwide, which should provide better chances of finding something soon.

In the meantime, we are trying to make the most of our time together, traveling and sightseeing, we visited the Royal Perth Mint last week as well as the Mundaring Weir and John Forrest National Park, before our trip to Kalgoorlie, WA (my next post). I have been suffering anxiety with all of this uncertainty and lack of control, combined with suddenly having our housemate around all the time and barely being able to keep up with the housework, my one area of productivity and accomplishment! But it is a gift for Matt and I to have so much time together, and the chance to sell his car, our possessions, etc. and make the most of what are probably our last months in Australia. We are very excited for Matt’s mum and step-dad to arrive for a three-week visit in August, during which time we will be heading down south to Albany and Margaret River, an area that Matt and I love.

Ok, so with that out of the way, I can finally tell you about our trip to MALAYSIA!

On June 25^th, we got up at 4 AM for our early morning flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t sleep the night before, which seems to be my unfortunate curse before an early flight, especially as I cannot sleep on planes, trains, or automobiles. Basically, I was really tired by the time we arrived. After customs and everything, Matt and I took a shuttle to KL Sentral bus/train station. We were planning to take the monorail to our hostel in the Bukit Bintang area, but after a frustrating search in the heat, haze, and construction around the station, we took a cab, which cost all of 7 Ringit, or $3.00 AU. After arriving, locating our hostel (Paradiso B&B) behind more street construction work, and checking in, we had a late lunch in a food court under the mall across the street. It reminded me of Chinese food courts, downstairs and very smoky and overwhelming. Once we had eaten, however, Matt and I both felt better. We had a power nap, and then wandered the hawkers markets around the corner from our hostel enjoying dim sum and drinks before an early bedtime!

June 26^th, we woke up pretty early and hopped on the free city bus with the idea of taking it to the historical city square. We ended up in Chinatown...and then proceeded to walk forever and ever trying to get what looked like a very short distance on the map. Matt took the lead and was doing ok with it until we found ourselves in an underpass full of sleeping homeless people with no idea how to get across the river to where we wanted to be. Eventually, however, we found our way to the old Kuala Lumpur Train Station, a great example of Islamic architecture, 

and then at the KMT Building across the street. 

Back on track, we walked through Tun Abdul Razak Heritage Park, passing the National Mosque, the Islamic Arts Museum, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, and the Botanical Gardens until we reached the National Monument, built in 1966 to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for Malaysia’s freedom.

After that, we continued walking to Merdeka Square (our original destination!). 

Independence was proclaimed here in 1957. Around the square are the National Textile Museum, a Victorian Fountain brought over from England, the Government Office, and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, built in 1894-1897. 

We visited the Kuala Lumpur Gallery on the edge of the square, which had a pretty impressive scaled model of the city inside. And air-conditioning. Which was nice since we had walked so much, and it was so hot, I was experiencing heat exhaustion. Next we crossed the river (much more easily this time) to the Central Market, where we slowed down to look at the souvenir shops and have some lunch. We returned to Chinatown to get on the free bus again and go back to the hostel for showers and a rest before taking the monorail to Little India where we had a nice dinner and enjoyed the lights and flower stalls.

June 27^th we decided to have an “indoors day” after walking all over outside in the heat the day before. We headed to Berjaya Times Square, a nine-storey shopping mall with an amusement park inside. The size of the place was pretty impressive. The amusement park wasn’t huge, but it did have a looping roller coaster. On the first couple of floors there were some well-known stores and brands, but as you went up it became more little boutique stores selling really cheap (low quality) clothes and accessories. Mostly we just walked and people watched, and ate. There was a Krispy Kreme where we had coffee and doughnuts, and an Auntie Anne’ pretzel place. Two places I don’t think I have been to or eaten anything from for years at home, but when you are presented with the opportunity abroad, it is very exciting! And, since it was KL, it wasn’t expensive! Two doughnuts and two large coffees for $4. That buys one coffee, maybe, in Perth. After walking for hours, we worked up enough appetite for Wendy’s where I had a baked potato and frosty. Matt had never been to a Wendy’s and was very excited. I was equally excited that there was a Starbucks next to our hostel. They don’t have them in Perth. For better of worse, it is the first time in my life (excepting six months in Spain) where I have lived more than a mile from a Starbucks. There were so many in KL it was like being in the US. Funny how when in Des Moines I try not to get coffee there, but in Malaysia, it is a huge treat J.

That afternoon we wandered through more of the shopping malls near our hostel, including Pavillion, which was full of very high scale stores. Matt managed to buy a couple of nice polo shirts despite being chased off by a sales lady when he had the nerve to reach for a stack of “slim fit” shirts. 

We showered, got dressed up, and headed for Skybar at the top of Traders Hotel. It provided us with amazing views of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers and some of the KL skyline while we enjoyed dinner and drinks. 

After taking more photos than anyone would believe, we headed back to Paradiso B&B, where we forgot to lock the door to our room as we collapsed into bed.

Later that night, at about 12:30, I woke up to a noise thinking Matt had gone to the toilet. I could see a figure standing next to the bed. Upon realizing that Matt was in bed, I started shaking him saying “Matt, Matt!” The figure muttered, “I try to find Richard,” and left. Matt woke up, removed his earplugs, and asked what had happened. He looked in the lounge outside the room but no one was there. I asked if my bag and his wallet were still there, seeing that they were, we went back to sleep. It wasn’t until the next morning we realized the 75 ringits ($25) were gone from Matt’s wallet. The lesson: always lock and double-check the door. We were very happy the strange man didn’t take anything else and we told the B&B owner, though there wasn’t much he could do but tell us to always lock our door…

On June 28^th, we got cash out and got on the monorail and then the KMT Komuter train, plus a little more walking in the heat, until we arrived at the National Museum. There were interesting displays on different periods of history in Malaysia as well as lots of artifacts. After the museum, we walked to the KL Bird Park, which had very high tourist reviews, though we weren’t sure why. Mostly we saw peacocks, pigeons, pheasants and similar birds wandering around. There were some flamingos, pelicans, lorikeets, parrots, emus and so on, but they were in cages. There were also ostriches and cassowaries.

We took a taxi from the Bird Park to the National Mosque or Masjid Jamek, where I covered up my hair and skin and we both removed our shoes. We had a bit of a struggle figuring out which coins would work in the lockers, but eventually, we entered the mosque and toured the areas we were allowed in. It was surprisingly cool, even without AC, and quiet even in the middle of the city.

We headed back to Paradiso for showers and then went for dinner at the Hard Rock Café, per Matt’s request, as he had never eaten at one before. The portions were huge and we enjoyed it! Later that night Matt’s friend and former roommate Mike, along with his co-worker Andy (also English), arrived from Johor Bahru where they work as teachers. We went out at Pavillion and the Green Man Bar in Bukit Bintang for drinks.

On June 29^th, we met Mike and Andy for breakfast at an Indian corner restaurant, then Matt and I went with Mike to catch the train to the Batu Caves, a series of limestone caves outside of Kuala Lumpur, which is home to very special Hindu shrines and lots of stairs! 

We climbed the stairs and looked at the shrines and the monkeys that run wild all over the caves. It was pretty cool. There were also great views of Kuala Lumpur.

We enjoyed sodas and snacks afterward before heading back to KL where we met Andy at Chinatown. Mike and Matt haggled for watches, finally scoring a deal. We all showered and changed and then took a taxi to Petaling Jaya to watch the Lions rugby match in a South African pub recommended by a couple Mike and Andy met while traveling. Unfortunately, the Lions lost, but the drinks, company, and dinner were good. We headed to Bukit Bintang to ring in Matt’s thirtieth birthday at midnight.

June 30^th, we slept in a bit and then had lunch with Mike and Andy before going with them to TBS Bus Station so they could catch their bus back to Johur Bahru and we could buy tickets for the bus to Melaka the next day. Back in KL, Matt and I wandered “Little India Street” just north of Merdeka Square and admired the art deco shop houses before checking out the bazaar and yet another shopping mall. We made our way to KLCC Mall under the Petronas Twin Towers for a birthday dinner and then had an early night.

July 1^st, we checked out of Paradiso and took a taxi to TBS Bus Station where we caught our bus to Melaka. The journey was about two hours. Then we got a cab to Hatten Hotel, which was very nice. After checking in, we walked the Melaka Heritage Trail, which included the Porto de Santiago, St Paul’s Church, the Stadhuys (State House) and Jonker Street, which is the city’s Chinatown. 

We had lunch on Jonker Street before heading back to the hotel for a swim and drink while the sun went down. Matt tested the waterproofing of his new camera.

 Afterward, we had dinner at Papa John’s across the street. I don’t really like it in the US, and I didn’t really like it in Malaysia…

On July 2^nd, we walked down to the main square in Melaka and checked out the souvenir stalls before boarding a River Cruise, which was a fun way to see the historical town. 

We took a few more photos of the town center before cooling down with some freshly squeezed juice and returning to the hotel to collect our bags and head back to the bus station. We rode back to KL, and then took a train to Putrajaya, a suburb nearer to the airport. We found our tiny hotel, ate a nice cheap meal at the Chinese restaurant in the complex, and got some sleep before heading to the airport in the morning.

July 3^rd, we experienced an enjoyable Air Asia flight since right after take off, Matt noticed some passengers abandoning their “hot seats.” Apparently the woman was afraid of the emergency exit door. We snatched up the seats as it meant lots more legroom for the five-hour flight! Back in Perth we had pizza for dinner. Matt flew to work at 6:30 AM the next day, only to get into the office and be informed of his redundancy. He was back that evening and we tried to stay positive by celebrating the 4^th of July with hot dogs and corn on the grill and potato salad and beer! We were very glad we didn’t waste too much of our vacation in Malaysia worrying about the job situation, as there was nothing we could do. It was a good trip full of cheap food, fun, and friends.

To see more of my photos from Malaysia, click here. 

To see Matt's many photos from Malaysia, click here. 

Since then we have kept busy figuring things out, catching up with Matt’s former co-workers, sight-seeing, using our health insurance while we still have it, I have still been tutoring in Spanish, Matt has re-worked his resume and been applying like crazy. I am dealing with my anxiety as best I can and we are embracing the upcoming changes. No matter what happens, I will be in the US for a while in October, which means I can visit family and friends, enjoy everything American, and even make it to a good friends’ wedding!

Hoping all of you are well and remembering to live in the moment! 

Kitty's and Lions

Hello Everyone,

Things have been a little bit busy around here, hence the time between posts.

Matt and I are both doing pretty well. Things related to gold, and especially the company Matt works for, have been up, down, and all around recently. As of now, Matt’s mine is still running and we are still making the most of our time here in Perth, however long it lasts!

Since my last post, Matt has had two swings here in Perth, and two at Plutonic.

The week of May 15th-22^nd, we had one of those quiet yet busy weeks full of appointments and errands that flies by but you feel like nothing was accomplished! Matt began visits at the chiropractor, and has since had some relief from his lower back pain. We did see the new Star Trek movie that week, and we tried out a restaurant just down the street called Miss Kitty’s Saloon. They serve gourmet twists on American/Canadian food tapas style. I especially liked the fried pickles, and Matt loved his Monte Cristo sandwich when we stopped in for brunch over the weekend. 

Matt headed back to work from May 23^rd to the 29^th. I began tutoring Peter and Galina, a geologist couple who used to work on Matt’s swing but have since switched. We meet for a couple of hours on Thursday and Tuesday while they are in Perth and work on beginner’s Spanish. And they pay me! I was also busy that week with translating safety Powerpoints for Siegwerk and planning Matt’s birthday party (which is this Friday!)

The week of May 30^th – June 5^th, my brother Peter’s girlfriend Katie celebrated a birthday with a trip to Decorah and Luther College, our alma mater. Happy Birthday!

Matt and I saw the Great Gatsby, which he read the week before (apparently F. Scott Fitzgerald isn’t required reading in high school in England). It’s been several years since I read the novel, and I enjoyed the movie. Matt gave it maybe one thumb up…

Saturday we had dinner at Miss Kitty's, and it didn't disappoint. I had homemade baked cream corn, among several other things, and Matt had poutine and roast suckling pig, amongst other dishes. We left absolutely stuffed. America!

We did some shopping for décor and drinks for the birthday party and on Sunday we headed to the Wannaroo markets, which were a bit of a let down, so we drove to Cottesloe for lunch at Vans café, which we first went to about a year ago, and loved even though it is very overpriced. The prices are still high, but the food is also still very good! We also checked out some WWII tunnels between Cottesloe and Fremantle. Matt has the photos on his phone...

Monday was Western Australia Day. Yes, each state and territory has a day. No, absolutely nothing special happens except everywhere is closed and the kids are off school. The weather was nice, so Matt and I took a walk, tried out his new camera, which is for his birthday from his parents, at least in part :), and we ended up walking 11 kilometers. 

We wandered through the suburbs of Maylands and Bayswater, and made it to Riverside Park, which was busy with families BBQing, dogs running around, and to my delight, an ice cream truck!

On Tuesday we visited the chiropractor and made a lovely roast dinner, with lamb, mashed butternut squash, roasted vegetables and buttermilk biscuits for an American spin. Then Wednesday, instead of heading back to work, Matt stayed an extra day in order to watch the BRITISH and IRISH LIONS take on the Western Force in rugby. Originally, we wanted to see the Lions play in Melbourne on Matt’s birthday, but tickets for those matches were all used up on “club members.” So, we went for the next best thing and watched them here in Perth at Patersons Stadium. Unfortunately, Matt’s Lions shirt didn’t arrive in time. Fortunately, mine did. Fortunately, he has lots of England rugby jerseys.

I enjoyed the match, although even with all of the Lions fans the atmosphere was a bit lacking. 

That was until the Welsh guy a couple of rows in front of us pulled bagpipes out of his backpack!

Click here to watch the video on youtube – remember Matt’s getting used to his camera and forgets it isn’t his phone :).

The Lions won easily and Matt was very happy to fulfill his dream of watching the Lions play (as they only play as a team on international tours).

He headed back to work Thursday morning, I headed over to Peter and Galina’s to tutor them. We made plans to visit John Forrest National Park for a 10K hike on the Heritage Railroad Trail the next day.

The trail goes through the national park and follows the (removed) tracks of the railroad that used to connect Fremantle and York. 

Along the way there were lots of birds, beautiful hills, and a few reminders of the railroad that used to be like trestle bridges and the first and, until 2007 the only railroad tunnel in WA. (The second is the subway tunnel in the CBD). 

The tunnel was built in 1895, and yes, we walked through it. We had a BBQ in the middle of the park, surrounded by kookaburras and magpies that swooped in to try and steal our food. It was very nice to get out for a hike on a week Matt is at work, and I look forward to more socializing and Spanish sessions with Peter and Galina.

Today I cleaned the house and yard and got the rest of the groceries for the birthday party. Tomorrow I will be busy baking triple chocolate cupcakes and Cornish pasties. Wish me luck! We will be sure to post photos of Matt’s Cornish-themed party, as well as that of Vince, our friend and former housemate, who is also turning 30 and is having a Roaring Twenties birthday Saturday night!

Happy Father’s Day in advance!

Click here to see more photos.

PS - So far, so good with all things rodentia. As in, we haven't heard anything!

Beyond Perth: A WA Geological Getaway

Happy Mother’s Day Week!

I can still say this since my card and gift for my mother still haven’t arrived…you can never predict how long customs will hang onto things!

Also, Happy 80^th Birthday to Matt’s Granddad Don Corin (May 10^th)!

It has been a while since I updated the blog. While everything here continues to go well, I had a hard couple of weeks thanks to rats living in our roof. I became suspicious the first week we were here since I could hear scratching noises above the study. The noises continued and I contacted our property manager to send out a pest control person. Well, that took over a week to happen. In the meantime, Matt and I had purchased an inflatable hot tub and were breaking it in with nightly soaks. Even at four in the afternoon we could see the rats going in and out of the roof near a downspout and running around to a tree in the back garden to eat the berries. The good news was they had a food source and were only in the roof, not the rest of the house. The bad news was that I had a bit of a freak out. Years ago, when I lived in New York, a similar thing occurred when we had mice in our apartment. Of course at that time I wasn’t working, had enrolled in grad school at Pratt, and was under a bit more stress. And I really freaked out. This time I did a little better, but I was not happy hearing those rats running around over the kitchen and bedroom. Ick.

So eventually the pest man came and rolled poison baits down into the part of the ceiling where we heard the most activity. Five days later the house smelled a bit and despite the screens on the windows, flies were all over, but that disappeared and since then I haven’t heard any rats in the roof. Which is very good. I keep thinking I am hearing things outside, but a neighborhood cat climbs the walls and visits our back garden frequently, so I hope she will dissuade any other rodents from setting up house here!

I didn’t want to blog before, as I was feeling pretty negative about the house and being here without Matt with rodents running around above me. We did manage a bit of fun and hit up the O Day street festival in Northbridge on Sunday April 28^th, where we wandered around collecting free magnets in shops and restaurants and had lunch at Flipside, home to the “Kenny Burger,” which was very good!

Matt went back to work, I stayed here and tried to stay busy, but it was a long week. I ventured to Ikea and picked up a few things we still needed, which helped J.

Soon though, Matt was back, we weren’t hearing the rats, and we had a nice week together.

On Friday, May 3^rd, we left Perth in the morning and drove up to Nambung National Park, home of The Pinnacles. In case you have time to kill and really want to trace our route, we made a quick stop in Lancelin on the way there.

Even though Matt is a geologist, and The Pinnacles Desert is only a two-hour drive from Perth, he hadn’t seen them yet.

The (Jane version of the) story is that they were once seashells crushed together and eventually sediments deposited and turned them into limestone. I am sure if you ask Matt he would explain it in much more depth. And Wikipedia presents three theories as to their formation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pinnacles_(Western_Australia). Anyway, they are pretty awesome to see, popping out of the sand over a really large area.

I first visited on a tour last year, but it was great to go back and see how much Matt enjoyed them. And how much he enjoyed photographing his car in front of them!

After doing the walk and drive at The Pinnacles, we headed to the nearby town of Cervantes and discovered that another geological phenomenon nearby. At Lake Thetis, just outside of town, there are stromatolites! When I took that tour last year, Matt and I were just friends, and he was all excited that I would get to see stromatolites at Hamelin Pool. (Some of you may remember my post about those last year). We weren’t going that far north on this trip, so it was pretty cool that Matt and I got to check out stromatolites together. They are part of the reason we exist, after all, thanks to their oxygenating the Earth.

After looking at the stromatolites for a few minutes, since that is all you can do, we headed to breezy Hangover Bay for a BBQ lunch. I remembered everything except tongs for the BBQ, which I think might be in the garage, but we made do and had a nice lunch. Then it was time to head to New Norcia.

In an attempt to practice even more Spanish, Matt changed the GPS language and “Monica” gave us directions. She did not, however, mention that we would be driving on several unsealed, winding gravel roads, populated by human sized kangaroos. Big human sized! 

It was an exciting, unnerving, and scenic drive. I cannot tell you at all where we were, but about two hours later we arrived in New Norcia.

New Norcia is an interesting place. Benedictine monks founded it as a mission in 1847, literally in the middle of nowhere in WA. The second abbot decided to build private colleges, which were very successful but have since closed. They had cottages for Aboriginal families and schools for the Aboriginal children as well. They have a flour mil and bake bread, grow olives for olive oil, as well as grapes for wine. The bread is pretty popular and available in Mt Hawthorn at the New Norcia Bakery.

Matt and I were staying at the New Norcia Hotel. Originally built in the 1920’s for family visiting the monks and college students, it is the only option in town that isn’t gender segregated and doesn’t require getting up at five am for prayers. It is also the place to try Abbey Ale and Abbey wine, including their vintage port. Once we had checked into our room, we headed down to the hotel bar for some food and Abbey Ale and wine. It was pretty good. I tasted a bit too much, but I slept very well!

The next day after a continental breakfast, we checked out and booked our town tour. On the tour we saw the outside of the monastery, inside the Abbey Church, inside an old Aboriginal family cottage, the operational New Flour Mill (1879), and inside both of the colleges, which are closed to the public. We also saw the chapels inside St Ildephonsus College and St Gertrude’s College, which were pretty impressive and unexpected just off the Great Northern Highway! 

Our tour group included, as they always seem to do, some very chatty and disrespectful people, but it was pretty interesting. I enjoyed seeing and experiencing something completely different to what you usually find in WA. We came away with an Abbey Ale glass and a bottle of the port to cellar…for a while!

We left New Norcia early in the afternoon and headed to Bindoon on the recommendation of Matt’s co-worker Brad, that we try the Bake house there. I am very glad we did. I had a pasty for lunch and Matt had a meat pie. They were good, but we also left with carrot cake, a huge cinnamon roll (hard to find here), a white chocolate brownie, and banana bread. Lets just say breakfast the next day and snacks along the road were very, very nice!

After Bindoon we were on our way to Merredin, where we would spend the night, and we happened to drive through a town called Toodyay. No idea where the name comes from, but it was a really charming little town. We decided to stop and stretch our legs. We were browsing in the old firehouse now art gallery and Matt bought me a very nice little painting. The woman there told us to go look at the old gaol and courthouse, which we did, and we drove on to a lookout over the Avon Valley that the town is in. It was an unexpected but very enjoyable stop.

Later on our drive on the Great Eastern Highway, we stopped in Meckering and checked out a display all about an Earthquake, 6.9 on the Richter Scale, which rocked the area in 1968. We had never heard anything about it, but the photos and facts presented were striking. As it was a public holiday, there were few injuries even though the school and several buildings were destroyed.

In the evening we arrived at our motel in Merredin. It had a handy little kitchenette for breakfast the next day. We headed into town and had a nice dinner at The Commercial Hotel. It wasn’t very busy and we discovered this was because the entire town was at some huge party a few blogs from our motel. The thumping music carried into the night and Matt was awakened when the partygoers came back at 2 AM and were sick in the parking lot. We are old. Also, we will not be going back to Merredin.

The only reason we were there was to check out Wave Rock in even tinier Hyden, about an hour south of Merredin in the Wheatbelt region.

(This little trip was very geological).

Wave Rock is actually a part of Hyden Rock, a granite outcropping. Wave Rock is 100 meters long and 15 meters high (think yards, people). It began forming underground 60 million years ago. Noongar aboriginal people lived in the area for thousands of years. The town and the rock were named after a sandalwood cutter who camped in the area in 1920.

Matt and I both thought it was pretty awesome. After taking the obligatory surfer pose shots, we climbed up and walked all around the rock following trail markers. 

There were two ways to get down: steep and stairs. I chose stairs since I have a tendency to fall down steep things. And stairs for that matter, but at least there was a railing!

It, like the Pinnacles, is one of those awesome things that you want to see, and then when you have walked all around and taken loads of photos and read the literature, you say “ok, well glad we did that,” and then you’ve done it and that’s all.

We left Hyden for our four-hour Sunday drive back to Perth with stops in Corrigin and York. Matt noticed this sign as we whizzed past and we turned around - we had just passed the Rabbit Proof Fence, the longest fence in the world!

It was nice to get out of Perth and go exploring. 

Click here to see all the photos from our trip.

Monday we relaxed, and then went to dinner at Il Pasto, a little Italian restaurant on Ninth Avenue in Inglewood I had been dying to try. It was delicious, all of it. Unlike Merredin, we will definitely go back!

Since Matt has been at work this week, I have been busy at home working on translating, organizing our upcoming trip to Malaysia and Matt has been figuring out what else he wants to do to celebrate his big 30 birthday. The weather is cooler, highs between 20-25 C, or 60-70 F with lots of rain. It looks like pretty good weather the rest of the week though, which is good news as Matt gets back Wednesday!

Thanks for reading,

Jane