LEODESTRAVELOZZ

30-09-2015 The outback mining city of Kalgoorlie is famous for two things – goldmining and the red light district on Hay Street, in fact, the two go pretty much hand in hand.  It was because of the miners who settled the town that a demand for the second profession arose, with men vastly outnumbering the woman in the early days of the town’s history.  Some of the old ‘tin shed’ brothels still stand, and even though they double as a tourist attraction these days, they are still utilised by the locals and visitors to escape the hardships of living a miners life. Des walking Hay Street (dream on) the home of the WORLDS oldest working brothel, Questa Casa, is at least 111 years old and is the only original brothel remaining from Kalgoorlie’s famous gold rush and the only brother that has the famous “STARTING DOORS” (where the ladies first talk to the men) still operating, the girls throw open these doors nightly.  The same tin rooms that have been used since the house wa...

20150930  We decided to take a bit of a detour as we are way ahead of time so did a round trip to Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie-Boulder and  Kambalda to check out these old mining towns.  Each one had its own bit of history and I found it a little bit sad to see what was once a thriving town reduced to the town it is today. The Railway Hotel   The building first erected on this lot was a bulk store, but when the railway came to Coolgardie this situation was so convenient to the station that the building was converted into a hotel and licensed about 1900.  While hotels were closing down elsewhere in Coolgardie the Railway Hotel remained open and was so popular that in the early 1930's, when Coolgardie showed a few signs of regeneration, a further 16 rooms were added.  The promised revival did not eventuate but of the 23 hotels only the Denver City and the Railway Hotel remained in 1965, but in November of that year the license of the Railway Hotel was relinqu...

20150926 We camped at Bromus Dam for a few days, which wasn't much of a Dam but the location was in the bush and the men could go yabbing.  the area is part of the Great Western Woodlands and is the largest remaining area of intact Mediterranean climate woodland on Earth, covering almost 16 million hectares (about the size of Enlgand), now that's pretty impressive. Our camp for a few days and right behind our van is a big fire pit so I'm off to collect heaps of wood. The yabbie man at it again but isn't having much luck. That"s the  biggest yabbie so far and trust me he hasn't caught that many but at least it gives him something to do. We meet this elderly couple, Tony and Olga from Holland who had been on the road for over 40 years, although they did settling down for 10 of those years but didn't like it.  They never go to caravan parks and only ever free camped, a man after Desies heart. ...

20150920 I read that Esperance has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, with its squeaky white sand and turquoise water, whilst just offshore there are more than 100 islands making up the Recherche Archipelago which protects the coastline. The sculpture was created reflecting the Esperance region and community,  this sculpture signifies the tail of a Southern Right whale created from industrial steel from the port and the original Tanker Jetty, the timber sections are made to look like boat hulls as well as filter plates, known as baleen, from inside the whales mouth. Strolling along the esplanade the plaques detail the history of the town.  Once a whaling & seal station, whales were killed for their bladder (fat) and seals for their fur. Bladders were turned into oil for lamps & candles while seals were used to make leather pelts. By 1830 so many seals were hunted they were on the brink of extinction & the trade came to a halt. Today the sig...