Norseman, Western Australia to Perth, Western Asutralia - 715 kms 8:00 hours.
The last leg westwards and I will be in Perth where I will take a day of rest. The Eyre Highway that spans the Nullarbor comes to a T at Norseman. North is the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. South is the coastal town of Esperance. I head towards Kalgoorlie.
The video above brings together the three themes of the road from Kalgoorlie to Perth - the road itself, the rail that often runs parallel to the road and the water pipe in the foreground.
The two locos are hauling a very long train of wagons. These are used for hauling grain in and out of large grain silos. This train was at the outskits of Kellerberrin. Grain silos are common along the railroad. One of them had a mural painted on it. Some of the murals are quite elaborate though I did not come across any apart from this one.
The road, rail and water pipe appear together for almost the entire run from about Kalgoorlie to the outskirts of Perth. The water pipe is part of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Back in 1800s, Kalgoorlie was part of a large gold mining area. The closest city of Perth, over 500 kms away, was the source of most of the supplies. Water was a serious problem. So, in 1896, a pipeline from Perth to Kalgoorlie was commissioned. It was completed in 1903. At 560 kms, it was, and still is, the longest water pipe in the world. It runs along the rail line - the rail line was used to transport the pipes. It is above ground and visible from the road through a large part of its length. Occasionally, it dives underground or changes the side of the road it is on.
Cast iron pipes were too heavy to transport. Rivetted or welded pipes had their own drawbacks. See that prominent seam on the pipe - the raised bit along its length? Instead of using rivets, a local engineer, Mephan Ferguson, came up with rolling sheets of steel into a pipe and using an H cross-section locking bar that was hydraulically clamped shut. This locking bar is visible along the length of each pipe section. 60,000 pipe sections were used - each measuring 750mm in diameter and 8.5m in length. A series of steam powered pumping stations kept the water flowing. Large parts of the original system are still in operation and continue to supply water to Kalgoorlie.
As I was driving along the road, I detected some movement on the road. Travelling at 100 kph, as I got closer, I realised it was a goanna that had sprinted and now stood still in the middle of the road. You can see it in the video clip below. The clip has been slowed down and a pause added where the goanna is clearly visible. Fortunately, it was exactly in the middle of the lane and I drove over it. I checked in the rear view mirror to see if it survived. It not not only did that but I saw it scoot ahead into the side of the road without as much as a WTF!
Around Meckering, I came across The Big Camera. Unlike the usual "big" tourist attractions, this wasn't just a large statue of something. This was a museum with the front of it shaped like a camera. Though I did not have time to visit it, behind that camera, for an entry fee of $15, you get to see a collection of old cameras and photographic equipment. The collection consists of 3000 cameras, largely in working order.
I stopped at a few places along the road. One such place was a roadside memorial for three truckies killed in the bushfires in 2007 around Boorabin. As usual, besides flowers, there are the customary bottles of beer.
Road trains are a common sight on these roads. Overtaking these Road Trains can be a trial. Once you have ascertained that the oncoming road is free, you get on the wrong side and hit the accelerator. I am glad that the engine in my car responds quickly under these circumstances. It immediately reaches 150 to 160 kph while I am still alongside the truck. The truck itself would be around 100kph. In a few seconds, I am past the truck and then I just coast till the speed drops back to the cruise control set at the speed limit of 110 kph.
It is not uncommon for drivers to misjudge the distance or to spot a car coming in the opposite direction a bit late. Below, you can see a video, at the start, I come across a driver on the wrong side of the road. I did brake just in case and the driver slipped back into the lane. As the traffic whizzed past, I could see the road train that was overtaken and a long line of traffic.
I came across many road maintenance sites as I went along. The speed limit drops to 60 kph. In one such site, I came across the usual 60kph stretch and I religiously dropped my speed. As I crawled along, truck started looming in my rear view mirror. As he came closer, there was no way I was speeding up above the limit. So I just pulled over and let him go ahead. As I resumed, I saw the reason for his impatience - the speed limit was soon back to 110 kph. The truckie could see it from his higher vantage point and was eager to get back to speed. I got underway and soon got stuck behind the truck that had just overtaken me. At a safe point, I did the usual overtake. Gunning the motor I soon crossed him. I got back on my side, I slowly coasted back to my cruising speed. But in that time, from the opposite direction, appeared a police car with flashing lights. As I checked my rear-view mirror, they took a U turn. I knew they were after me so I pulled over. The truck behind lumbered past.
Soon I was talking to a police officer. He had clocked me at 127 kph. While I accepted my fault, I tried to explain I had just overtaken a truck and had to spped up to do it safely. The officer had seen me pass the truck but said I should have braked. With a huge truck bearing at 100 kph, I would not dare to slow down till I was well away. We did not get into an argument but I patiently tried to reason and suggested a bit of consideration and that a caution may be justified. The officer asked for my licence. He saw it was from out of town, NSW. He asked me where I was headed and for how long - I said I was headed to Perth and would be there for a day or two. He took my licence and I could see him standing behind my car talking to his partner. Soon he was back. Seeing that I am out of town and was only here for a few days, he decided to just caution me. He also said he had heard the usual stories and I should be slowing down as soon as I had overtaken. It is not often that I manage to talk myself out of a ticket but, whew, this time I did. Getting closer to town, I saw signs indicating that this area was under double demrits for another day! That would have been disastrous with a fine and double the usual points. That was a close shave.
By 6 PM, I reached my hotel. As I was spending an extra day, this was a bit above the usual motel. It also had a washer/dryer in the room. It was situated in Claise Brook off the Swan River. It had a nice walkway along the banks. A few restaurants were still open by the time I finished unpacking and getting cleaned up. I settled down to a very nice dinner.
Tomorrow is a day of rest. I will wash clothes and try to get a bit of exercise. Fresh from a trip across the Nullarbor, this may also be a good time to blog the short story I have been thinking about for almost as long as this trip.
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