Bunbury

Posted on by trekswalkabout

Star date 14/5/26

Although Bunbury and Albany are very similar in size we found them very different.

Bunbury has a lot of historic buildings, you can get a map or download one online of the Heritage Building Trail, we walked up the main CBD of Bunbury looking at a few of them.

Bunbury’s Old Post Office & Bonded Store, is a restored limestone building with a shingled roof and is the oldest building in the CBD. It is understood to be the original post office probably constructed with convict labour in the early 1850’s.

The Old Commonwealth Bank built in 1928 in a classical style no longer represented in Bunbury. In 1978 it was used by Telecom and accommodates Real Estate offices.

Rose Hotel one impressive heritage buildings. It is the grandest of the remaining gold boom hotels and was built in 1865 for Samuel Rose.

The Prince of Wales Hotel was first built in 1882  and remodelled in 1907.  The decorative veranda dominates the streetscape and the place was highly valued as a holiday venue.

The Old Railway Station built in 1905. Passenger trains remained here until 1985 when the railway was moved out of town.

A beautiful arrangement at The Green Depot Flowers.

The CBD also has a lot of murals. You can pick up a map of the mural trails from the information centre.

We had the privilege of seeing some of these amazing artworks. The Old jetty in it’s working days

A seedling with soil gently cradled in someone’s hands.

The 3 photos above were all part of the one mural. The historical mural is on the side wall in Victoria St. You can see clearly the story it tells. The “Timber Workers” mural in Bunbury was painted by acclaimed Australian aerosol artist Jerome Davenport, widely known as Ketones6000. 

An amazing mural of an aboriginal man. Part of a long mural off a lane way.

By Gemma O’Brien.

One most people would recognise from the kids movie “Cars” Mater.

The CBD also has plenty of cafe’s, coffee shops, eateries, pubs. One such pub was the Lone Star Rib House.

It caught our eye as it had a sign for a senior’s lunch of $20 which included a choice of 5 meals, with a drink and desert.

We ordered the Classic Mini Chicken Parmi served with salad and chips. Desert was cheesecake. It was all delicious and the perfect size. Service was amazing. The owner served us personally, taking us to our table. But first, I was outside with Jess at a table, when he came out and said that a helper dog like Jess was more than welcome inside. He said that we allow dogs and well behaved human owners. He even offered Jess a bone as a special helper dog.

He was such a character, with grandma working out the back. Highly recommend this place if you are ever in Bunbury.

Created by acclaimed artist Jon Tarry in 2000, the four-figure monument celebrates the region’s rich maritime history and ties to the ocean. Each of the four figures holds a different symbolic object representing the core identity of Bunbury:

  • A Ship: A nod to the port city’s maritime and industrial heritage.
  • A Fish: Represents the region’s vibrant marine life and fishing culture.
  • A Surfboard: Highlights the area’s popular coastal lifestyle and surfing community.
  • A House: Symbolizes the local community and the growth of the town

Bunbury also has some great beaches. A place you could easily spend a few days.

We stopped for the night at Preston Beach.

Live Long and Prosper.🖖🏿

Kalgoorlie

Posted on by trekswalkabout

Star Date 21/4/26

Nice easy run to Kalgoorlie from Norseman. After stocking up on a few wares we settled in to the Kalgoorlie self contained RV park. You can stay here for 72hrs, camping is on gravel which was very handy when it rained. Bins, and toilets can be found at the near by park. On site is a dump point and drinking water. It’s a popular spot.

Star Date 22/4/26

We went exploring, visiting the Hannans North Tourist Mine first. One of the first registered mines in Kalgoorlie. With over 30 exhibits in Kalgoorlie’s largest open-air museum. Entry cost $20A or $17 concession, it is self-guided tour, with historical buildings from the 1920’s, plenty of gold mining equipment, you can go gold panning, and climb the modern day equipment aboard a 793C haul truck and 994 wheel loader.

Even though it is outside dogs are not allowed. Which personally I thought was disappointing and saw no reason why dogs could not go, if people were responsibility. The word being responsible.

We spent over 1 1/2hrs there and you could have spent more. On the eve of the 1st anniversary of Chris passing, I kept thinking how much he would have loved this place. He would have been right into it climbing and exploring all the machinery, reading all the history, he loved things like this.

There were automated stories, which were interesting.

Lots of old relics.

Old buildings and mining huts.

In the 1800’s the game of Two-up was born. Toss the coins games dated back to Roman times but the custom of launching two pennies from a wood bat seems to be Australian introduced. 1890 with the gold rush in Kalgoorlie it became the hub for all fans of two-up.

In 1983 two-up was legalised in Kalgoorlie. Only to be played in the two-up shed, all other establishments would face a $1000 fine. To this day it is still legal to play two-up in Kalgoorlie and remains only 2 places within Australia that can regularly host two-up games, Broken Hill being the other. The game is played every Sunday at the two-up ring in Kalgoorlie a 10min drive out of town.

So many things to see and touch, a highly recommended visit.

After having some lunch we went for a walk up the main street of Kalgoorlie. A lot of very old buildings, many old pubs, they certainly don’t build pubs like that any more with so much character. Unfortunately a lot of the buildings were also is disrepair and a lot of empty shops.

It’s a typical old mining town, people were friendly and helpful.

We also had a shower at Market Arcade a manned refreshment area. For $5 you got a shower, which included a towel and a bar of soap. The facility is cleaned after every use.

Another interesting place is Questa Casa the oldest brothel in Australia. Questa Casa is still operating but primarily as a historical tourist attraction rather than a functioning brothel. On their website is states. “Alas, at present there are no ladies offering their services from our premises.” Apparently the place is for sale or lease as the madams wishes to retire.

Live Long and Prosper 🖖🏿

Granite Hill

Posted on by trekswalkabout

Star Date – 8/4/26

We left Peterborough and headed to Port Augusta for a few groceries and a stop at the local bakery.  Judy had taken us on a bit of a short cut that took us past wind farms and some picturesque scenery, road was narrow and bumpy.

It had rained the night before and was still a pretty gloomy day.

We stopped for the night at Iron Knob RV Park, a donation park, and $2 for hot showers. The best hot showers since I have left home.

Camping was on a gravel base which was great when the storm rolled in at 4.30am.

There was not a blade of grass around, plenty of spiky weeds and loads of flies.

The town of Iron Knob is situated at the foot of an iron ore mine on the North East of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

Iron Knob began as a housing settlement for miners somewhere between the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. It is often said to be the birthplace of Australia’s steel industry, and the mine is among the oldest still active in Australia.

Star Date – 9/4/26

We stopped for a break at Kimba and boy were we impressed. We weren’t staying the night but plan to spend a few days there on our way.

We pushed on at stopped at the Star Base Wudinna at the RV park. $10 unpowered, $20 powered. Drinking water, bins, table and chairs, toilets and one shower for $2.

Aboriginal meaning is Granite Hill (Woodina), has a population of approx 500 people and is the largest town in the council area.

Live Long and Prosper 🖖🏿