On our way from Hyden to Kalgoorlie in WA the tour bus stopped many times for us to take photos.
The road followed this famous water pipeline which stretches 560 km from Perth through the arid interior to the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. It was constructed by C. Y. O'Connor in 1890 and it was an incredible feat of engineering even by present day standards. The steel was imported from England. It took months for them to come by sea.
We were surrounded by wildflowers.
We pulled into a small town called Southern Cross for morning tea. It was one of the first gold mining towns to develop, supplying provisions for the miners trekking further on to the gold fields of Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. (Don't you love the sound of those names?)
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| The Club Hotel, Southern Cross. |
I love the way these country towns have renovated the old hotels back to their original glory.
The gardens in the town were awash with colour.
Back on the road again, there were more wild flowers to see.
I have never seen such a variety of native plants all growing together. In one square metre you could find dozens of different plants.
So many and so beautiful.
