I was nice and warm overnight. At least I was, right up until the moment the alarm went off. As soon as it sounded, my body must have reminded my brain that the heater was out of action and that I was rather much colder than I would have liked to be. I had no time to consider my temperature predicament though, as I had places to be.

I had booked a tour of the ‘Super Pit’ the other day, to ensure that I didn’t miss out on what is one of Kalgoorlies major and most definitely biggest tourist attraction. Bec showed a distinct lack of interest in paying $70.00 for a bus ride around a big hole in the ground, so I was partaking in the tour on my own, allowing Bec to enjoy a sleep in.

I eagerly arrived at the designated pick up point at the tour office in the main street of Kalgoorlie, a good half an hour before the tour was to depart, just to make sure I didn’t miss the bus so to speak. That also gave me a chance to have a good look around the gift shop, as the other passengers slowly trickled through the door. By 9:30AM, there were 35 of us, all milling about anxiously waiting for the bus to arrive.

When it did, we were introduced to Ray who was to be our guide for the morning. He handed out safety glasses and hi-visibility workers vests, to be worn for the duration of the tour, while checking that everyone was appropriately dressed for the days activities. Then it was onto the bus for our plant ‘induction’ courtesy of a DVD that Ray seemed able to recite ad nauseam. All fully kitted out and inducted, it was on with the tour.

Along the way from the town centre to the plant, Ray pointed out a number of historical features and began to explain the mining operation. It is an absolutely massive business, the scope of which is impossible to describe. The ‘Super Pit’ is run by a conglomerate of companies under the umbrella of KCGM (Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mine) and consists of two mines. A traditional underground mine and the open cut pit. Our tour today was to focus on the open cut mining scheme.

From the time we entered the security gate, my eyes were agog at the giant scale of everything. To be honest, a lot of what Ray was saying went over my head. I just wanted to yell, “Take me to the big dump trucks”. Well, my yearning to spot the trucks was soon satisfied as we drove around the maintenance area. Several of the gigantic yellow beasts were there, undergoing their regular servicing or tyre changing, looking just like the Tonka trucks I played with as a child, just on a much grander scale. The Cat 793 trucks are the main stay of the haulage operation here, running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, hauling close to 250 tonnes of rock on each trip up the steep, snaking road alongside the side of the open pit.

The size of these trucks is evident in this pic.

What a machine!

Scarily, as we moved on to a vantage point overlooking the mine, these gargantuan rigs took on that childs toy look as even their size was dwarfed by the vast scale of the pit itself. Essentially a hole in the ground, rock is blasted, then loaded into the dump trucks by even larger ‘face diggers’, which look like back hoes on steroids. The buckets on these face diggers are large enough to fully load the dump trucks in four swift scoops. The rock is then hauled up to the surface in a meticulously planned operation that sees each load delivered to the precise location it is required at. On average, once refined each truck load of rock can be expected to yield enough gold to form a nugget the size of a golf ball. Now there’s a gold ball I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on!

In the ‘pit’.

Hard at work.

As big as they are, they look like toys in the ‘pit’.

Consider the size of the ute at the right of frame.

Loading operation is over in minutes.

At the conclusion of the 2 ½ hour tour, I may not have fully comprehended the intricacies of the entire operation, but I did know one thing for sure. Those trucks are HUGE! Bec was rather amused when I returned to the van and happily expressed that the tour would have to be one of the highlights of my trip, solely as a result of getting to see the trucks. Getting to descend a 100 metres into the pit and touring the processing plant were just happy bonuses.

While I had been out, Bec had her sleep in, then got stuck into the dishes that we had been too despondent to have worried about last night. Along with a few other household chores, she had the van in good order when I returned, ready for us to head back into town for a bit of look around.

Our first stop was at the KCGM office, where I had to gain permission to use any of the photos I took this morning in my blog. It was as simple as showing them the photos I intended to post on line, so that they could be checked for anything that might paint the company in a poor light.

We then made our way to the Mount Charlotte Lookout, which interestingly is the extreme end of the golden water pipe. It finishes almost insignificantly at a giant water tank and a fountain from which spews the water that began its journey east bound from Perth almost two weeks earlier. As well as viewing the pipeline terminal, the lookout provides fantastic views over the Kalgoorlie township.

Super Pit tailings viewed from the Mount Charlotte lookout.

It was the township that we headed for next, stopping in the main street to see what was on offer at the information centre, as well as walking up and down the street. Not only did we look through the shops, but we also paid attention to the stately architecture of the many gold rush era buildings. The lavish expense could still be identified, with ornate facades and even a dome gilded in gold topping the city clock tower.

Gold topped clock tower.

Kalgoorlie main street.

From the little we saw of Kalgoorlie today, we decided that it was one of the nicer towns we have visited during our travels. We did notice one disconcerting trend however, and that was the exaggerated overflow of testosterone, which manifested in a high speed race from every green traffic light, accompanied by the deafening thrashing of pistons pumping up and down. What can you expect of a town that is predominantly inhabited by young males, employed in highly paid mining jobs and generally driving late model V8 utes.

After finishing our shopping, we made our way up to the ‘Super Pit’ lookout, just in time to watch the sun setting over Kalgoorlie. As the light disappeared from the sky, we were able to look down into the pit, picking out the still busy machinery by the pin pricks of strobe lights weaving their way around the perimeter of the hole. Even Bec had to admit, it was pretty cool.

The dogs don’t think much…

…of the lack of a heater.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.