From the Côte d'Azur of Australia across the Golden Outback and the Wheatbelt back to Perth

G'day mate!

We have completed our South West Loop and are back in our second home: Perth. It was an incredible road trip that took us from Esperance, the Côte d'Azur of Australia, across the Golden Outback and the Wheatbelt back to Perth in the second half of the South West tour.

One highlight along the way was the stunning beach of Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park. Here we enjoyed the cool, crystal clear water in a picture-perfect setting. The kangaroos hopping around on the beach made the scene even more perfect.

After our stay at this unbelievably beautiful coastal stretch, we traveled approximately 650 km to the Ghost Town Gwalia in the Golden Outback. It is a town that was built and then abandoned due to the gold rush, located in the middle of nowhere. The houses are made of corrugated sheets, the wind blows through the deserted streets, and the squeaky windmill in the town center adds to the eerie atmosphere. The abandoned furniture, cookware, clothing, and children's toys reflected the families' hasty departure. The perfect backdrop for a horror movie, and we were right in the middle of it.

At Lake Ballard, a huge salt lake, you can admire the artwork 'Inside Australia', which consists of 51 metal figures scattered across the dry, white lake.

Things were busier at the Super Pit. Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd produces around 700,000 ounces of gold per year here, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This corresponds to 22,000 kg of gold per year or 60 kg of gold per day. In the final dimension in 2029, the Super Pit will be 3.9 km long, 1.6 km wide, and 700 m deep. The dimensions are difficult to describe. From the viewing platform, the people at the deepest point of the pit look like a dot. At the entrance to the pit, warning signs alert to the aboveground power lines with 33,000 volts of voltage. The machines used here surpass everything seen before. A PC 8000 Face Shovel worth $18.5 million alone weighs 710 tons and has a 13,500 liter tank. With one bucket load, it moves 68.5 tons of rock. There are 40 haul trucks on the premises, each worth $4.4 million per truck, weighing 166 tons. Each of them has a 3,790 liter tank and moves 225 tons of rock from the bottom of the pit to the surface per load. One out of seven trucks contains a golf ball-sized piece of gold weighing about 500 grams in its load. The remaining six truckloads are waste.

It was quite a contrast to the peaceful Wheatbelt that followed. Here, we drove along endless roads lined with sheep herds and harvested wheat fields to Wave Rock before finally returning to Perth, our second home. We missed the city and enjoyed the party weekend with champagne and various spirits in the city's nightclubs and bars.

The summary of our trip through the Golden Outback: In addition to the many gold mines, salt lakes, road trains, oversize trucks, and seemingly endless roads, we were particularly struck by the friendliness of the Aussies. Here in the Outback, every oncoming vehicle waves at you. Even when you are having breakfast in a parking lot next to the road, the truck drivers honk at you friendly. Once, when we were camping between the road and the train tracks, the train drivers of the over 45-wagon long freight trains even waved and honked at us! The dust stirred up by passing road trains always gave our dinner a slightly crispy touch. Life in the Outback is definitely different. Without reception and internet connection, you can focus more on the countless annoying flies that especially seek the company of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears and do not even stop at closed lips. We will remember the trip through the incredibly beautiful and varied Southwest very well. However, we certainly will not miss the flies.