Well after 4 days in our hotel room we did our best to retrieve the last 5 days of our holiday. A lovely boat trip down the Swan River to Rottnest Island via Freemantle Market held on the quay side. Freemantle is very hippy.

On the journey over we were lucky enought to see a pod of dolphins playing in the wake of the boat. The Island is beautiful, no one is allowed to live on it except the catholic priest who has permission to be buried there as well. The Island was an open jail for aboriginies and a boys reformatory, the only hotel is the old jail. The main port is rather touristy but I am told the rest of the island is stunning. The normal way to see it is by bike. We were not up to travelling far so had to make do with the historical tour with the local guide - all to ourselves. On the way back all the chairs had been removed from the decks - I wonder why? A rather bouncy return journey - os there noescape?

Following 3 days were taken up by Neil's big trip to the super pit in Kalgoorlie. 9 hours each way on a super train called the prospector - an attendant to each carriage and porters - very de luxe but it only goes at about 50 mph !

Kalgoorlie is unique - your shoes really do stick to the floor in the bars! Hotel restaurants close at 8 pm. We had a really interesting day doing the main tourist bits, the museum, a reconstruction and mine visit and then a trip to the super pit. The scale is just beyond explanation - trucks that would fill a whole street from side to side look like tonka toys. Women drive the huge trucks which are driven down to the bottom of the pit, filled with rocks containing the mineral ore and then drive back up the winding track to the top. They do that back and forth like ants for the whole ofthe shift.
Everybody in the town works for the mine, did work for it or have a close relation who did. All our taxi drivers were knowledgeable and terrible gossips. A brilliant day. We even went to see the brothels. It was too late for a tour as they were in use!