| 5 Day Historic Gold Quest Tour Fare includes tours, most meals, twin share motel accommodation and some entry fees to museums. |
 Salmon Gum woodland, near Coolgardie. Photo: Roger Atkinson. | |
| The Historic Gold Quest tour will give you the chance to explore the old goldmining towns of the eastern goldfields and marvel at the sheer size of mine operations today. We appreciate the importance of water to the goldfields with a visit to an original pipeline pumping station and the Niagra Dam which provided water to steam locomotives. We also have a tour of an underground mine. By the time our five days are over, you will have a true understanding of the history of the region and be familiar with the goldrush architecure of Kalgoorlie and Boulder and the outback landscape with its many varieties of eucalyptus. | ||
| Day 1 Perth - Kalgoorlie |
Leaving Perth, we travel via Mundaring Weir, the source of 'liquid gold' that allowed the Goldfields to develop into the dynamic region it is today. We stop at Cunderdin to have morning tea and visit the Cunderdin Pumping Station that was one of eight pumping stations on the original goldfields pipeline. Then it is on to Southern Cross, the site of the first gold strike in the eastern Goldfields region in 1887. After lunch we head to Coolgardie and then Kalgoorlie, our home for four nights. (Entry to the Cunderdin Museum is included in the fare). | |
| Day 2 Kalgoorlie |
Today we investigate the mining industry, starting with an underground tour of Hannan's North Mine. There is free time for lunch and then a comprehensive tour of Kalgoorlie and Boulder with visits to the Big Pit lookout and the famous Two-Up Ring. Perhaps there will be time to take a drive down the notorious Hay St before returning to our motel. (Entry to the Hannan's North Mine Tour is included in the fare. Lunch is not included in the fare today). | |
| Day 3 Kalgoorlie |
We leave Kalgoorlie today to explore the sites of old gold towns of the North Country. We first visit Broad Arrow, which was used in the making of the film The Nickel Queen, and Ora Banda. Then through Menzies before turning off to Kookynie where we visit one of the great engineering feats of the early Goldfields, the Niagra Dam, built to provide water for steam locomotives. From Kookynie we drive to Leonora and one of the great mines of the Goldfields, the 'Sons of Gwalia' at Gwalia. Both Kookynie and Gwalia are examples of ghost towns. After a long and most interesting day, we return to our motel in Kalgoorlie. |  Kalgoorlie scene. Photo: Anne Atkinson. |
| Day 4 Kalgoorlie |
After a busy day yesterday, today it is time to take it easy with a sleep in and a late start. We spend most of the day in Coolgardie, one of Australia's most historic towns. Our first visit is to the Coolgardie Cemetery. In the afternoon we have plenty of time to meander through the town, including the Goldfields Exhibition Museum in Warden Finnerty's Residence and Ben Priors Park. (Entry to museums is not included in the fare). | |
| Day 5 Kalgoorlie - Perth |
Time to leave the Goldfields and return to Perth following one of the earliest routes to the Goldfields. We first go to Merredin and then turn south to Bruce Rock, passing through Quairading and historic York, before arriving back in Perth. (Lunch is not included in the fare). | |
