THE GREEN TRAIL
The Green Trail highlights sites in the Coolgardie bioregion with outstanding Environmental, Historical and Cultural values. At each of these sites, you will discover different landscapes, become aware of unique flora and fauna and learn about ancient Aboriginal culture and European practices of the area.
Karlkurla Bushland Park
This park is 200 hectares of natural regrowth bushland located 4kms north-west of Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie Boulder. At Karlkurla (pronounced 'gull-gurl-la' ), you can discover a variety of Goldfields plants and animals. Interpretive signs and picnic tables can be found along the 4km walking trail as well as a great view from the Katunga Lookout.
Kambalda Nature Reserve
Kambalda's best attraction is the Red Hill Lookout. Accessed via Gordon Adams Road, Red Hill will give travellers a spectacular view of Lake Lefroy, part of an ancient river system in the Goldfields region of Western Australia
Cave Hill Nature Reserve
Cave Hill is one of the largest and highest granite outcrops in the Goldfields Region. At this site, you can explore the spectacular ancient cave formations and historic wood line dams on the granite outcrop. You will discover a myriad of sights and sounds in the surrounding woodlands on the bushwalking trails. Picnic and camping facilities are provided at several sites around the edge of the rock.
Burra Rock Conservation Park
Explore the historical dam and water catchment on Burra Rock. A short climb to the summit of the rock rewards you with a great view over regrowth woodlands. Amongst the woodlands of salmon gum, gimlet and redwood, look for evidence of the timber cutters' camps and bush railways. Burra Rock is an important cultural site. The indigenous traditional owners of this area, welcome you to their country.
Victoria Rock Nature Reserve
Victoria Rock Nature Reserve is dominated by a large granite outcrop that offers panoramic views of the surrounding woodlands. Here you will learn about geological rock formations and aboriginal rock holes or "gnammas" and their cultural significance in the region.
Rowles Lagoon Conservation Park
Rowles Lagoon Conservation Park contains a semi-permanent freshwater wetland, unusual in this arid environment. It has been a popular recreation site for many years and provides a special opportunity for bird watching.
For further information on the Green Trail, call into Kalgoorlie Boulder Visitor Centre to collect a brochure.
Photo courtesy of Brad Donaldson
THE GOLDEN QUEST DISCOVERY TRAIL
The Golden Quest Discovery Trail is a 965 kilometre self-drive adventure through the Goldfields, and can be enjoyed in parts or as a whole. The trail encompasses the amazing history of the region and the isolated beauty of the bush is simply breathtaking. Capturing the essence of the historic, cultural and spiritual Goldfields, the Golden Quest Discovery Trail traverses 965kms through the Shires of Coolgardie, Menzies, Leonora, Laverton, Dundas and the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder. When touring the Goldfields today, you will still encounter people from all parts of the globe. Some will be fellow visitors, others will be among those who have chosen to call the Goldfields home. You can get your Golden Quest Discovery Trail Guide Book right here at our centre, which includes full colour sections on each of the 25 sites, times and distances between sites, detailed map and dramatised stories of the gold rush era.
Pop in and see us or visit www.goldenquesttrail.com for more information on accommodation and travel tips along the Trail.
Photo courtesy of Maddy Armstrong
Photo courtesy of Dan Roissetter
THE GOLDEN PIPELINE HERITAGE TRAIL
Make the journey your holiday as you travel between picturesque Mundaring Weir on the outskirts of Perth, and the water’s destination Kalgoorlie, Australia’s outback mining City. Along the way are opportunities for experiences ranging from ballooning and bushwalking, to wildflowers and wave rocks.
The Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail begins in the town of Mundaring in the Perth Hills and follows the route of the Golden Pipeline, built more than 100 years ago and it is still the longest fresh water pipeline on Earth. Take in the rolling farm scapes, explore historic water pump stations, enjoy scenic nature trails and cross the Meckering Earthquake fault line on the journey to Merredin. Continue heading east to the Goldfields, stopping at Southern Cross where gold was first discovered in the late 1800’s. Along the way to Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, you'll see gold rush ruins, interpretive displays and stunning spring wildflowers. Spend the night or a few days in Kalgoorlie, the hub of Western Australia’s gold mining industry with plenty of historic tales, magnificent architecture and lively nightlife.
For further information on the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail, go to; www.nationaltrust.org.au/places/golden-pipeline-heritage-trail
Photo courtesy of Bob Sommerville
Photo courtesy of Julie Doust
FLORA & FAUNA
The Goldfields region boasts 12 existing and proposed nature reserves, with a combined area of 8 million hectares. An incredibly high number of bird species flourish here, as well as the threatened Bilby (or Rabbit-eared Bandicoot), Cuditch, Mallee Fowl, Scarlet Chested Parrot, Sandhill Dunnart and Mulgara. The inhabitants of the area include ornate lizards, Emu, Echidna, Carpet Pythons, Honey-eaters, Yellow Throated Miners, Rainbow Bee-eaters and wild Budgerigars.
First time visitors to the Goldfields, often find themselves astounded at the diversity and beauty of the region's flora and fauna. In recent times, bio geographers have divided Australia's land mass into 80 distinctive biogeographic regions, two of which regions converge in the Goldfields, the Coolgardie and the Murchison regions. Both are equally fascinating but very different.
The Coolgardie region is characterised by eucalypt woodland, while acacia (or mulga) woodlands dominate the Murchison. The transitional zone (Goongarrie region) is something of an environmental hot spot, being an interface between the two regions, which features flora and fauna that are a blend of both regions.
The remarkable fact is that the majority of today's woodlands around Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie are actually regrowth - generally less than 100 years old in most areas due to clear felling for fuel between 1900 and 1965. In the pioneer decades, huge quantities of wood was needed for firing boilers that powered mine sites, generated electricity, pumped water, condensed salt water into fresh water, and for the lining of many shafts and tunnels burrowed into the landscape. By 1904, 500,000 tonnes of wood was being felled annually, with most feeding into Kalgoorlie Boulder's Golden Mile.
The Goldfields Wildflower Season runs from July to October (the middle of Winter through to the middle of Spring). Good winter rains see the forests and shrubs burst into colour in the spring time, where you can witness a striking array of native flowers from bright orange grevillea, Sturt's Desert Pea, purple mulla mulla, yellow cassia, flowering eucalypts to mallees, and breathtaking displays of wildflowers including pink, yellow and white everlastings, and dainty paper daisies. The region is also one of the few in Western Australia where the distinctive aromatic sandalwood tree can be found. The industry was actually established long before the gold rush and is a valuable export today.
For further information or maps, visit the Kalgoorlie Boulder Visitor Centre.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Wood
Photo courtesy of Jessica Wood
Photo courtesy of Annette Fagan