Road trip: Esperance to Kalgoorie - Australian Traveller

Discover Kalgoorlie, a frontier town with a colourful history, and the world’s largest outdoor art gallery at Lake Ballard, WA, on the final leg of our Golden Outback road trip.

Part 4: Esperance to Kalgoorlie

Leaving our newfound slice of paradise behind, we track towards the goldfields. It’s only 3.5 hours away but the contrast couldn’t be more dramatic.

We arrive at Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit and stare in wonderment at the layers of red and purple earth, listening to the constant hum of the mega trucks 500 metres below.

Gold-rich Kalgoorlie produces 10 per cent of the world’s gold and, like any frontier town, it has a colourful past. It’s a surprise to hear about a young Herbert Hoover, destined to become US president, falling in love with a local girl during his stint as a mining engineer in 1897.

As the story goes, Hoover promised to return for the girl; even shipping a gaudy floor-to-ceiling timber mirror (now on display in the entrance of the Palace Hotel) back to her as symbol of his intentions.

However, we’re told he never returned. It’s at Hannans North Tourist Mine – an open-air museum – that you get a tangible sense of what life was like for these 19th-century gold prospectors.

In the morning we’re on the road again, bound for the world’s largest outdoor art gallery, Inside Australia, at Lake Ballard. It was created in 2003 by British sculptor Antony Gormley as part of the Perth International Arts Festival’s 50th anniversary.

It’s a two-hour drive, with a coffee stop at Menzies, which, at the height of the gold rush in 1894, had a population of 5000.

Today, like many towns in the goldfields, the official number has dwindled. Fifty-one of those who remain were immortalised in Gormley’s installation, including Vashti Sambo who recalls the excitement that gripped the town when residents were invited to take part.

“We had to take all our clothes off and (Gormley) laser scanned us, like in the movies,’’ Vashti says.

You access Lake Ballard on an unsealed road of red earth. The magic of the installation stuns us as soon as we get out of the car. To walk the full circuit, taking in all 51 iron statues, is 10 kilometres and a sign indicates a three- to four-hour walking time requiring at least five litres of water per person.

We only walk part of it, but I feel an immediate connection to the vastness of the landscape. There’s power in the silence and the mirrored expanse of lake.

Eventually the stifling heat drives us back to the car, bound once more for Kalgoorlie before we head home. We delay our departure with a sundowner at Goldfields Golf Club.

The unnaturally green fairways look out of place against the thick red earth. Soon about 10 kangaroos appear, their silhouettes dotting the horizon.

We reminisce about our little adventure. There have been many highlights; it hasn’t just been a holiday but an incredible journey close to nature, with extraordinary contrasting landscapes and many moments of calm.

I take a mental snapshot, filing it away to be brought out in times of everyday fluster, to be thought of fondly as that time I discovered the wonderful, calming power of the great open road.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THE GOLDEN OUTBACK ROAD TRIP…

→ Road trip the Golden Outback, WA

The details: The Golden Outback: Esperance to Kalgoorlie, WA

Staying there: ibis Styles Hotel – As you’d expect; modern rooms, friendly service. 45 Egan Street, Kalgoorlie

Eating there: The Palace Hotel – Sit on the verandah and be transported to 19th-century gold rush days. Corner of Hannan and Maritana Streets, Kalgoorlie

WA might be enormous, but the right insider knowledge brings its mysteries a whole lot closer.

“Western Australia is a land of record-breakers,” says Carolyn Tipper, a Travel Director working on AAT Kings Western Australia tours. “It has the second-longest fault line, the second-largest meteorite crater, the second-fastest flowing river—it just keeps surprising you. And every area has its charm.”

From tropics to deserts, Australia’s largest state is a land of extremes. You can’t see all of Western Australia in a lifetime, but with the right guide, you can discover its hidden pockets of magic.

Carolyn wishes to reach her guests’ hearts. “I want them to enjoy and be in awe,” she says. “I want them to have the holiday of a lifetime.”

1. Mimbi Caves

You wouldn’t expect a Great Barrier Reef in the outback – but that’s what you’ll find at Mimbi Caves. Once part of a 350-million-year-old reef, these caves hold marine fossils, ancient Indigenous rock art, and Dreamtime stories shared by a Gooniyandi guide.

“That’s when the real connection happens,” says Carolyn, who has taken guests through on the AAT Kings Wonders of the West Coast and Kimberley tour . “When guests connect, not just with the land, but with the people who have called it home for tens of thousands of years.”

Eye-level view of traveller exploring Mimbi Caves. — Walk through ancient limestone passages. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

2. Kalbarri National Park

Nothing prepares you for the Kalbarri Skywalk: a 25-metre platform jutting over Murchison Gorge, 100 metres above the red cliffs and river below. From July to October, join the AAT Kings Untamed Pilbara and West Coast tour to see over 1000 wildflower species paint the park, and listen as an Indigenous guide shares their uses, bush foods and medicine plants.

“I want our guests to have an emotional experience,” says Carolyn. “It’s not just about seeing the land, it’s about stepping into the stories.”

An aerial view of the Kalbarri Skywalk, one of the secret places in Western Australia, with visitors on the edge. — Stand on the Kalbarri Skywalk in Western Australia. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

3. Hamelin Bay Wines

Margaret River isn’t just a top wine region – it’s a winner in every category. Where the Indian and Southern Oceans collide, granite cliffs rise, limestone caves sprawl and Karri forests tower. It almost distracts from the world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Almost.

Out of over 100 cellar doors, AAT Kings pick Hamelin Bay Wines as a favourite. Hosted tastings of small-batch wines on the Western Wonderland tour end with a group meal. The menu shifting with the seasons.

“Get off the beaten track to one of WA’s most relaxed venues for some amazing red and white signature wines,” explains Carolyn, “accompanied with upmarket pub food.”

Spectacular views.

A person raising a glass of Chardonnay against a glowing Western Australia sunset. — Sip world-class wines at Hamelin Bay in Western Australia. (Image: Getty)

4. Wildflower Guided Walk, Kings Park

Western Australia is home to 12,000 native plant species – 3000 bloom in Kings Park’s Botanic Garden. Stroll past Kangaroo Paw, Banksia and blooms from the Goldfields, Stirling Ranges and Kimberley. “The diversity of Western Australia is immense,” says Carolyn, who leads guests through on the South Western Escape tour .

Couple enjoying the view from the Lotterywest Federation walkway at Kings Park and Botanical Garden. — Wander among thousands of native plant species. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

5. Hoochery Distillery

Did you know that between Kununurra and Emma Gorge lies the state’s oldest continuously operating distillery? Well, the oldest legal one. Set on a family farm, Hoochery Distillery was hand-built using materials found on the property, conjuring up award-winning rum from local sugarcane, wet season rainwater and yeast.

Today, visitors can sample a hearty nip of rum, along with whiskies and gins – all crafted using traditional, labour-intensive methods. It’s the ideal way to soak up the ‘spirit’ of the Kimberley on the AAT Kings’ Untamed Kimberley tour .

People enjoying a rum tasting at one of the secret places in Western Australia. — Sample award-winning rum. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

6. Geraldton

The wildflowers of the Midwest will make your heart blossom. In Geraldton, the Helen Ansell Art Gallery brings the region’s botanicals to life in vivid colour and intricate detail. In nearby Mullewa, wander bushland trails lined with everlastings and native blooms. Further afield, Coalseam Conservation Park bursts into carpets of pink, white, and yellow each spring. Do it all on the Wildflower Wanderer tour with AAT Kings.

woman walking through Wildflowers, Coalseam Conservation Park — Chase vibrant wildflower trails. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

7. El Questro

Wake up after a night under the stars at Emma Gorge Resort, ready to explore the mighty beauty of the El Questro Wilderness Park. With deep gorges, thermal springs, and cascading waterfalls, time slows here.

Join the AAT Kings’ Wonders of the West Coast and Kimberley tour to drift through Chamberlain Gorge, where sheer sandstone walls glow burnt orange in the sun, archer fish flick at the surface, and rock wallabies peer down from ledges above. Then, step into Zebedee Springs, a secret oasis of warm, crystal-clear pools among prehistoric Livistona palms – a moment of pure, wild stillness.

Emma Gorge Resort at El Questro. — Wake to adventure at Emma Gorge Resort. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

8. Lake Argyle

Once vast cattle country, Lake Argyle now sprawls like an inland sea – Western Australia’s largest freshwater lake, created by the damming of the Ord River. Scattered with over 70 islands, its glassy waters teem with life, like freshwater crocodiles, barramundi, bony bream, sleepy cod and over 240 bird species. That’s nearly a third of Australia’s avian population.

Glide across the lake’s surface on a cruise as part of AAT Kings’ Untamed Kimberley tour , where the silence is only broken by the splash of fish and the call of birds. For Carolyn, this place is a perfect example of how WA’s landscapes surprise visitors. “Lake Argyle is a big puddle of water that became a game-changer,” she says. “Seeing it from a boat, coach, and plane is mind-blowing. It puts time, isolation and the sheer scale into perspective.”

Aerial View of Triple J Tours on the Ord River, near Kununurra. — Glide past islands on Western Australia’s largest freshwater lake. (Image: Western Australia)

Discover more of Western Australia’s hidden gems and book your tour at aatkings.com.

Road trip: Esperance to Kalgoorlie