All the colours of the outback impress as the sun rises over this little-known town in Western Australia’s mid-west.
As the sun rises over the small town of Yalgoo, a seven-hour drive northeast of Perth, a uniquely outback canvas comes to life. Just one hour out of town, the Yalgoo salt flats glow with swirls of red, pink and white dancing under the new day’s sunbeams. It’s a truly magical sight, and one that most Australians don’t know exists.
Visiting the Yalgoo Salt Flats
Leave Yalgoo and follow the historic Miners’ Pathway self-drive trail for about an hour until you hit Salt River. You’ll see the colours around you changing, making a stark contrast to the surrounding farmland. While you can visit at any time, for the most dramatic colours you’ll want to arrive for sunrise (it’ll be worth the early start).
Yalgoo’s fascinating history
Yalgoo may feel like a long way to drive for a view, even one as beautiful as these salt flats. Luckily, there’s plenty to explore closer to town as well.
Steeped in gold rush history, this tiny settlement on the road from Geraldton to Mount Magnet was settled by pastoralists (along with their sheep and cattle) in the 1870s. Then, gold fever hit after rumours of Yalgoo’s rich gold supplies spread around the world. Prospectors and investors arrived in droves during the early 1890s.
Like many towns across Australia that experienced a gold rush boom, Yalgoo now has a very modest population of around 120 people, with 400 people living throughout the entire Yalgoo Shire. While you won’t find crowds of people, you will find turn-of-the-century buildings and plenty of fascinating history to follow up your sunrise visit to the incredible salt flats.
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Beyond the salt flats
Start at Yalgoo Courthouse Museum, where photos and artefacts from the early-1900s gold rush era are on display. The beautiful Dominican Chapel of St Hyacinth is another turn-of-the-century building, created by priest-architect Monsignor John Hawes in 1919.
Visit the 100-metre-long Joker’s Tunnel. Hand-carved by early gold prospectors in 1896 to allow trains to pass through the mining caves, it’s a fascinating site. There are other old mine sites to be spotted around town, as well.
You can even see the only working gold battery in WA – a 19th-century industrial machine using heavy stamps to crush gold-bearing quartz rock – at Paynes Find Gold Battery, just off the Great Northern Highway. Keen to strike gold on your own? Punters still gather for prospecting, usually in the cooler months.
Elsewhere, find roaming wildlife – from emus and kangaroos to native lizards. Arrive in the spring (July to September) to see the land transformed by pretty wildflowers. Think bright orange wild pomegranates, bright pink native foxgloves, a rainbow of orchid species, the striking red of grevilleas, the vibrant yellow of acacias, purple flashes of darwinia and dampiera, and so much more.
The details
More information: Discover more about the town and its attractions at yalgoo.wa.gov.au.
Where to stay: Find Yalgoo Caravan Park in town, as well as many station stays dotted around the shire.
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