Camels!

Finally saw some camels!  Looks like they got a bit too much heat or something?

Yes, the are fake, but still pretty cool, don’t you think?  The main attraction at Norseman, the end of my trek across the Nullarbor.

Every gold rush town seems to have it’s own story, but this is one of the best. Back in 1894 someone was in the area poking around, and his horse, “Norseman,” came up lame.  Turns out he had a rock stuck in his shoe that was gold! And the local gold rush began.  Hey, I am just the messenger, helping you grasp Australian history.  We, of course, cannot vouch for the accuracy of the story, but the residents do. They have a horse sketch on every street sign. And the mine is still the biggest employer.

Not sure what they were doing this Sunday afternoon  as I only saw 3 humans out of a population of maybe 1,500.  Yes, it was hot, but no one. No kids playing, nothing.  But, it was a lot more active than Dumas, 15 miles down the road and started around the same 1894 time. Looks like Norseman won out, huh?

The information sign showed Dumas with maybe 8-10 city blocks, full of buildings. Now, just the sign is all that remains.

When you first see these lakes, they sort of look nicely frozen like in the winter. Then you of course realize that they are dried up and alkaline.

Look at the shot below of the railway motel.  Yes, it has seen better days, and yes, Dan stayed there.  The one other couple there were classic Aussie. Seems that the took the gravel road from Perth over and said they were driving a bit too fast when they sort of landed in a dried up creek bed.  Pretty sure that they damaged the vehicle, but after seeing that it was ok, his wife immediately was concerned about the bouncing the beer took in the mishap. So Australian!

Yes, even Dan travels on a budget. I actually stayed here. With one other couple and about 40 empty rooms that I think were not in use at all. Empty ball room, ghost like. The owner is a woman that I think is slowly renovating as money allows.