After the Goldfields Pipeline Marathon: Lake Ballard
The Route: Kalgoorlie → Menzies → Lake Ballard → Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport Logistics: Hire car. About 1 hour 30 minutes north to Menzies on the sealed Goldfields Highway, then about 51 km of unsealed road west to the lake. Marathon Month: July Duration: 1 night
Kalgoorlie ──(approx. 1 hr 30 mins, Goldfields Hwy)──> Menzies ──(approx. 45 mins, unsealed)──> Lake Ballard
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Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport (KGI) ◄──(approx. 2 hrs 30 mins by car)──────────────────────┘
The Goldfields Pipeline Marathon finishes in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in mid-July. Two and a half hours north, on a salt lake so flat and white it looks like snow, stand 51 black steel figures, each cast from a scan of a person who lived in the nearby town of Menzies. It is an odd, arresting sight, and the drive there is part of it.
July at Lake Ballard is the right season. Winter days are clear and mild, and nights on the lake are cold, often near freezing, which makes the sunrise worth getting up for. After heavy rain the lake surface turns to mud and the unsealed road can close; check conditions with the Menzies visitor centre or the shire before setting out. Carry water, fuel and food: services north of Kalgoorlie are few.
Drive north from Kalgoorlie on the Goldfields Highway to Menzies, a former gold town that once had thousands of residents and now has a few dozen. From Menzies, a signposted unsealed road runs about 51 km west to the lake, suitable for a normal car in dry conditions. Drive slowly and watch for kangaroos and cattle.
Night One: Lake Ballard
The installation, called Inside Australia, was created by the British sculptor Antony Gormley for the Perth International Arts Festival in 2003. He scanned the bodies of Menzies residents, reduced the proportions to thin, elongated forms, and cast the figures in an alloy made partly from the lake's own minerals. They are spread across about 10 square kilometres of lake bed, so no two are close together.
Walking to them is the point, and it needs judging on post-marathon legs. The salt crust is flat, but under it the lake bed is soft, and each step sinks slightly; the effort is closer to walking on a beach than on a path. The nearest figures are a few hundred metres from the shore. Walk to two or three and back, and leave the full circuit for another trip. A small rise beside the camping area, Snake Hill, gives a view over the whole lake for a few minutes' climb.
Sunrise is the time to be on the lake: the figures cast long shadows across the white surface and the colours change by the minute.
Where to stay: A basic campground beside the lake, with toilets, lets visitors stay for sunset and sunrise; bring everything, including warm bedding for a cold night. For a roof, the Menzies Hotel, a gold-rush pub in the town, has rooms and meals, 45 minutes from the lake.
Where to eat: The Menzies Hotel serves pub meals. There is nothing at the lake itself.
Getting to Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport (KGI) is about 2 hours 30 minutes from Lake Ballard: the unsealed road back to Menzies, then south on the Goldfields Highway. Leave after sunrise and breakfast in Menzies, and allow for slow driving on the gravel section.