The Goldfields

The bus after 20kms of dirt road, the hotel across the road.  All corrugated iron, with the cobwebs and dust holding it together I reckon.

The Grove Hill Hotel

We decided to take a detour on our way down and do some of the old Goldfields Loop.   22kms in on dirt was the historic and heritage listed Grove Hill Hotel - what a dump.  It was so bad we didnt even stop for a cold drink, opting to eat our lunch on the other side of the road next to a railway siding.   The lady behind the bar was a grump and wanted $20 per night to camp in her back yard amongst the junk!!!!!.  We had previously thought we'd perhaps buy a meal, a beer and camp out there.   Its also a museum, full of rubbish, signs everywhere "do not touch" but you wouldnt touch it anyway it was so putrid.   We've been told the hotel is up for sale for $760,000.  It is "heritage listed".

All the old cars in the photos are part of the camp grounds so you can imagine its not that flash.   If you want something to eat here, you apparently have to ring the day before and order it.   Plenty of people stopping to look, probably 10 cars stopped whilst we were eating lunch, saw no one buy a drink etc.

Then the boys took off for the day with the metal detector to do some of the old abandoned gold mines along this road.  It is 81km long all dirt and corrugations.  Needless to say they came back empty handed, It would have helped if they had remembered to take the map of the gold mine sites with them.