We made the most out of the trip - checking out Perth in the 6hr stopover. Remember to make sure the taxi company you are ringing actually works in that city - a lesson learnt the hard way by one of the guys. He couldn't spell Perth either, which made the conversation even more confusing!!
Being students, we had to find the cheapest lunch available. This was difficult considering it was a public holiday, and we didn't want to go somewhere which was also in Bris (although the food was the same anyway). Ended up with pizza from a pub...
When we made it back to the airport (in various taxis) it was time to get back on the plane, although a much smaller one this time. It was only a one hour trip this time from Perth (or Perf, depending on how you spell it) to Kalgoorlie. Although it was a night flight, we were still able to see the dump trucks of the Super Pit (but couldn't see the actual pit). This was pretty exciting, even if it is just a big hole in the ground. I was surprised at how big Kalgoorlie is, with a population of about 30,000 according to the taxi driver. This is from the last census, so would probably underestimate the population.
The conference started the next day, and the great thing about small towns is that it was within walking distance of the motel (2.5km according to whereis, but felt like less). I really enjoyed all of the conference presentations, and there was an incredible variety. The conference was targeted at students, so it was all extremely relevant.
The end of the first day meant the welcome function that night. It was a great night sponsored by BHP, and allowed us to meet everyone. I think the poor staff at the Kalgoorlie pub regretted playing Eagle Rock to UQ students, but apart from that it was a great night. One of the first things I was told about the mining industry is that it's a small world. I think this is something that you always need to be aware of. It can work in your favour with jobs, but if you don't make a good impression it can work against you too. I caught up with a graduate geo from the site I was at over the summer, and it was good to hear the news from site (even if it was the opposite end of the table, the owner operator).
The second day was a struggle for some, but I was thankful that I managed a lot more sleep than most. The end of the day meant that we had to grab our bags and head to the airport, but we were determined to make the most of the trip. We wandered the town in our lunch break, and we had a few hours before we were due at the airport after the conference. We had managed to make friends with a great speaker at the conference, who was also staying at our motel. He agreed to drive us to the Super Pit lookout. We were incredibly grateful, as we may not have seen it otherwise. It was awesome!! I've never been to a metalliferous mine, although I've learnt a bit about them and seen photos. It's a massive operation. It was incredible to see, and I love recognising some of the things learnt at uni actually in practice (although it doesn't always happen that way). We spent as much time as we could at the lookout, taking it all in. Although we were a bit disappointed to miss the pit tour the next day, and the mining games, we definitely made the most out of the trip.
Back to the airport, and a flight delay of an hour meant that I got to have a chat with some industry guys. I was surprised to get a 737 to Perth with TV screens and everything (although they didn't use them apart from the safety demo). It was a change from the Dash-8 I expected. We arrived in Perth with a few hours to waste until the flight (which left about midnight, or 2am Bris time). We decided there was not enough time, and there probably wouldn't be much to do by going into Perth at that time on a Wednesday night, so we caught up on emails and uni work at the airport. I can't say I enjoyed the red eye flight, but it got me home and that's all that matters! Then I could finally get a few hours sleep where there wasn't anyone snoring next to me, or lighting. Only a day later and I'm actually missing Kalgoorlie. It's great to be home, but I really enjoyed the trip.
