Getting to the Goldfields
By Road
If you’re travelling independently by road, there are five principal entry points into the Goldfields region of Western Australia.
- From southern and south-western Western Australia, you can reach the Goldfields via the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, the Great Eastern Highway or the Holland Track to enter the region at Coolgardie, the official starting point for the Golden Quest Discovery Trail.
- From Perth, via Great Eastern Highway, the journey to Coolgardie takes approximately seven hours, a distance of just under 560 kilometres.
- From northern Western Australia, you can reach the Goldfields via the Goldfields Highway, entering the region through Leinster and Leonora.
- From South Australia and the eastern states, you can reach the Goldfields via the Eyre Highway, entering the region at Norseman and taking the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway to Coolgardie.
- Alternatively, from Queensland and the Northern Territory, you can reach the Goldfields via the Outback Highway, entering the region at Laverton.
For those wishing to use carrier services, air and rail transport is available.
By Air
Offering daily flights between Perth and Kalgoorlie-Boulder are Qantas (Ph: 131 313) www.qantas.com.au and Virgin Australia (Ph: 1300 66 00 88 ) www.virginaustralia.com.au
Cobham Air (Ph: 08 9479 9700) www.cobham.com.au offers flights between Perth and Kambalda based on charter service seat availability.
By Rail
The Prospector (Ph: 13 10 53) www.transwa.wa.gov.au provides a daily rail service between Perth and Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
The Indian Pacific (Ph: 13 21 47) www.greatsouthernrail.com.au one of the world’s great train journeys operated by Great Southern Railways, travels between Perth and Sydney via Kalgoorlie several times each week.
When you arrive at Kalgoorlie Boulder, you can hire a vehicle for your Golden Quest Discovery Trail journey from one of a number of companies, including Hertz (08 9093 2211), Thrifty (08 9021 4722 or 13 12 86), Budget (08 9093 2300 or 1327 27). For maximum comfort on the unsealed section of the Trail, it is recommended to hire a four wheel drive vehicle.