Marble Bar, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Airing Date: Feb 2nd, 2004
Marble Bar is hot! This place was hailed the hottest town in Australia following a heat wave in 1905. Temperatures soared to over 49 degrees, and today they still average around 41 degrees in summer. So if you decide to visit this dusty old town, the best time is during spring or winter when the heat isn't so stifling.
Marble Bar is a stereotypical Aussie outback town, with century-old buildings battling the oppressive elements, a desert landscape that stretches endlessly and a colourful outback pub that's been serving cold beers for more than 110 years.
Things were quite different about a century back. Marble Bar once had a population of more than 5000, after gold was found here in 1891. Comet Gold Mine was where miners struck it big with over 65 million dollars of gold extracted in the 1940s.
You can learn all about the mine's history by joining a full guided tour for just $13. The tour goes through parts of the mine by torchlight and visits the museum which sells various souvenirs made from the mine's rock.
On the way back to town it's worth a stop at Coogan River, an oasis in the middle of nowhere. Here you'll find jasper rocks that reveal amazing patterns on them when splashed with water. Those who discovered the town were fascinated with these jasper rocks, and mistakenly thinking they were marble, they christened the township Marble Bar.
A local secret is to head to Chinaman's Pool at sunrise or sunset. Just five kilometres outside town, it's the stomping ground for dozens of birds. Pelicans, Cormorants and White Cockatoos all flock here, signalling the start and the end of another hot day in Marble Bar.
The facts:
Qantas and QantasLink fly to Port Hedland every day. Prices start at $878 from Sydney and $478 from Perth.
Qantas
Tel: 13 13 13
Double rooms at the Marble Bar Traveller's Stop start from $104 a night with breakfast.
Marble Bar Traveller's Stop
Tel: 08 9176 1166
The Comet Gold Mine tour
Tel: 08 9176 1015
