As a gold prospector, Nathan Ridout has driven his fair share of outback roads. He frequently sees wildlife along the long stretches of dusty roads, but a recent “strange” sighting quite literally brought him to a halt.
Nathan was driving home to Perth after spending a week hunting for gold at Yundamindra, an abandoned goldfields townsite about 850km to the city’s northeast.
Within an hour of his journey, he spotted something unusual on the side of the road near the town of Kookynie – another “old ghost town” that was once popular during the gold rush.
“As I got closer I was looking and going, that’s not a cow. What the hell is that?” Nathan told Yahoo News.
“I was very surprised to see a miniature horse.”
Nathan splits his time between working as a lawyer in Perth, and gold prospecting with his family. Source: Nathan Ridout/Facebook/GoldGecko
On both sides of the road, searching for grass among the red dirt, were eight ponies – including a little foal.
“I know there’s a few wild stallions and stuff in the area, like big horses, but I didn’t know anything about the small ones,” Nathan said.
He added he commonly sees emus, donkeys and wild dogs, but ponies are a first. The animals are believed to belong to a nearby station.
Once-thriving ‘ghost town’ now has population of 13
In its heyday in around 1907, Kookynie had a population of 3,500 and a bustling town centre.
There were 11 hotels, newsagents, chemists, butchers, bakers, banks, clothing stores, a school, a hospital, a police station and more.
After serious flooding closed the town’s main mine, the population began to decline. Now, there are just 13 permanent residents and a pub open to travellers.
Kookynie’s resident horse, which is often seen outside the town’s Grand Hotel pub. Source: Nathan Ridout/Facebook/GoldGecko
Outside the pub – the Grand Hotel – a resident horse greets visitors.
“He literally stands right next to the petrol bowser and people feed him carrots and apples,” Nathan said.
“It’s a bit of a quirky town.”
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