Pinjarra - Dwellingup

When we left Perth we decided to head south via some of the inland, rather than coastal, towns as there were a couple of places that sounded interesting. First stop was Pinjarra, where the Edenvale Homestead is an historic site. The Homestead was built in 1888. It was the home of Sir Ross McLarty, a Premier of WA, but that wasn't why we went there. If you haven't figured it out yet, I really like heritage buildings and this looked like a nice place to stop and explore. The Homestead has tea rooms (which we didn't visit), a machinery museum, art and craft shop and gallery (which we did visit). The one thing that stood out for me was the height of the ceilings in the house. I think they must have been around 12'!

Greg wants to build a barn like this at home. It's the machinery museum

Rory loved the well. Thank goodness it was covered

The kids played at the playground on the banks of the Murray River, which was very picturesque every time we saw it, and I had a brief chance to walk through the heritage rose garden. There was also an old church, complete with gravestones of pioneers, a suspension foot bridge and a lovely timber bridge over the river but it was very hot and we had no sunscreen, so we didn't stop long.

 

This is bridge no 5 for this spot. It's been washed out in floods a number of times now

The roses were beautifully perfumed

From Pinjarra we headed to Dwellingup, as this too sounded like a nice town to visit, based on the tourist information guides. We also planned to free camp at the Dwellingup Townsite Camp in the state forest. It was a pretty good free camp. The road in had been recently graded, so it was less bumpy than some bitumen roads we've been on, and the surrounding forest was a lovely backdrop. There were a few other people camping there too.

The drive in, showing the forest we camped in

It is a short drive through the State Forest to a Prisoner of War Camp, so we went to check it out. One of the things I am learning on this trip is that there is so much history to do with the war in Australia, from sites on the west coast that were bombed to the downed Catalina's at Broome to a number of POW sites. It was Marrinup POW No 16 Camp and was home to both Italian and German prisoners of war. Over 3500 Italian POW passed through this camp site to other camps or unguarded farm work after Italy's surrender in 1943. 300 German prisoners were held in this camp, working as woodcutters. They arrived after the Italians had constructed the camp. They were professional soldiers who had  served in the Luftwaffe, Arika Corp and some of them had been on the Kormoran which sank the HMAS Sydney. They were considered dangerous to our country's security. There are building remnants and walking trails to check it all out. I found it hard to get my head around the fact they caught these POW overseas and then shipped them back to Australia, to this patch of bush inland in WA and put them to work cutting timber and keeping them from escaping.

We visited to Forest Heritage Centre, which was interesting. We didn't pay to do the walk or anything, partly because we didn't want to pay to walk through a forest but mostly because it was almost closing time and we wouldn't have had  time to enjoy it, so we just checked out the shop. There were a lot of interesting timber products for sale, and other felted, glass and ceramic products made by local artists. The lady working there took us through to where a gentleman makes rocking horses and showed us some in progress, including the spray booth where he paints some of the finished ones. She was very nice, great with the kids and full of lots of information.

We drove to Lane Pool National Park. This is a beautiful place where you can camp. It was so busy some of the campsites were full. The Murray River runs through the National Park and it would have been pretty awesome to put the canoe in and paddle up or down it to explore, but there was a distinct lack of interest from everyone. Greg and I did discuss staying an extra day and doing that the following day, but in the end we moved on. I am envious of the people who live here and get to go camping in such a beautiful location, but in all honesty, I'd have probably hated it on the Saturday we drove through as it was so busy I don't think it would have been all that enjoyable.

We had a rather bizarre experience at the Dwellingup IGA. On the counter they had the 2017 Rescue Dogs calendar for sale and on the front of it was a picture of a dog that was the spitting image of Millie. Given that she was a cross breed we got from the pound in 2000, it was very weird to see almost the exact same dog (down to a red collar) on the front of a 2017 calendar in WA.

Before leaving the next morning Greg went riding one of the mountain bike trails in the State Forest. He enjoyed it and took Tilda with him while Rory and I rode a small trail just near  the free camp site. Rory had a blast! You couldn't keep the smile off this face and we went down the track and back up the road to start again about 10 times. There was a little jump and a small rocky patch which were perfect for his balance bike, (Mountain biking on a balance bike sounds so funny!)


I am really glad we drove the inland route rather than the coastal highway as it was a very pretty country drive through rolling green hills, with cows and pasture and sheep and all sorts of lovely green spaces. It was definitely worth seeing not just the towns of Pinjarra and Dwellingup, but also those further south as we headed to Busselton.

Longreach Waterhole, Elliot

We had a wonderful three days at Longreach Waterhole at Elliot. It is a free camp around the edge of the water. There were quite a lot of vans there but the body of water is so large you can spread out and not be settled on top of your neighbours. We found a wonderful spot; nice and shady, secluded and overlooking the water about 15m from the water. It was possible to get closer to the water at some sites but the land was quite sloping so it would have been impossible to get the van level. That didn't seem to bother some people but it sure does bother Greg.

 View from our campsite

The water is a milky white-grey due to clay particles suspended in the water. It is a bird paradise so I am guessing the water is full of bird poo too. We didn't swim but we did canoe and the kids played in the edge of the water in the lovey grey mud.  When the wind stopped (and it really wasn't very windy at all) the water was glassy and canoeing on it was just beautiful.

It is the type of place where you sit and do nothing but watch the birds and time passes and it is so relaxing you lose track of time and days. We left, partly to get on the road again and partly because we were running out of water. It is taking us some time to get used to how hot it is now and how much water we need to keep up with our needs. Prior to our trip home, we had had a lot of cooler weather so we didn't go through as much water as we now need to.

We saw about 20 water birds and around 5-10 other birds. One of our best investments has been a Field Guide to Australian Birds that we bought for Tilda. She (and us) spent quite a bit of time watching the birds and trying to identify them.

We saw Whistling Kite (lots of these), Pelicans (probably 50 or more), hundreds of Little Black Cormorants and Pied Black Cormorants (in the hundreds), Caspian Terns, Magpie Geese, unidentified ducks, Strawnecked Ibis, Australian White Ibis, a Stilt of some type, Egret (we were never quite sure if it was an Intermediate Egret or an Eastern Great), plus others I have now forgotten. On land there were Galahs, Rainbow Beecatchers, a little bird that never stopped moving long enough to identify and more.

My favourite was the Rainbow Beecatcher. It is so beautifully coloured and as it flies overhead you see it's jewel coloured green body with coppery-bronze wings. It is amazing just how colourful and beautiful it is.

(photo found on pinterest as I couldn't download mine)

I found three days there just the perfect length of time but I could imagine staying longer. Finding a water oasis in the middle of such a dry space was wonderful and it is hard to imagine it there in the middle of all the dry scrub.

On the road again....

It was really weird to get back to our caravan in Alice Springs after being in a real house, although probably too small for 2 grandparents and the four of us, especially as our kids are b.u.s.y. and n.o.i.s.y. I think everyone had mixed feelings, although we were all happy to be back in the van and get ready to hit the road north again. Tilda and I had both enjoyed our time with friends so much it reminded us how much we miss them while on the road, but I know all of the adventures that await and I am really excited at the opportunity to see Kakadu, Katherine, Darwin and WA. Tilda not so much, although she is learning to look for the fun in things even if she is sad to be away from home and friends again.

The weather has been wonderful since we got back... blue skies, sun and shorts and t-shirt weather. It is actually taking a bit of adjusting to being so hot! Sorry my friends back home....

We had a great overnight free camp on our first night out of Alice Springs. It's at a WWII memorial site north of Barrow Creek. It's a large area, 1km off the highway and there were only 3 other vans there so it was quiet and peaceful and beautiful. It's the first free camp we've done since March where it didn't rain (yippee!!) so that was a pleasant experience for us.

 Our view from our caravan

 The creek near our van. This is what most creeks look like between Alice and Tennant Creek

An artistic attempt to capture the red soil and the blue sky, complete with moon

 Sunset (the red was much deeper than this photo shows)

We stopped at Wycliffe Wells because 1 - it has the cheapest fuel in this neck of the woods and 2 - they've set themselves up as the UFO Centre of Australia. There is all sorts of UFO paraphernalia, complete with a drain in the floor with an alien looking up through it, newspaper articles of UFO and alien sitings and of course, UFO souveniers. I figure good luck to them for having a go at making a good tourist attraction (other than cheap fuel) so of course we had to stop and buy some things. The kids loved it, especially Rory, although at bed time he didn't want to wear his astronaut PJs because he doesn't want to be an astronaut and see and alien, funny boy!

We also stopped at the Devils Marbles. These are a really amazing geological formation. I can't believe how round so many of the rocks are, or how they just perch atop each other, although they obviously fall over as there are quite a lot lying on the ground. I always thought it was just a couple of lots of one or two round rocks balanced on top of each other so I was quite surprised at how extensive the rock field extends. You can camp there for a small fee and I can see why people would, as they would look incredible at sunset when the rocks became a much deeper red, but it wasn't that far from our overnighter and we didn't want to stay.

 

One of the things that has surprised me is how little wildlife we have seen since we hit the NT. Today we saw quite a bit of cow roadkill but we really haven't seen native animals, as road kill or in the wild, except for a dingo on our way to Uluru, a mangy dingo crossbreed at Kings Canyon caravan park and a wallaby in Kings Canyon. There may have been one other roo siting but that would be it. There are a lot of wedgetail eagles and other birds of prey circling near the roads. I honestly thought we would have seen more.

Kings Canyon

My first thoughts about Kings Canyon are that you are totally held to ransom on the prices of things and if you are not going to do the Rim Walk, then I seriously doubt it is worth the cost to get there or stay there. Having said that, I do think the Rim Walk makes the cost worthwhile.

On the way to Kings Canyon we did an overnighter at the free camp at Curtin Springs. This is a great little spot and they provide flushing toilets for free and hot showers for $3. You can have fires there, although we didn't. They have bird aviaries showing off native birds such as Princess Parrots, Australian Ringnecks, King Quail, Cockatiels and quite a few more. The kids enjoyed the birds. Of course, as we were free camping, it rained but fortunately not a lot. Curtin Springs generate their own power and water, which is pretty common for most of the roadhouses between Port Augusta and Alice Srings. I was quite shocked to see 600mL coke for $5.70... but then I don't need it, or want it, at that price.

The caravan park at Kings Canyon  Resort was $60 for our family (Rory didn't count). For this you get power, water, showers, toilets and an OK playground and pool. It doesn't have the amazing facilities of many less expensive caravan parks, but I realise there is a big difference. At Kings Canyon they have to generate their own power and provide their own water, which the less remote caravan parks don't need to do. They do this at Yalara as well, and there is a notable price difference between the two. On first arriving, you can see where your money is spent as the reception area is as stylish and elegant as any 5 star hotel in Sydney, but this doesn't flow through to the caravan part of the Resort. I am still reeling from the 1L cordial bottle being $11.65! I seriously doubt it costs around $8 per bottle to get it transported there, but perhaps I am wrong.

The Kings Canyon Floor Walk is nice enough, but perhaps it was spoilt slightly by us having just spent the time at Uluru and the Olgas, as I didn't think it was any more spectacular than parts of the Blue Mountains, or some of the other gorges throughout NSW and QLD that I have seen. Rory was being Mr Independent and trying to do everything the "big kids" were doing, so he required close supervision which also meant that I didn't get to really enjoy the Floor Walk. The end of the walk was closed as a whopping great boulder had recently fallen onto the viewing platform and broken some of the track, which is kinda scary to think about as there is no real reason why that couldn't happen while we were there.

 The start of both Floor and Rim walk

A dry creek bed (these were so much fun for the kids)

The end of the walk was closed as a boulder had crashed down into the path and viewing platform

 This pool was a beautiful place of calm and cool

Having said that about the Floor Walk, I have to say that for me, the Rim Walk made the extra travel and the cost of camping worthwhile. To start the Rim Walk there is a 100m climb up natural steps, and Rory actually did the climb himself! It was a huge effort from him and I was so impressed. Tilda did it easily, and thoroughly enjoyed it as she was climbing with Willow and Sakari. I impressed myself by getting up it too, but I did it at Rory pace so it wasn't too hard.

The views from the Rim are lovely. There are different views in each direction, some along the range, some out over a flat arid plain. On top of the Rim, the rock formation are amazing. They are made of two different types of sandstone, which erodes to form cones of rock of all different heights and sizes. The walk takes  you close to the edge at times. It is tempting to walk to the very edge for a look at the long drop down, but as I've gotten older, I've also gotten more anxious and full of "what ifs" and worse case scenarios. Having seen the boulder the day before that crashed to the canyon floor only in the past few weeks, I was too scared to get too close to the edge. Still, in the places where you kind of could get close, it was thrilling and breathtaking  to look down at the floor below. We had Rory in the hiking backpack so I didn't have to worry about him, and Greg did the hard yards lugging him all the way.

 Greg trying to scare me... he's right on the edge of a cliff (kind of)

About half way through the walk you hike down a series of steep stairs that take you down to The Garden of Eden. This beautiful oasis in the centre of the gorge is definitely worth the walk. There is a creek and at the end a deeper pool, which we didn't see. The creek was still when we were there, and prefectly reflected the surrounding trees and gorge walls. I can see why it has been called the Garden of Eden. There is a short walk to the pool before you begin the climb back up the stairs, but we didn't do that as some of our group had begun the climb up the stairs before I read the sign. I do regret it, as I would have liked to see it, and at the price of Kings Canyon Resort I don't think I will go back. But, as I am learning on this journey, we can't do everything we would like to and we have to pick and choose the ones we can do.

A couple of extra photos of the top of the Rim Walk

 

 There's obviously been a massive rock fall off the side of this cliff in the recent past

 A little gecko friend we found

One of the best things about the past 2 or so weeks has been travelling with our friends. The kids all get on very well and play together so nicely, and doing long walks (the Ri Walk is 6km) with friends makes the time go quickly and the kids don't whinge or complain. Travelling with friends certainly makes the journey so much more enriching and we will miss them when we go our separate ways.