West Coast 4x4 Wildflower Run

Been Bush Bashing again.

2010-10-16 Wilbinga

Link to Photos - Notice! - Not a cloud all day!

Took some of the guys from work for a run through the dunes and along the beach north of Two rocks. Beautiful day except for a few flies. Only one dugite along the way (which is good). Took Jilly as co-driver.

Jilly's turn to drive.

2010-10-10 Kadji

Been Camping.

Dwellingup Escape

What a relaxing getaway. Perfectly timed with weather clearing as we left home on Thursday about 10:00AM.

Only about 90 minutes to get to camp near the old POW site just out of Dwellingup. Quick setup and then a trip to town where we scoped out one of the local geocaches. Afternoon nap and then a bushwalk before taking the rail service track into town for dinner at the pub. Bloated, but satisfied we headed back to camp and churned through some TV episodes that we had recorded.

Friday was a local drive where we came across the Plavin Pit remains and the Fire Bombers Woodward Field airstrip where the aircraft refuel and refill with water in fire season. Had lunch at Scarp Pool,  although the lookout was probably the highlight with the wildflowers in bloom.

Scarp Pool

Parked at Scarp Lookout

A short afternoon walk and then a movie.

Overnight temperatures are FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 Hot water bottles, but by 3AM the pain sets in!

Silverado Crossing Yardie Creek at low tide

North by Northwest - Day 2

Ouch! That was a cold night. The hot water bottles had a workout.

Hard to get moving, but the allure of the Ningaloo coast was calling. Fuel stop in Mullewa after going around in circles around town for a bit.

Then it was up the Mullewa Carnarvon Road to Murchison Settlement for fuel. The roadhouse has been rebuilt and is quite swish now.

We had to let some air out of the tyres as there were a few corrugations in the gravel road and at 45psi these were amplified somewhat. The other problem was that with the dry conditions and the loose gravel it was like being on roller skates on a road covered in small marbles. Down to 30psi and all is well again.

We made our overnight campspot (Bilung Pool) by early afternoon and took some time to explore along the river in both directions. We found some excellent campsites, which we have recorded for future adventures.

The pool itself was more of a pond as there has been less rain there this year. Consequently there were fewer wedge-tailed eagles around.

A margarita for sundown and then a video in bed after dinner. Early start tomorrow as we head for Mooka to pick up some rocks.

North by Northwest - Day 1

We managed to get away about 09:30 which was pretty good considering the slow start to the morning. I've been on holidays for about a week, so no excuses for not being prepared.

First stop was the Bindoon Bakehouse (new and improved). It has moved about 50 metres down the road into a new purpose built facility. The scrumptuous goodies were as delicious as ever.

It was a relaxing and easy day of just under 400km with a fuel stop at Carnamah. That is the last place we could get LPG Autogas until Carnarvon because we are heading inland via Murchison Settlement.

Overnighted at beautiful Coalseam. About 3 weeks too early for the wildflowers around here. There were a few sprinklings of colour, but nothing yet to match last year.

We did manage to find some Easter Egg mud though.

A Perfect Day

Went for a bushwalk near Yanchep today. Fine & sunny.

Google Map of the walk - Highly recommended.

2010-06-19 Mandurah

Just chillin' out and relaxing. Didn't budge once we arrived. Click on the eggs for a few photos.

Next Trip - Mandurah Estuary 18-20 June 2010

A quick & dirty escape to Mandurah for a bit of R&R with our friends Moby & Sue.

Don't expect to get out and about too much; just kick back and relax with our fine friends, exotic canapés, some fine aperitifs (Margarita time baby), fine wine and a couple of Coopers.

All that stuff to be done back at home can wait.

Tragedy in Progress

This is a much bigger disaster than most people think.

2010-05-15 Rock Hopping Out East

Picasa Link

Rock Hopping - Homeward Bound

Well, what a freezing night. Clear skies so not unexpected. I think I have a chilblain on one of my fingers.

It was an early start as I had to be at work by 3:30PM. We took the scenic route home via Toodyay and encountered the RFDS fundraisers coming the other way on bicycles and pushing handcarts between Toodyay and Northam.

There was an insanely overwidth vehicle on the Great Northern highway near Muchea (7.5m). Fortunately we were only behind it for a few minutes before breaking off for the coast.

7.5 meters and heavy!

Home by 12:15PM; trailer unpacked and off to work in plenty of time.

A fantastic weekend of rock hopping. More photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/paddy0761/20100515RockHoppingOutEast?feat=directlink

Rock Hopping Day 3

Paddy slept in today – BIG TIME!

Finally out of a nice warm bed at 9:10AM the rush was on for a 10:00AM departure on today’s excursion. Packed lunch of broccoli soup and leftover salmon pasta from the night before.

First stop was Southern Cross. Forgot to pick up the newspaper (regretted that for the rest of the day as everywhere was sold out after that). Stopped at Yellowdine for hot chips (and no newspaper). We had a look over the local dam and did a drive-by of the old Station Master’s house.

From that point I was relying on memory to find the Gnamma Hole and Lone Grave on the Marvel Loch to Yellowdine Road. I was fairly sure they were close together and at least one of them was signposted. It turned out the grave was signposted (vaguely) and my memory kicked in as we approached the gnamma hole. We have just had the first rains of the season out here so the gnamma hole was dry. In a month or so it should be gurgling fresh water.

Duladgin Rock Gnamma Hole

We then went in search of Weowanie Rock; thought we’d found it, but hadn’t. It was a nice spot though and Paddy put on his best Jesus impersonation. Weowanie Rock soon turned up though and it is quite impressive. It is a very picturesque drive up to this point (if you like the outback Aussie landscape). We drove right across the top of the rock. There is a swimming hole on the rock and some other interesting formations.

Don't mess with the Jesus!

The track from Weowanie to Karalee is a lot less travelled and the Scratch-O-Meter (R) went into the red zone for quite a while. Eventually Karalee Dam was in sight. There was a beautiful couple of drake and duck by the dam. There is quite a bit of work going on at Karalee to improve the campground and associated facilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start charging for camping when it is all done.

Karalee Rock is amazing. It is huge and the engineering achievement of using it as a catchment more than 100 years ago is amazing. The vegetation on the rock itself is worth seeing. Beauty in such a harsh environment. Nature never ceases to amaze.

With a spare hour up our sleeves we ventured into the wilderness trying to find Mt Clara, but ran out of time and headed back to the highway. It was a cruisy drive home as we were behind a big rig (B double) whose rear trailer was pretty wobbly. I don’t know whether he was drunk, tired or just a crap driver, but there was no way I was going around him, so we just backed off and cruised along at 100km/h.

We made it back to camp at Moorine Rock at 4:00PM; in time to pack up the awning and the ablutions tent ready for an early departure – some of us still have to work you know!

Margaritas ready at 5:00PM and that’s a wrap.

Rock Hopping Day 2

After a very lazy morning we eventually ventured out into the icy wind. We had a good scramble all over Moorine Rock before heading back to camp for a movie and lunch.

Just lounging around at Moorine Rock

After lunch it was of for a scenic drive to Baladjie Rock via Police Rock and Caroling Rock. Baladjie Lake was about 50% covered with water so it was quite scenic from on top of the rock. Lots of quality camping sites here at Baladjie Rock.

Baladjie Rock

Lots of climbing here and the views were sensational. Plenty of 4WD tracks around here too.

Next we headed for the gold mining town of Westonia. Very tidy and quaint. Picked up a couple of lemons for this afternoon’s Margaritas.

Westonia

There was mine site blasting posted for 4:30PM so we thought we had better get out of town while the getting was good. We decided to backtrack a little and checkout Sandford Rock. We didn’t have the time or energy for the walk trail here, but will come back another time. It would be hard to better Baladjie though.

Took the back roads to camp and have finished this blog entry just in time for 5sies.

Rock Hopping

After a short sleep following the night shift we headed off for Moorine Rock; not the town, but the campsite.

Moorine Rock Campsite

We managed to catch up to the weather front that had passed through Perth that morning as we headed east. There was some quite heavy rain in it at times which made the journey a bit tenser than we would like.

There were a couple of 4.5metre heavy loads to get around. Having a UHF radio on channel 40 sure makes that easier. These guys are usually pretty helpful.

We managed to get about 30 minutes ahead of the leading edge of the front as we made camp; just enough time to get everything done before the rain hit.

It was a bit of a wild night (the weather cheeky), although the double Margarita did help.

5'sies

Le Toure de Femme - Forest Frolic

What a great day out this was. No dramas apart from our visitor vehicle getting a bit low on fuel, but that turned out OK; getting them to the petrol station just before empty.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny and mild. The off road section of the drive took about 2 hours and the girls performed admirably. There were a few butterflies on one of the hill descents, but apart from that, it was just a nice relaxing drive through our native bushland.

Here is a link to a plot of the trip: Google Map Plot.

The girls hopped out at the Ghost House and walked back to the barbecue spot by Lake Loch McNess while the boys made a (bit too) leisurely drive there. As it turned out we all arrived there together.

The Ladies in the distance on the walk trail

It was a very relaxing BBQ with some cheesecake and chocolate mud cake for desert. It must have been nearly 6PM by the time we headed home.

Next Trip - Le Toure de Femme

Doris is leading the West Coast 4x4 girls on a Forest Frolic on Sunday 2nd May.

Should be interesting.
http://www.westcoast4x4.com.au/trips/?Year=2010#Trip572

When It's Over, It's Over

Having a few problems with the trailer battery – I think it may be on the way out. The solar regulator was beeping at us all night, even though there was no load on the battery. Sigh!


We left Ravenswood at 09:00AM hoping to avoid the freeway traffic. This worked out pretty well and we were home just after 10:00AM.

Spent the day washing, cleaning, and sourcing and replacing bolts for the bash plates on the Silverado. Then rotated through another spare tyre to sideline "El-Slasho".

All done. Holiday over.

Beer-O’clock.

Homeward Bound

We departed Parrys about 0930 after a restless night. Lost another bolt from the bash plates enroute, so some work to do when we get home.

Took the Quinninup diversion around Manjimup and stopped at St Thomas’ Anglican Church circa 1865. More back roads and beautiful scenery and some great farm machinery relics.

Stopped to pray the bash plates don't fall off

Destination was originally Brunswick Junction, but decided to press on to Ravenswood by the Murray River between Mandurah and Pinjarra. Camped by the river and Paddy made lots of new friends.

Paddy and his new friends

Pretty hot tonight- time for some more “Coupling” on the last of our battery power. Had a beer at the pub and Margaritas at sundown.

Only one hour from home so planning on a 0900 departure to miss the traffic.

The End is Nigh

Took the lovely Doris to Albany for a hair appointment while I wandered around aimlessly amusing myself looking for an internet cafe. In the end, I gave up and went for a drive. It was the Ulysses Club AGM that day - motorcycles and sidecars everywhere.

Picked up my "new" wife and then a light lunch. After lunch we stopped by Middleton Beach for a walk along the boardwalk. Stopped at Dog Rock for the obligatory photo – HORROR! They have painted a collar around the base of the rock (for the dummies).

Dog Rock, Albany

On the way back to camp we stopped at Denmark for LPG where the driveway attendant (yes it is a full service garage) left the cap off the filler, so we had to go back and get a replacement.

Stopped at Green Pool for a walk along the beach and then took a firebreak trail in the SIlverado looking for beach access (to no avail). It would be so much quicker back to Parrys via Mazzoletti Beach with the inlet being cut off, but alas we had to go via the black-top.

Called in at the toffee place for some goodies on the way home.

Aired down when we arrived at Parrys to drive the length of Mazzoletti Beach. It gets pretty soft and narrow as you get closer to William Bay. We chickened out and turned around as we had no back-up in the event we became bogged.

We have decided to leave tomorrow and head to Bunbury to pick up a couple of bolts for the under body bash plates. I noticed they were missing when airing up the front tyres. Looks like we lost them on the beach this arvo.

We have packed away the awning, ground sheets and shower/toilet tent so should be a fairly quick getaway in the morning. I have tied-up the front bash plates as best I can with what I have; so hopefully we will make the 4 hour trip to Bunbury without incident.

Marron, Lamb & Redback Spiders

Lazy start today – (intentionally) forgot to pack lunch.

Off to Peaceful Bay for some 4x4 action around Point Irwin. Included Soft Beach, Groper Point, Kingi Rock, Castle Rock, Diamond Rock and The Gap.

Point Irwin

Diamond Rock, Pt Irwin

Stopped at Old Kent River Winery for a luncheon feast of marron & lamb. Dessert was exceptional. The French waiter has his eye on Doris, I think. He might end up as marron food.

Mmmm-arron

Staggered back to camp for a nap then a 1 hour beach walk along Mazzoletti Beach.

Started heating water for showers only to run out of gas – quick 50km return journey to Denmark for replacement gas bottle arriving back right on dark. I think we got the last gas bottle on offer. It came with a free red back spider the size of a small watermelon; but on the bright side - I got to buy some bright ales!

Mr Bean Runs Out of Beer

Today started with an embarrassing Mr Bean moment in the toilet cubicle. Took my own roll of paper, as usual, and sat there fiddling with the roll. Just as the moment of need approached, I dropped the roll (holding the end sheet) and the roll rolled (as you would expect) out of the cubicle under the door. Fortunately, there was only one other person around, but it must have looked pretty funny.

Off to Denmark for supplies – fuel, food, bait etc. FORGOT TO GET BEER! Went fishing at Eagles Nest (without beer = no fish). It was very relaxing regardless. The beach was pretty soft though – 13psi and still fairly heavy going. The track out there was a bit softer than last year as well. Kangaroo Valley only produced a single sighting, although their tracks were everywhere. No snakes today. Yippee!

Chillin' at Eagle's Nest - our private beach

Doris had noticed one of the tyres had a gash in the sidewall while we were airing down so a wheel change was required when we got back to camp. Now we are reliant on a suspect spare for the rest of the trip – fingers crossed.

S#!t Happens

5’sies was at 4:30 as it was a big day. Margaritas to start and then some wine (STILL NO BEER).

A sunset walk along Mazzoletti Beach to see what the anglers weren’t catching. It is hard as a rock, so will try a drive along it tomorrow maybe; seeing as the inlet is cut.

Garlic prawns for dinner and then some “Coupling” – the TV show – you’ve got a dirty mind!

Not sure there is anywhere I'd rather be

Silverado to the Rescue!!!

An interesting day – 4x4 trek through the Quarram Nature Reserve visiting Boat Harbour, Little Quarram, Middle Quarram & Big Quarram beaches & finally a spectacular view from Rope Hill. The Dune crossing was a bit tricky on the way back as there was an off-camber turn halfway up the hill. I wouldn't recommend going out there without a second vehicle. It is pretty remote and there is the potential for difficulty with the dune crossing on the way out.

The start of the dune crossing to Big Quarram

(there's a nasty off-camber turn at the bottom of this first hill)

We came across some nice (but clueless) yanks that had gotten themselves in some fair degree of difficulty having fallen off the track in the middle of nowhere; they were pretty lucky we came along as it is not a very well travelled track and they could have been out there for some time. As it was, they were already stuck there for a couple of hours when we came to the rescue. A bit of 4by recovery practice for us anyway and they were very grateful. They had absolutely no recovery gear – not even a compressor. We didn't see another vehicle all day out in the reserve.

The Rescue in Progress

There was some spectacular scenery on this trek and we even encountered another deadly reptile – a dugite this time. I couldn’t stop in time so I ran him over, but it was on a soft sandy track and he slithered off, so I think he will survive OK. He does look a bit "flat" in the middle though.

Dugite with a bit of a flat-spot

Rope Hill

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

A Bridge Too Far

The weather turned a bit sour tday. No rain, but cloudy & blustery. We decided to go to Ducketts (on Scotsdale Rd) for lunch. A big cheese platter with some local wine.

After lunch we drove a section of the Nornalup to Denmark Heritage Trail until we went a bridge too far. Some expert reversing required which nicely unwound some transmission wind-up accumulated over the last few days.

A Bridge Too Far

Returned to Parry Beach for a nap and then an hour walk to Pt Hillier and surrounds where Doris tried to step on a tiger snake – always a bad idea.

Back in time for 5sies relaxing under our shiny new awning.
Still stuffed from lunch, but managed a light dinner after a hot shower in our own personal ablutions block.

Movie time - some steamy, foreign thing we recorded before we left home. Wink, Wink.

Tiger Snakes and Blowholes

We reluctantly departed the opulent facilities at Ocean Beach for the more austere facilities at Parry Beach. As usual, the "Camp Full" sign was out, but we drove in and found a spot pretty quickly. It did involve some tight reversing, dodging the peppermint trees.

Campsite at Parry Beach

Parrys is a great campsite. It is on the Bibbulmun Track and can accommodate large rigs. There are solar heated showers, flushing toilets, and fresh water suitable for showering (not potable without boiling). The canopy provided by the peppermint trees provides fantastic shade and you are only one row of dunes behind Mazzoletti Beach.

On arrival, one of the other campers informed us that we had a tiger snake for company that was resident in the scrub beside our campsite (probably why it was vacant). Not to worry - I have an angry shovel.

We headed into Albany after setting up camp so Doris could make a hair appointment for the following week - a bit of pampering in the midst of camping. We stopped at the Brig Amity for lunch and then headed for the Torndirrup Peninsula to visit The Gap, The Natural Bridge, The Blowholes, Stony Hill and the Salmon Holes before heading back to Parrys.

The Natural Bridge, Albany

Pretty stuffed by the end of the day, so a couple of episodes of Coupling then off to bed.

The Holiday Picks Up Steam

We departed Shannon and left those wretched march flies behind. It was such a shame as the campground and general area is fantastic. We just happened to be there in that few weeks where a plague occurred. Such is life.

It was an easy 2 hour drive to Ocean Beach Caravan Park in Denmark. What a fantastic facility. New ablutions block including new laundry equipment, nice shady sites and the best fed kangaroos around. Some of the bucks were enormous. Kookaburras all over the place. At $30 per night for the two of us, it was at the rich end of the scale, but well worth the $$$.

Ocean Beach Caravan Park

We stayed there to take the opportunity to have 240V power and charge everything up as well as have a nice hot shower and do some washing.

I spotted a sandy track near the caravan park and we decided to investigate. It wasn't signposted at all, but lead us to a timber stairway which descended to a beach we later identified as Back Beach. The stairway seems to be unmaintained. Perhaps this was originally meant to be on the Bibbulmun Track, but has been bypassed? Not sure, but it is a lovely beach not far from lights Beach.

Back Beach

We went for a twilight stroll around Wilson Inlet which turned into a bit of a mission. We ended up walking a lot further than we intended and made it back to the trailer just after dark. We did get to witness seagulls sourcing food naturally in shallow pools at the inlet. They do a bizarre kind of tap dance, I assume to get small crabs to surface, so they can grab them. I'm just used to seeing these flying rats begging for food, so it painted them in a different light to see them hunting for food in the natuarl way.

Margaritas as usual and watched some videos. Moving on to Parry Beach tomorrow.

Windy Harbour

Farewell to our friends from West Coast 4x4 Club as they head back to drudgery. We've got a holiday to enjoy.

Staying one more night in Fly City at Shannon to spend some time with our friends Anne & David, before continuing south to the coast.

We escorted Anne & David to Windy Harbour as they had not been to Point D'Entrecasteaux before. I think they were pretty impressed. It is really worth a look and is accessible by sealed road all the way.

Pt D'Entrecasteaux

On the way back we stopped at a local park in Northcliffe beside the old rail line for picnic lunch.

We weren't feeling much like returning to the dreaded march flies just yet, so we took a small diversion to the old mill town of Quinninup and had a cold drink at the tavern before heading back to Shannon for an early night.

Heartbreak or Hidden River?

Heartbreak Crossing - Warren River

A pretty cruisy day today. The 4x4 Club started out as a group for the Heartbreak Trail. A few of us decided that we had enough bouncing around the day before, so we made sure everyone was safely on the other side of Heartbreak Crossing and then our splinter group headed to Hidden River Winery  for a delectable lunch.

Hidden River Wines

Headed back to Shannon after a long lunch and enjoyed a sultry nana-nap.

Margaritas and canapés with the usual suspects that night.

Summertime Track to Warren River Mouth

West Coast 4x4 Club Inc. trip to the Warren River mouth. A quick stop at Northcliffe for their famous pies. A great day out with a couple of hours spent at the estuary before heading back. Callcup Hill was obstructed by a 100 series being recovered so most of us turned around and returned the way we came.

Paddy crossing Meerup River

The weather was magnificent and NO MARCH FLIES!

I had fitted the old awning off the camper trailer to the Silverado and this was its big test - worked a treat.

March Fly Mash!

Never in my life have I seen them like this. I killed 212 in 40 minutes, swatting up to 4 at a time.

Welcome to Shannon National Park - Fly City (at least it was while we were there).

This was the designated campsite for West Coast 4x4 Club Inc's Pemberton Trip.

We arrived at 8:30AM catching the Slaters in their PJs. We wanted to avoid the heat of the day so we left Bridgetown fairly early. After killing a few million March flies, the four of us went for a 25km forest drive.

Shannon Dam

We swatted away the rest of the afternoon waiting for the rest of the Club members to arrive.

Off We Go!

I never use the handbrake on the camper; they're not that good. So when I picked it up from the repair shop with our fancy new Fiamma F45 awning fitted, I hitched up without checking the handbrake.

It was a bit of a struggle on the way home, but the trailer had already been fully loaded for the trip. It was also about 40 degrees Celsius so I put the vehicle struggling a bit down to this.

It wasn't until I arrived home and opened the car door that I could smell the burning brakes on the trailer. Oops!

Time to top the water tanks up and finish getting ready. We didn't drain the tanks after the last trip (mustn’t waste all that water). Shame about all the algae in the water lines. Oops! Again.

A trip down to the caravan shop for new hoses and a complete replumb of the trailer and flushing of the tanks. 2 hours lost.

When we finally got going it was 42 degrees and the Silverado was not happy towing the trailer. We had to keep giving the air conditioning a rest to keep the engine temperature in the safe zone.

We made Bridgetown by dark. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Next Trip - Pemberton, Denmark, Walpole area.

I have decided to keep a blog/diary of our adventures from this point on. Previous excursions can be found at our Picasa Gallery.

2 weeks of rest and relaxation coming up; just what the doctor ordered.

The long weekend based at Shannon National Park with the good folks of West Coast 4x4 Club then off to Parry Beach.

We had plenty of fun last time around, so as long as the weather is kind, it should be great.

We'll update in a couple of weeks when we return.

On the way to Rame Head, Feb 2009