Friday 3rd May

Well we finally got away today, about three days behind schedule. Not really a problem and, in fact ultimately useful. We have had a dryish summer and we hadn’t cleaned the pipes from the roof to the water tanks, which means we couldn’t put the caps on to start topping up when the next lot of rain came. Then we had 40mm in two days, which did the job and the tanks could star to fill!

As well as a later start we also had to head south first, this, of course, is unheard of for us as we are usually headed for warmer climes. However, we have three lots of friends ‘down south’ who we wanted to see before setting out.

Although it is only about 250-300 ks further south it doesn’t take long for additional duvets to be unpacked and added to the bed!!

Our first stop was Busselton where we stayed at the Lawn Farm, an area that has no power or water but where we can camp, for a reasonable amount, on good sized sites.

Saturday 4th May

Today we caught up with our friends John and Phyllis who we first met over a year ago up on the de Grey river, we enjoyed each others company and have kept in touch. At some point in time our tracks will cross and we hope we will be able to travel together for a while.

They provided morning tea and a lovely roast lunch. We discussed lots of potential camp spots. John and Phyllis are very experienced outback dwellers and travellers and we love listening to their experiences. We try to make a heap of mental notes of the places they suggested. Fortunately, they write about their travels, as we do, so a lot of information is in the travel notes.

Sunday 5th May

Some damage had occurred to one of the drawers in the carvan so most of today was picking up repair materials at Bunnings and fixing the drawer.

We’ve had to re-arrange the next few days for various reasons and will head for Mt Barker tomorrow with the caravan in tow.

Monday 6th May

We had an earlyish start this morning, the route to Mt Barker takes us through the forests for about 300 ks. The trees are mostly Jarrah or Karri (magnificently tall, smooth barked, and up to 35m high).

It was quite misty and wet on the road ……. the sun doesn’t always shine here ……………

To the north of here there are three of these Karri trees that were used as fire lookouts.

About halfway to Mt Barker we got a text to say that one of our friends was feeling a bit crook and would not be able to meet us for lunch! We decided that we would have lunch as planned. We went to West Cape Howe winery, where we had the place to ourselves and we had a very good tasting session including a couple of wines that are not often available to the public! The luch was most acceptable and we enjoyed a glass of cabernet merlot with it.

After lunch we had to find somewhere to camp for a couple of nights. Pat found a couple of options at Kendenup, an historic village a few ks up the road from Mt Barker. We had a look at one that looked OK and thought we’d check out the alternative but in spite of having a good look round we couldn’t find it! So we returned to the first one, a nice little site by the local Agricultural Pavillion, which is very well utilised by, amongst others, the cricket and bridge clubs and senior keep fit classes (we didn’t attend!).

Having got settled in we talked to our friends and re-arranged the schedule, Albany tomorrow and Mt Barker on Wednesday.

This is a pleasant little campsite, there are three / four other vans here including another Bushtracker, they’re all pretty quiet. The wind is quite cold but it is pleasant in the sun.

Tuesday 7th May

Today we made the easy trip down to Albany to visit our good friends Ron and Zoe.

We had our favourite chinese teas for morning tea, a lovely lunch and jolly good natter! Sadly, all too soon it was time to set off back to camp.

Wednesday 8th May

It’s off to Mt Barker today, our friend Barry had recovered well enough to come out for lunch and was in almost his usual good form. Lunch was in a local cafe frequented by Barry and Carol and we were well fed. We covered an awful lot of ground in a short space of time, more good camping spots and technical updates. Unfortunately more medical appointments were imminent so we had to say goodbye far too soon.

Sadly too, we won’t be able to meet with them in the bush this year as we will be back just after they leave but there’s always next year.

Thursday 9th May

Moved on today, heading north and seeking some warmth but also trying to avoid the rain that is forecast for the Perth area and a bit to the east. Filled up a water tank before we left and had a leisurely run up the Great Southern Hwy, which isn’t a bad road, not a lot of traffic, if a bit uneven in places.

Pulled over at Highbury and looked at a potential night stop but decided it was OK for lunch but certainly not a night stop. Refuelled at Wagin and and then found a good free camp at Yornaning Dam, one of the many dams constructed in the 50s to provide water for the steam engines on the grain and mineral rail duty. We explored the area keeping to the walking trails.

This is apparently a popular place in the summer for the locals and there is a good kiddies playground, gas bbqs and drop toilets that have all been recently renewed. There were only 3 vehicles here at this time so it wasn’t exactly crowded.

Friday 10th May

Another fairly leisurely 250ks today, stopped in Narrogin to try and find a necessary cable, the JayCar shop manager was uninterested and unhelpful to the point of belligerent.

Next stop Northam for another try for the cable, more interest but unable to help however ,advised to try an office equipment store. The guy there knew exactly what I needed and even had one, terrific.

On to lunch and a very nice take-way coffee to have afterwards.

A short run found us back at another of our often frequented camping spots, Lake Ninan, a few ks outside Wongan Hills. There is not much water in the lake, Pat thinks that this is the lowest we’ve seen it.

The scenery is always pleasant here and the sunsets can be absolutely stunning, as those of you who have looked at blog will know.

We’ve decided to stay here until Monday and have a lazy weekend. There are no other caravans here and only a few locals dropping by for a walk or a quick drive on the salt – hope they wash it off when they get home!

Saturday was a very nice sunny day, Roger was busy sorting out a small water leak in caravan system which is more annoying than worrying because the pump kicks in very briefy every so often. Sunday was a little overcast and the wind was quite a bit nippy, nevetheless a good relaxing day.

Monday 13th May

Into Wongon Hills this morning for shopping, filling up the water tanks and fuel tank. Tried to find someone to fix the TV, that stopped working last night, but without success!

Eventually we left around 1100 and set out east to Koorda, Bencubbin and then Mukinbudin, where we will probably stop tonight. It is a rather long way round by the sealed surface but in our usual manner we took the direct route which is a longish straight piece of dirt which, for the most part, is much better than the tar!

We stopped for lunch at Lake McDermott, which is a very nice quiet spot , about a km off the road, but sadly no water in the lake at the moment. The rain was very patchy out here in the wheatbelt but where it did rain it caused flooding and washed out a lot of the grain crop. A brand new toilet, seats and tables were along the wide flat area bordering the lake and apart from a fifth wheeler far down the track around the lake there was no one else around.

We arrived at Mukinbudin mid’ afternoon and got settled in. We chose a campsite tonight so Pat can do some washing tomorrow. We sat in the car for a while trying to decide which site to choose, there was so much choice. Last time we came here it was for a Bushtracker Mini Muster and apart from our group another group was also here and it was just about full.

Tuesday 14th May

The television wouldn’t display anything on Sunday but luckily there was someone in Mukinbudin who was able to look at and confirm that it was ‘broken’! We had resigned ourselves to doing without for a couple of months, or at least ’til we got to somewhere like Leonora. However, this guy thought he could get one in 3/4 days. We had a think and decided we were going nowhere in a hurry and it would have to be replaced at some point, so we asked him to get us one! We’ll see how it goes.

All of which means that we have a few days R&R in this area, which can’t be bad.