The ‘Holiday Hiatus’ (xmas to New Year) is an ideal time to get away. Our version of  ‘Romjul’ allowed us time to recce the southern part of Drive Darling Scarp – an awesome 4WD Road Trip in preparation.

The plan was to drive south from Karragullen to Pemberton, following the Darling Scarp as closely as we could, checking out tracks as we went and confirming their accessibility. As the Trip progressed we were able to keep fairly close to the plan.

Saturday 26 December 2020

We turned off the Brookton Highway onto Kinsella Road, a gravel road in reasonable condition that connects with Albany Highway. It passes through the Monadnocks Conservation Park (not much different from a National Park). Through Jarrahdale, onto Scarp Road and into Serpentine National Park. Past North Dandalup Dam and onto Del Park Road to again pick up Scarp Road.

Forty metres onto Scarp Road we saw this sign.

Although the road looked well used we respected the prohibition, turned around and resumed our journey along Del Park Road before taking a track I had used numerous times previously that took us into Marrinup. From there we continued to Scarp Pool and then the underwhelming Scarp Lookout.

Scarp Pool

Leaving Scarp Pool we headed west on Pinjarra-Williams Road, for Cookernup. As we approached Scarp Road’s intersection with Pinjarra-Williams Road I decided to check it out. There is no Water Corporation ‘No Entry’ sign here.

Oakley Dam

Seven kilometres along Scarp Road is the turnoff to Oakley Dam. This is hidden gem. A great, un-advertised swimming hole. The associated Lookout is difficult but not impossible  to access from the dam – it would seem that the intention is to access it via a lengthy walk on the opposite side of the car park – but it does provide great views over the coastal plain and the Alcoa Refinery.

We continued north along Scarp Road, crossed Alcoa’s conveyor belt and eventually came to point where we had turned around a couple hours earlier.

There is no matching sign at the Pinjarra Williams Rd end of Scarp Road nor anywhere along it. There are numerous signs in the intervening 14 kilometres between those two points warning that certain activities such as boating, camping, fishing marroning, etc are not permitted but nothing about ‘No Entry’. A bureaucratic bungle.

From the amount of traffic that clearly uses the road it would seem that the reasonably-difficult-to-see sign is largely ignored.

The ‘official’ Drive Darling Scarp route is along Murray River Fireline that, as the name suggests, follows the Murray River. From Driver Road the route is west to Hoffmans Mill. We had done this route a few weeks previously so we decided to instead take the bitumen to Cookernup on the South Western Highway and then rejoin the Drive Darling Scarp route at Logue Brook.

Stirling Dam

Leaving Logue Brook we headed to Stirling Dam, not confident that we could get past this imposing construction without a lengthy detour. And so it was.

Our detour took us over the Worsley conveyor a couple of times. We eventually got to Big Tree Road and found an acceptable campsite in the Brunswick Hills.

Sunday 27 December 2020

The Brunswick Hills 4WD tracks have a fearsome reputation. Our recce was more about linking features, attractions and four wheel driving tracks rather than actually doing the 4WD challenges so we tried out only a couple of tracks.

Brunswick Hills

Time to head south along the Darling Scarp again

Beela Road took us out of the Brunswick Hills and on to the Lennard Track. As with the Murray River Fireline, we had done this track only a few weeks previously so elected to take the scenic route through the beautiful Ferguson Valley, up Mount Lennard and down Lennard Road (rather than Lennard Track).

We continued south through Kirup and pushed through an interesting grove of banksias to the Balingup-Nannup Road. – one of Australia’s great drives. The 41 kilometres of bitumen between Balingup and Nannup has 90 bends, great country scenery and closely follows the Blackwood River. Though Nannup is a few kilometres off the line of the Darling Scarp, this drive makes the diversion worthwhile.

We headed south-east out of Nannup on an old stock route.

South-east of Nannup

Donnelly River

Near Donnelly River we were looking for a way south when our way was blocked by the most serious road block I have ever encountered.

The tracks we were wanting to follow to stay close to the Darling Scarp were all blocked or in  DRAs (Disease Restricted Areas) so we had to veer further east towards Donnelly River.

We found a secluded campsite off Gordon Road.

Monday 28 December 2020

The southward push continued. We determined to locate Greens Island Campground.

Greens Island is a large, open style DPaW Campground located on a bend in the Donnelly River that gives the impression that it is an island.

Palings Road

We crossed the Donnelly River on Palings Road and two kilometres further east turned south onto an overgrown track that at one time was a well used road. It was incongruous to see normal road signs hidden by vegetation overgrowth.

We were able to squeeze past the first log, however, the second completely blocked the track.

Our shortcut took us out to Waistcoat Road and, though our intended direction was to the right, we shot up the road to Palings Road to confirm that it intersected with Waistcoat, should future travellers on this Road Trip decide not to take this shortcut.

Duch Fonti Road

We turned off Court Road looking for some challenging tracks – and succeeded.

Karri Forest Explorer

However, it was not too far along the track before a large log, immovable with our resources, blocked our progress. We moved west to Chainman Road where we encountered numerous more obstacles before coming out onto Stony Crossing Road, part of the Karri Forest Explorer route.

The Karri Forest Explorer route took us in to Pemberton. Refuel, revictual.

Gloucester Tree

After a coffee we headed out to the Gloucester Tree.

We wanted to find another track into Pemberton that connected with the Karri Forest Explorer at a different location to that which we connected earlier in the day, so we headed out on that Route – this time in the ‘normal’ direction. Where the Karri Forest Explorer turned left after Giblett picnic area we turned right on to Beedelup Road.

Beedelup Road

We were hoping that this open track would provide a ‘non-scratchy’ option for travellers on the Drive Darling Scarp Road Trip. All looked good for a kilometre or so at which point we came across a few small logs.

A little bit further along two substantial logs blocked the track. They will be dealt with on a future Trip. We found where previous travellers had made a way round the obstacle and continued on – for 900 metres.

It took us an hour to clear a path through the log jam. We pushed on towards Willow Springs campground

Along the way we diverted down a track off Andrew Road that should have saved us a few kilometres, however, it was very overgrown and, ultimately, our forward progress was blocked at a bridge that had been modified so only bikes could get across. Back the way we had come. McNab Road took us to Austin Road (relief) which took us to Willow Springs, arriving about 6.00 p.m.

We spent the evening chatting with a couple of fellow travellers, one of whom was walking the Bibbulman Track.

Tuesday 29 December 2020

The intention was to find tracks that headed more directly back towards Nannup but all tracks off Austin Road were closed under DRA regulations.

We decided to head into Nannup, refuel, have a coffee and then follow the Blackwood River along Denny Road through to Warner Glen before heading to Margaret River.

Scott had to meet with Tony by about 1.00 p.m.

© Cockburn 4WD Club 2020 and Kim Epton
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and that of the Cockburn 4WD Club.

Text, layout and photographs by Kim Epton.
1725 words, 62 photographs.
See Terms of Use

A weekend away at this popular coastal holiday camp spot just to the north of Jurien Bay.

© Cockburn 4WD Club 2020-22
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and that of the Cockburn 4WD Club.

See Terms of Use

The Margaret River Tracks and Beaches Road Trip started with all vehicles meeting at BP Baldivis. As there were 19 vehicles participating we split into three groups each of which approached the Trip in a slightly different way.

This is the Report of Nick and Fiona’s group including Nathan and Kirsty in their Triton, along with Andrew and Jo in the Prado, Justin and Amy in the Amarok, Clint and Tammy in the Navara and Roger and Jax in the Pajero Sport. We hit the road at 8.30 a.m.

Our first stop was slightly earlier than we initially planned as a number of people realised they hadn’t prepared themselves for the long journey  – so a quick pit stop at The Crooked Carrot Café in Myalup was required. This gave the kids, and the big kid, a quick chance to climb the cargo net and burn off a bit of energy before we got back on the road.

As we approached Donnybrook, Clinton has a sudden realisation that he had forgotten to pack the family sleeping bags, so the convoy pulled off to the side of the road while he quickly ducked into town.

This also gave Nick a chance to get his HEMA maps sorted for the next stage of the Trip. We hit the red dirt as we drove through the Millbrook State Forrest where the vehicles kicked up plenty of dust – making for some interesting low visibility driving. This part of the Road Trip incorporated a track from the WA’s Best Bakeries tour but in the reverse direction which brought back some fun memories from that Trip.

At 12.30 p.m. we stopped on the track and gave everyone a chance to have some food and stretch their legs. Stevie and Jax chose the wrong toilet spot and almost gave a lizard a rude awakening. Luckily for the lizard he realised what these humans were up to and he ran up the nearest tree. It was only when the lizard ran off that Stevie and Jax realised he was there. They ran even faster, screaming their way out of the shrubs.

After lunch we continued our Trip through the forest, including a few quick stops to double check the map and a few U-turns – but that is all a part of the fun.

Along the way we come across a few fallen trees, one of which caused the biggest challenge of the day as the convoy crept its way through some water, around the big fallen tree, over a steep little hill and then over a smaller fallen tree. This obstacle was a good bit of technical fun that caused a few wheel lifts and forced the drivers to consider their lines and challenge themselves to get through smoothly.

The final part of our Trip to the Contos campsite saw the convoy back on the red dirt track driving through a beautiful tall karri forest. When we got to camp everyone quickly set up the tents and swags before sitting down to enjoy a well-earned drink. Later in the evening while the adults started to cook dinner the kids had a chance to explore the campsite and get in touch with some of the local wildlife. Noah decided to show the kangaroos his muscles before running around the campsite acting like a crazy emu.

That night with the campfires cranking, birthday boy Nick got the Jelly shots out for a bit of an early celebration. After a few more cheeky bevvies everyone was off to bed.

Early Sunday morning the team was up and the breakfast BBQs were sizzling. A few kangaroos were still around grabbing themselves a bit of brekky – one of them even had a joey in its pouch.

After a feed everyone began to pack up their camps. As Clint and Tammy lifted their floor mat they were surprised by a large huntsman that was sharing their site with them. The spider quickly ran off into the nearby bushes. Before long we were ready to get on the road again.

As the convoy was rolling out everyone wished Nick a UHF Happy Birthday and then we were on our way to Gracetown.

The view of the bay on the drive into Gracetown was incredible. The group stopped for a quick fuel up, a couple of pies, and a few happy snaps.

Our next destination was Canal Rocks which presented some more amazing views and a chance for the kids to climb the rocks and burn off some more energy.

After a few more happy snaps we hit the road to our next challenge, the Three Bears Track. We stopped to air down our tyres and to engage 4WD before hitting the track.

Three Bears Track has a lot of rocky sections that required some precise technical driving to ensure no one did any tyre damage.

Halfway along the track we stopped to take in some more fantastic coastal views and to take a few more pictures and then continued along the track. The track ended at Sugar Loaf Rock which was another bit of beautiful scenery. Everyone aired up their tyres, had a bite to eat and then said their goodbyes before getting on the road home.

We had a fantastic time and can’t wait to hit Lennard Track with the crew in two weeks’ time.

Fiona Carroll’s Gallery of Photographs

Maximo Uribe’s Gallery of Photographs

Mark Gray’s Gallery of Photographs

CREDITS

Trip Report/Photographs
Nathan Barkell

Trip Leaders
Brian Hunt
Nick Carroll
Brad O’Neil

Reconnaissance
Kim Epton
Aaron Howell
Scott Overstone

© Cockburn 4WD Club 2020 and Nathan Barkell
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and that of the Cockburn 4WD Club.
957 words, 21 photographs.
See Terms of Use

The Plan was to do more than just the Gus Luck Track.

The Trip was planned for four and half days from 22-26 October 2020.

We would spend the first night at Mindebooka Rock, south of Doodlakine. The next morning we would travel to Merredin, then Sandford Rocks where would try to find a part of the Hunt Track. On to Southern Cross, via Kodjerning Well and Moorine Well, both part of the Hunt Track. From  Southern Cross we would head to Yellowdine and start the Gus Luck Track. We expected to have a few challenges to follow it all the way to Goongarrie (we did) from where we would drive to Coolgardie to refuel. South to Gnarlbine to pick up the Hunt Track to Yerdanie. On to to Karalee Rocks for a flying visit before stopping at Morlining Rocks. The return to Cockburn would be via Burracoppinn, Merredin, Bruce Rock and Beverley.

A detailed description of the Gus Luck Track is on the Wells and Tracks website.

We departed The Lakes just after 2.00 p.m., sadly without Elvis Mestric. His radiator blew on the way to the Meeting Point. Better to happen then than during the Trip many kilometres from a service centre.

Our route took us through interesting salt lake country south of Doodlakine/Kellerberrin, arriving at Mindebooka with plenty of time to set up a comfortable camp. The roaring easterly abated by early evening, allowing us to have a fantastic campfire.

Greg Barndon was in his Colorado. Scott Overstone, despite having purchased a Nissan Patrol only days before, chose to use his well setup Jimny for this Trip. Corey Rees was towing a trailer behind his modified 100 series and Kerry Davies was in his bog standard Nissan Navara. Peter James and Lone Nielsen joined us late afternoon/evening in their Hilux, towing a Bigfoot camper trailer. My much-hammered Rodeo would need to get me through.

On Friday morning we departed Mindebooka and found the Bruce Rock-Merredin railway access track. Though this track leads to Merredin I decided to branch off early so we could visit Totadgin Rock and Well.

This well was refurbished in 2016. We left Totadgin on the Merredin-Bruce Rock Road. Our pace was restricted by roadworks so it was an ideal opportunity to stop to view a couple of interesting engineering structures. We had pulled off the road at a Main Roads WA Network Performance Site and, coincidentally, the Merredin Solar Farm, the largest in Western Australia was in the paddock immediately to the west of where we had stopped.

Merredin

A number of Trips over recent times have been routed through Merredin. It is now compulsory to stop at Merredin Bakery. What a thriving business! Indicative of what happens when a good product is offered at a fair price. Non stop foot traffic.  That front door just kept on banging.

Sandford Rocks

We left Merredin for Burracoppin, Westonia and Sandford Rocks. Hunt Track is close to the Rocks but it is overgrown and impassable – as we found out after only a few hundred metres of bush bashing.

Hard on vehicles, particularly mirrors, the A pillar and anything hanging off the vehicle such as an awning. Back to the bitumen.

Southern Cross

Our route took us past Kodjerning and Moorine wells – both part of Hunts Track – to Southern Cross.

Aaron had mechanical issues, consulted Medicar (his vehicle builder and Sponsor of the Cockburn 4WD Club), and delayed his departure from The Cross in the hope of being able to rectify the issue. He continued to Yellowdine with his vehicle problem still unresolved.

Yellowdine

The Yellowdine rendezvous was a refuelling point, after which everyone gathered in the open area opposite the roadhouse and had lunch.

The issues with Aaron’s Patrol persisted, despite our best efforts to rectify the matter. The vehicle was stalling at low speed and when changing direction – something we would be doing a lot of during the Trip. The MAF sensor was removed and cleaned with hand sanitiser (evaporative alcohol). We had ran out of fixes and he wisely decided to head back home.  After the Trip we found out that it was the Steinbauer Performance Module and the issue could have been resolved by isolating the device. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The remaining vehicles headed off on the adventure.

First stop was only a few hundred metres along the way. The main parts of the water harvesting complex at Yellowdine are still intact, if a little rundown and overgrown. The dam at Yellowdine Station was an important stop for the steam locomotives on the Southern Cross to Coolgardie railway.

The run up to Duladgin is easy – it is a wide, well formed dirt road with minimal corrugations. We stopped at Duladgin Well and then visited the grave of Thomas Davidson, a pioneer prospector. It is good to see that his grave has been noted by Outback Graves.

Weowanie

The track into Weowanie is the start of the real Gus Luck Track. It can be very sandy and, because it crosses the southern extension of Lake Deborah, it can sometimes be impassable. We pulled into Weowanie, walked to the summit and had a look at a number of water catchments.

Past Weowanie the Track does a dogleg to cross the Yellowdine Vermin Proof Fence. A short distance after this we stopped at our campsite on the last night of the Outback Trek in August 2020. During that memorable night heavy rain made it difficult to get out onto the Track in the morning, although Brad O’Neil managed to do it (unwittingly) in 2WD.

Ten kilometres later we crossed Eva Lake, a potential track blocker in wet conditions.

Darrine

Not far past Eva Lake a large fire had devastated the country. The burn extended seven kilometres to the north towards Darrine.

The cover of the rockhole at Darrine has names scribbled all over it, dating back many years. Two and half kilometres from the rockhole the Track reaches the Trans Australian Railway. We followed the railway east for another couple of kilometres to the crossing.

Six kilometres along the Track from the railway is a blazed kurrajong tree. This tree is easy to spot – kurrajongs stand out from the dominant eucalypts and acacias.

Easy driving on the Track to Ullambay Rockhole.

Wallangie

Two hundred metres before the ‘main intersection’ at Wallangie there is a grave of an unknown person. It was here, in 1910, that Albert and Len Ives found the body of the unknown pioneer. They buried it at this site. In 2005 the name of the rock was changed from Ive to Ives Rock.

The plan was to camp at Wallangie. The challenge was to find a suitable site. After a bit of driving around we made do at a spot to the west of the dam.

The push along the track continued early the next morning.

The incongruity of emerging from a rough, twisty, small track onto a wide open, well formed, major haul road as we did just before 71 Mile Rock was repeated at the Mt Walton Haul Road – just after 71 Mile Rock.

Washaway

A couple of kilometres after the haul road the Track has been washed away for about 100 metres. The two vehicles towing negotiated it with ease although it might be a bit more challenging if wet.

After another couple of kilometres the track swings away to the left. Clearly most of the traffic follows this direction to the north. But it is not the Gus Luck Track – despite all the tyre tracks. Our route was straight ahead on a track that did not look at all promising.

We stayed on this overgrown, narrow track for just over seven kilometres until our way was blocked by large fallen trees. A 200 metre cross country jaunt took us out to a good track that joined with the Gus Luck Track a kilometre further on.

To Urdardunging

A huge swathe of country has been burned between this intersection and Pilarning Rock. At Urdardunging 1500 metres further on we walked over to a grave. Difficult to determine whether it marks the resting place of a human or an animal. I note that it is not listed on Outback Graves.

Turturdine

We stopped 500 metres short of Turturdine Rock to look for Nearanging Rockhole. After a minute or so of walking in the general direction of where it was expected to be we found what we were looking for.

We then moved onto Turturdine for lunch and a look around at the rockhole and some rock etchings/graffiti.

Coonmine

There are a few tight sections on the drive to Coonmine but overall the Track is quite easy. At Coonmine the historic Gus Luck Track heads north-east to Split Rock, however, it has been lost – no track exists. The track east from Coonmine to Coolgardie North Road is an old station track.

Finding the Lost Track

It is at Coolgardie North Road  where most people finish the Gus Luck Track, however, we intended to complete as much of the track as we could through to Goongarrie. This entailed a 13 kilometre drive north to Split Rock to see if we could pick up the Gus Luck Track there. The track into Split Rock from Coolgardie North Road is not the Gus Luck Track and the historical track between these two points has been lost.

However, I was excited to find the Track leading to the east of Coolgardie North Road about 600 metres north of the track leading into Split Rock. We made a tentative entry and after a short distance it was clear that a viable track existed and was heading the way we wanted.

After nine kilometres the historical Track is impassable (Point A), however, we were not disappointed as this was our first ‘re-discovery’ of the Track.

From this point we followed an old fenceline to an old boundary track (Point B) that took us north back to the historical Track at Point C.

At Point C we found the Gus Luck Track heading east, after Corey put up his drone. We walked along the ‘track’ sighting a number of artefacts that confirmed it was indeed the historical Track.

This overgrown Track is impassable to vehicles. It comes out at Wangine, at a point where, during the Outback Trek in August 2020, we followed it west for 500 metres.

What was the best route to Wangine? There was no short route. I decided to head north along the old boundary track with a view to coming out on the Davyhurst Road. We would then have to head south-east to Wangine – a total detour of 34 kilometres.

We didn’t stop at Wangine, choosing instead to find the Gus Track Track at Point E. It was at this point I had seen an overgrown track heading towards Lower Goongarrie during the Outback Trek and I was confident it would take us through to the boundary of Goongarrie Station (now owned by Department of Parks and Wildlife and run as conservation reserve and campground). A number of times during the five kilometre push that confidence was tested as the track became tighter, more overgrown and, in some places, nearly non existent. However it eventually intersected with a wider track (Point F, see below) that reconnected with the Gus Luck Track at the entrance to Goongarrie Station. Our second successful re-discovery.

From this point we were familiar with the Track, having done it during the Outback Trek in August, albeit in the opposite direction.

The sun was low on the horizon but as it was  behind us it wasn’t affecting our driving vision so I pushed on to Goongarie. We found an acceptable campsite on a side track and set up a comfortable camp,

Corey surveyed his tally of damage – punctured tyre (sidewall), broken spare wheel carrier and broken awning mount. Hopefully his Road Trip would improve.

We had finished the Gus Luck Track with the following results:

Distance travelled on Gus Luck Track
Yellowdine to Wallangie – 88 km
Wallangie to Coonmine – 71 km
Split Rock to Point A – 9 km
Point E (Pipeline Track) to Lower Goongarrie – 5 km
Lower Goongarrie to Goongarrie – 30 km
Total – 203 km

Length of Historic Track determined
Coonmine to Split Rock – 16 km
Point A to Point C – 5 km
Point C to Wangine – 9 km
Wangine to Point E (Pipeline Track) – 4 km
Total – 34 km

Length of Gus Luck Track
Yellowdine to Goongarrie – 237 km

Additional Distance
Detours – 77 km

In the morning we would move on to the second phase of our Road Trip – Hunts Track.

To Coolgardie

Leaving camp we visited some pioneer graves and the historic abandoned townsite of Goongarrie. Our route took us through Ora Banda and onto the Coolgardie North Road.

We stopped at a quirky art display on an unnamed claypan. No name, no commentary. Very clever use of gum boots and tyres.

On arrival at Coolgardie we called into the Pioneer Cemetery – not to be confused with the Coolgardie Cemetery. After refuelling we wasted no time in heading south to Gnarlbine.

Gnarlbine

There are two wells at Gnarlbine. The lesser known and lesser visited well to the south is not one of Hunt’s.

We left the second well, retraced our route on Victoria Rock Road north for a couple of kilometres and turned left onto the Hunt Track.

Hunts Track

In June 2019, from reference to the satellite view on Hema Explorer, Scott Wilson predicted the presence of a woodline along the track about 5.7 kilometres east of the turnoff to the Prince of Wales mine. Old spikes, cans, tobacco tins, and, further into the bush, evidence of railway sleepers  and more artefacts confirmed Scott’s brilliant interpretation.

We re-located this old woodline, first seen in 2019 when refurbishing the Hunt Track to Yerdanie. Since that time someone had created a ‘File Tree’ to mark where it crossed the track.

We had lunch at the Prince of Wales mine. Although abandoned, and risky for for the unwary, it is subject to a number of active tenements.

Just as we were leaving Prince of Wales to resume our journey along the Hunt Track, Greg called over the radio that his Colorado had a flat. With everyone helping we were on our way again in less than five minutes. Not quite Formula 1 standard but still impressive.

As I predicted, we had a few issues getting the long Bigfoot camper trailer through a stand of regrowth. Future travellers should now have no issues.

Yerdanie Rock and Well

We climbed to top of the rock. Great 360° views. Clearly there had been showers recently at Yerdanie. I have never previously seen water at the summit.

We searched for the recently re-discovered Hunt’s Well. With the drone up we eventually succeeded in finding it.

We left Yerdanie for Karalee, reaching Great Easter Highway after seven more kilometres of Hunts Track. The day was quickly coming to a close so it was straight down the blacktop to Karalee.

Karalee

We had time for only a flying visit as it was late in the day. The track west out of Karalee is rough and overgrown in places. We reached Morlining Rocks and selected a campsite.

Morlining Well

In the morning walked into Morlining Well before continuing on the track to Yellowdine.

Diesel was cheap at Yellowdine (106 cents/L) so most took the opportunity to top up and inflate tyres to highway pressure.

We followed Goldfields Road to the Rabbit Proof Fence Interpretive Site at Burracoppin and then visited Hunt’s Well only a short distance west.

The Road Trip finished at Merredin.

© Cockburn 4WD Club 2020
3144 words, 85 photographs/images.
Text and Layout
Kim Epton
Photographs
Kim Epton
Corey Rees

Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and that of the Cockburn 4WD Club.
See Terms of Use

A four day tour of the Pithara/Dalwallinu area in early October 2020.

Our Road Trip was a little bit late for the best of the annual spectacular wildflower display, however, this was no loss as the locals believed that the season was less than optimal anyway.

Trip Leader Matt Hall arranged for us to camp on a friend’s farm at East Pithara.

Day 1 – Pithara-Kalannie-Xantippe-East Pithara

Pithara

We met at the nearly non-existent hamlet of Pithara. This dot on the map in a vast wheat growing area was first named Hettie in 1914 but was soon changed to Pithara, the aboriginal name of a nearby watering place.

Pithara is the site of Western Australia’s first fatal commercial crash.

Petrudor Rocks

Petrudor Rocks is a large granite outcrop with waterholes at the base. The site was once important to aboriginals and later was used by stockmen to water their cattle. The name is of unknown derivation.

Kalannie

Kalannie is the centre of a large wheat growing area and an award winning Landcare area. It  is also a potential mallee oil production centre. Trials are ongoing.

When the government decided to extend the Ejanding Northwards Railway line to the Kalannie area in 1928, the area was known as Lake Hillman, and local farmers argued strongly for this to be the name of the proposed line terminus.

The Railways Department opposed the name Lake Hillman because there was already a Hillman in existence. The name Kalannie was selected in its place. It is of aboriginal derivation from the York area where the meaning is given as ‘place of the white stone’. It was here that white stone for spearheads was quarried. Just what the connection is between a York quarry and the Kalannie area is unknown.

Xantippe

A Gold Mining Lease in this area was named Xantippe in 1880.

Xanthippe – (flourished late 5th century BC) was an Athenian matron and wife of the philosopher Socrates, to whom she bore three sons. She is said to have been highly temperamental and although little reliable evidence exists to support the conclusion, her name has become synonymous with an ill-tempered, nagging wife, or shrew.

The granite outcrop at Xantippe was ‘harvested’ for water from 1923. This harvested water was directed to a large concrete tank of unusual design – the pipework is level with the bottom of the tank and then directs flow upward to enter the tank at the top.. The project was completed in 1927. It was initially intended that the water harvested at Xantippe supply Dalwallinu but it was unable to be pumped over the hills – though farmers in the area managed to pump water over the same hills.

Wildflower Gallery
by
Mark Gray 

Day 2 – Hughenden Rock-Boogoordar Rock-Calibro-Jibberding-Boundary Riders Waterhole

Hughenden Rock Gnammas

These Gnammas are protected by Reserve 20482. The naming of the rock dates back to the 1880s.

Goodlands Road

Goodlands Road is a highly regarded ‘Flora Road’.

It is also a connecting artery to the Great Northern Highway and, as such, is an attractive route for road trains. This one dusted everyone.

Jibberding Reserve

Jibberding is renowned for pink, white and yellow Everlastings, however, we saw no sign of them.

Cailbro School

This mud brick school on Carter Road that was built by the community in 1939. It has been restored and is maintained by the Cail family.

Boundary Riders Water Hole

This waterhole which was put down when the No 2 Rabbit Proof Fence was constructed in 1904. It stored water for the boundary rider who was responsible for looking after the Rabbit Proof Fence.

A few posts indicate the remains of the bush shelter where the boundary rider stayed.

We made our way back to camp.

Wildflower Gallery
by
Mark Gray 

Day 3 – Heritage Wheat Bin-Wubin Rocks-Buntine Rocks-Miamoon-Dalwallinu

Heritage Wheat Bin Museum

Despite Matt’s best efforts, Covid 19 restrictions meant that the old wheatbin – which sits side by side with today’s modern storage bins, and gives a direct comparison between past and present day grain handling – was not open. But there was coffee. According to Nick, the worst he had ever tasted.

Gallery
by
Glenda

Buntine Rocks

Buntine Rocks provide spectacular views of the surrounding farm land.

Miamoon

Miamoon, 17 kilometres west of Wubin along Gunyidi Road, is a great spot for orchids in season. There is a gnamma in the granite rocks.

This name was originally applied to a farm in about 1908-1909 and later to a school from 1930 – 1952. There was a progress association, a cricket club, a football team and a tennis club also using this name in the area.

The name is believed to be of aboriginal origin.

Dalwallinu

The Road Trip was conveniently timed to have lunch at the Dally pub. They did well to efficiently handle the sudden influx of a large group.

© Cockburn 4WD Club 2020
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and that of the Cockburn 4WD Club.

Text and Layout Kim Epton
Photographs
Jane Dooley
Glenda Jones
Mark Gray
Kim Epton

1001 words, 65 photographs.
See Terms of Use

Despite the title of this Road Trip it was not just a drive on bitumen roads from bakery to bakery. It was a genuine 4WD trip with plenty of challenging, tight, overgrown tracks and spectacular scenery is some of the prettiest parts of Western Australia.

Day 1 Saturday 12 September 2020

We left Byford and headed up the Darling Scarp on Boyd Road to North Dandalup Dam for a quick look.

The drive down the Darling Scarp on Whittaker Road offers great views across the coastal plain. We crossed the South West Highway and took back roads through dairy farming country to Pinjarra.

At Burekup we turned onto Henty Road. This scenic route offers fantastic views of the Ferguson Valley and across the coastal plain to the coast. Lunch was at the third Bakery Stop – Dardanup.

After lunch we found a tiny track through the Dardanup Conservation Park.

This track brought us out onto Ironstone Road where we continued through the beautiful Ferguson Valley to Wellington Mill.

One of the State’s quirkiest tourist attractions is just down the road – Gnomesville.

From this quaint little tourist attraction we headed to the King Jarrah Tree, the largest tree in the Wellington State Forest.

Leaving this magnificent tree, we followed the track through the forest and turned onto Corbett Road. A few kilometres along the road, farmland appears on the right. At the corner of this property the track leaves the fenceline and becomes tight and overgrown.

It has been a few years since any vehicles have been along the track although it clearly was a major track at same time in the past. It opens out after about 1.7 kilometres.

We headed south to Grimwade and then Balingup, the fourth Bakery Stop. There are two bakeries/cafes here.

The road from Balingup to Nannup is one of the great drives of Australia. Every sweeping bend offers a wonderful view of forests or farmland. The river on one side, tall lush slopes on the other. Popular with motorcycle and driving enthusiasts alike, the 41 kilometres between the two towns has 90 bends.

Our overnight stay was at the Riverbend Caravan Park in Nannup.

Day 2 Sunday 13 September 2020

We took Mowen Road out of Nannup, heading for Capel – first Bakery Stop of the day.

Capel Bakery was a little overwhelmed at the sudden influx of so many customers.

Out of Boyanup through forest and farms and into the Ferguson Valley.

Richards Road (track) ends at the Forest Discovery Centre and from this location we took on the biggest challenge of the weekend – a section of powerline track.

Out of the powerline track, through the stunning Ferguson Valley again and onto Harvey through back country roads.

The Road Trip finished at Harvey. Great weather, stunning scenery, pleasant company and good four wheel driving made for a top weekend.

Kim – Holden Rodeo Dual Cab Trayback
Brad and Jane – Toyota Landcruiser Troopy Camper
Tania – Isuzu DMax Dual Cab Ute
Jodie and Keren – Toyota Landcruiser 100 Series Wagon
Paul and Imogen – Nissan Y62 Patrol Wagon
Steve and Linda – Mazda BT50 Dual Cab Ute
Nick and Fiona – Toyota Hilux Dual Cab Ute
Nathan and Kirsty Barkell – Mitsubishi Triton Dual Cab Ute
Justin and Amy – Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute
Andrew and Joanne – Toyota Prado Wagon
Mushy and Vicky – Toyota Landcruiser Troopy

© Cockburn 4WD Club 2020
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and that of the Cockburn 4WD Club.
791 words, 39 photographs.
See Terms of Use