DAY 3
SATURDAY
31 December 2016 – Hawks 85
v Wildcats 97 – Yippee an away win!
Bridgetown, Wagin, Dumbleyung, Kulin (Camps 8 WA#121)
The rattle of road trains rumbling past the van had Paul
awake early, while I did my best to ignore the noise and vibrations that came
with it. My alarm came at 6.30am with the heaving dog, who didn’t quite make it
outside in time. Good Morning Saturday!
Paul was up, away and out walking the dog, while I continued
my lazy start. With breakfast behind us we were on the road by 8am and parked up
in Bridgetown for a leisurely walk along the main drag. Being so early, there
was very little going on, though many of the cafes appeared busy.
With the music cranked we were back on the road and heading
to Wagin, the home of the Giant Ram!
Neither of us have seen much of these wheatbelt towns, so we
found them quite interesting. The Giant Ram is 9 times larger than a regular
ram, standing at 9m tall. With the obligatory photos and wander of the attached
park we ventured on, heading to Dumbleyung.
We passed the turn to Lake Dumbleyung, but decided not to
head down the tourist road, as it was gravel and didn’t fancy getting the
vehicles dirty. Instead we made it into the centre of town and checked out the
Bluebird. I had absolutely no idea about
this craft. It was piloted by Donald Campbell, who already held the land speed
record and on this day, as fate may have it, in 1964, he broke the water speed
record as well, by travelling at a speed of 442km/hr, across Lake Dumbleyung.
The roads out here are sealed and well maintained and seemed
like really easy driving. I wouldn’t know for sure, as I have only been in the
passenger seat. From here I can take in the scene, paddocks, bird life and
checking my phone. Damn it no internet!
We stopped in Dudinin, on the Rabbit Proof Fence, for lunch.
I used the loo in the town hall, which was completely open. It was quite
interesting inside, with a full stage and props set up and plenty of cabinets
for footy trophies. Following this we were on to our final stop, Kulin.
We decided we would stop at the caravan park this time
around. It is a pay as much as you like site, so we figured we would take
advantage of it. When we were here in March, it rained non-stop. We stayed at
the free 72 hour rest stop, but didn’t really see much, except for drowned
hippies attending the Blazing Swan festival. So we are here again.
After setting up camp and rearranging some of our things, we
unhitched the car and headed 18kms out of town to Jilakin Rock, which is next
door to the Kulin Race Course. The rock offers a terrific view of Jilakin lake,
the racecourse and surrounding farmland. To earn the view you have to walk up
the granite rock face, which in parts is steep and just when you think you have
made the top you have another section to conquer. I would recommend it if you ever get here.
Our journey back to the caravan park was a slow one. It
follows the Tin Horse Highway and I wanted to stop and take photos of the
various horses that were presented in all manner of poses with interesting
little signs and anecdotes.
We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the lovely
weather. The Moet was cracked in celebration of New Years Eve and the afternoon
slipped into evening. Crayfish for dinner, thanks Brad and chocolates for
dessert. No better way to see out 2016.
Feeling a bit wobbly, we made the trek around the town.
There were revellers at different party hot spots and Christmas lights to light
our way. We couldn’t think of better
place or way to say welcome to 2017, under a carpet of the most amazing stars.
Happy New YEAR!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Bridgetown,+Western+Australia/Wagin+WA/Dumbleyung,+Western+Australia/Kulin,+Western+Australia/@-33.3118446,116.5804469,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m26!4m25!1m5!1m1!1s0x2a3043fe136de90f:0x400f6382479e810!2m2!1d116.1312143!2d-33.9544478!1m5!1m1!1s0x2a36dac69bdba971:0x400f6382479fdd0!2m2!1d117.3474325!2d-33.3053993!1m5!1m1!1s0x2a36fda56fe5ede7:0x400f6382479f630!2m2!1d117.7517369!2d-33.3108573!1m5!1m1!1s0x2a366de23aca6649:0x400f6382479f8e0!2m2!1d118.15!2d-32.67!3e0
No comments:
Post a Comment