'Wherarwee' in Oz: Log 08-10 Safari

The safari started at the Herne Hill sportsmans club, 18 vehicles met, most for the 1^st time. We met our hosts, David & Sue, who had organized the whole safari, route, accommodation, competitions, quizzes, meals, a monumental task.

As always, the 1^st day is pretty tedious as we find out how the safari is being run & we are led, point by tedious point as to what is expected. After a great BBQ & some entertainment we settled down for the night. The route is to follow the Golden Pipeline which runs from Mundaring Weir 650K’s to Kalgoolie. The pipeline was completed in 1906 & gave much needed water for the miners. A massive task as 7 pumping stations were needed to push the water over the hills. Each pumping station had its own weir to contain the water it received. The design was the brainchild of an Irish engineer by the name of O’Connor. Cement was imported from Germany & the pipes were designed & built by an Australian company & was considered an ingenious solution to the problems of the route.

Day 2 & we set off bound for Mundaring Weir where we were given a tour of the facility & a history of the pipeline, this is pump stn. 1. Our next stop was Clackline where the bricks for the Mundaring pump were made & we learned that with the advent of electric motors, pump stn. 2 was made redundant. Then it was off to Avonbrook winery for lunch & onto Grass Valley pub for happy hour, dinner & a nights stay.

Day 3 Our first stop today was the now nonexistent town of Meckering which was destroyed in an earthquake measuring 6.9 in 1968. There is a small shopping complex there with photos etc of the damage which was very extensive. There is also a sign beside the road locating the faultline. After a brief stop we continued on along little country roads that we would never normally see. Past farms & creeks, everything intensely green. An early day today stopping at York in time for the markets & a wander around town. Although we were here last week there was still lots more to see. Tonights entertainment was a murder mystery in the old flour mill restaurant, we all dressed up for our characters (thanks to the op-shops), even the staff, & had a great time. No one soved the crime, the culprit had to confess.

Day 4 Our first stop was just around 30K’s out of town, a delicatessen, the equal of any in one of the better Sydney shopping complexes. We bought some quiche & pies for dinner tonight then moved on to Quairading (pro queer-a-din). Checked out the op-shop, antique shop & farming machinery museum (gold coin donation) before moving on. We next visited the dog cemetery at Corrigin, this cemetery has been in existence since 1974 & is the final resting place for many beloved pets. We checked out the headstones, admiring the trouble some owners have gone to for their pets, their were both serious & funny headstones. After leaving there we drove along a ‘wildflower drive’ about 3K of dirt road & obviously the flowers are now past their peak as there wasn’t many to be seen, but there was a lookout & the lush green of the surrounding countryside never ceases to amaze us.

After lunch we drove to our days stop at Kulin (pro. Cool-in) for a free camp opposite the pub. Nighttime entertainment was a real surprise, 5 blokes were picked out to become Miss Universe contestants. The outfits were already made & some were very inventive. Miss Brazil had bras pinned to her outfit, Miss Taiwan had ties, Miss Chile had chilies, etc. Went over well, lots of fun.

Day 5. We chose to hang back this morning instead of convoying as there were many photos to take but we caught up at wave rock where we spent a couple of hours inspecting the rock which is worthwhile seeing. We walked around the base to Hippo Yawn, another rock worn to appear like a hippo’s mouth. We lunched in Hyden then set out for Terra Vista olive farm where we tasted lots of olives (yum, yum). Our final drive of the day brought us to Narembeen, a long day but interesting. It’s just a tiny town & we were allowed to park behind the local pub where many of the group had dinner.

Day 6. Instead of the long zig zag to Bruce Rock (3^rd largest rock in Oz) we drove straight to the township as we needed some down time (1/4 acre block $35,000.00), also it was the shared dinner night & Lib needed time to prepare & cook our dish. Even though our drive time was less than an hour, so we arrived around 10 O’Clock, the day just disappeared. Soon it was happy hour & then time for dinner. 2 vans put out their awnings so that they overlapped & the Gods smiled down on us as the evening was very mild, just as well as it was also a pyjama party & it was a complete success.

Day 7. We were back into it & our first stop was Totadgin Rock, another monolith among the many that abound around here. On to the town of Merredin where we went sight seeing with a guided coach trip showing off the town & the biggest wheat silo in the Southern Hemisphere. Merredin is one of the few country towns that is actually growing in size (1/4 acre block $49,000.00), it is very well presented, clean, with broad streets for which country towns are renowned. A BBQ was put on for us at the huge sporting complex (for a fee) & we were allowed to stay in the parking area for the night.

Day 8. Another short day today, the quizzes that we do each day are starting to get the best of us as we spend more time searching out answers than checking out the scenery. We visited the spot where the rabbit proof fence was started at Burracoppin in 1901 stretching to Esperance in the South & Port Hedland in the North, a distance of 1,833K’s & completed by 1907. We then moved on to The wind generator area at near Westonia, 111 generators supplying quite a big area.

A local told us that he was lucky, the company that owns the generators pays him $8,000.00 a year for each generator on his property & he has 25 & his brother 23. Not only that but they still get to use the fields. We arrived Westonia for lunch for a rest period but what with washing, tidying the van etc it was happy hour before we were ready for it. A quiet night tonight with dinner at home & entertainment was a bit of trivial pursuit.

Day 9. A great start to the day today, we visited the Edna May goldmine, 4^th largest gold producer in Oz. They produce 25kg gold a week & have 260 workers employed there with probably 10 years more life (the mine not the workers). The town of Westonia is very small, you can buy a ¼ acre block for $5,000.00, after the mine what is there??? From there we drove on to Southern Cross, our stop for the night, Another little town known for its observatory & brilliant clear skies, all the towns we have been through appear very clean & extremely water conscious. David has organized a fellow to bring a telescope & explain the stars for us but unfortunately it is overcast so no stars. Still we had the disk bowls competition this afternoon followed by happy hour & then a sausage sizzle for dinner.

Day 10. 200K’s to go today & 2 pump stations to visit so we set off at 8 AM. Called in to pump 7 at Karalee Rocks, the ingenuity of the early pioneers never ceases to amaze me. Once again there is a 1mt high wall right around the rock (& these rocks are huge, I’d guess 2 acres min.) with a suspended steel channel running 200mts into the dam. We had a guided tour at pump 8 & it was very informative once again, there are 3 of the old steam driven pumps here, each capable of pumping 6,250,00 lts of water a day. Pulling into Coolgardie we it is a pity to see this once prosperous town of 15,000 souls is now reduced to just 1,200. This was our final night & we were treated to a delicious 3 course dinner, prizes were given out for various things & we all had a good time.

Day 11. Just 40K’s to Kalgoorlie where we visited Mt Charlotte Lookout with a view over the city & the super pit which was our next stop. Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mine is the biggest mine in Oz & standing at the top of the pit it was amazing to look down into its 600mt depth but what was really unbelievable was the fact that right at the bottom we could see little tunnels in the walls where, once again, our pioneers had been using just a pick & shovel. These were truly incredible people! We now had just an hour to do some shopping before entering the motorhome rally. To our amazement both Coles & Woolies don’t open Sunday & neither do most larger businesses so, no shopping!

Our safari is now officially over & though it’s been stressful, just go, go, go every day, it’s also been a great way to see lots of things we never would on our own.