Tramping tales for August 2014

The landscape between the Tropic of Capricorn and the 26^th Parallel was god-forsaken scrub with goats skittering across the road or grazing on who knows what out there. We spent the first night after leaving Carnarvon in the back corner of Edagee - 24hr Rest Area as grey nomads and back packers steadily filled the other sites. We paid a return visit to Gladstone overlooking the Eastern Gulf of the Shark Bay Heritage Area. This is where the blog again came in handy; Lea had no recall of the place other than George saying it had the ‘money pipe’ for dropping in the dollar per person camping fee!  The honestly pipe was still in place and it requested $5.50 a person. Changes had been made since 2006 - a very nice toilet block had been installed and we noticed water containers at two points.  A campground very like Cleaverville and Forty Mile Beach with well spread range of sites north and south of the old  1910 remnants of the Gladstone loading jetty. We settled almost on the beach with a wide vision of quiet shallow waters – very peaceful, with long stretches to walk. We’d happily have stayed longer but there is much to do ahead thus we stayed a night.

Gladstone

Returning to the highway we came across mounds similar to the mining dumps of Johannesburg only these were natural features and after travelling so much flat land over past days we inquisitively drove to a lookout on top of one. A lovely vista across the Gulf with Gladstone campground almost on the horizon we came across three cairns. One to HMS Sydney sailors, another to the surfing fraternity and the last was made up of gnomes!  Messages on shoes, rocks and paper added to the formal memorial stones. It was quite intriguing to read the little bits and many wise words fixed into what could easily be mistaken for junk heaps from afar.

Gnomes

Once we’d crossed the 26^th Parallel vegetation became noticeably taller and greener. More unexpected were the almost unbelievable carpets of yellow, pink and white flowers in nooks and crannies of the bush which steadily increased in sizes until we just had to stop and take a photo. ‘The best thing about Spring is that it always says it with flowers’...

The vicinity surrounding the Shark Bay entrance and Overlander Road House was awash with spring flowers.

We spent the night in Nerren Nerren 24 hour roadside stopover some forty miles beyond the Billabong Roadhouse and it goes without saying that we were joined by many other road travellers from mid morning onwards, early birds taking up the best sites. The caravan and camping fraternity keep up a busy stream heading both north and south. Those going south had the same destination as us in mind as we all pulled into Galena Bridge overlooking the Murchison River. Despite the numbers we were able to enjoy a river frontage view. When we last stayed here in 2006 we’d been impressed by the toilet block with its ramp up enabling handicapped folk to enjoy the 24 hour rest area.  Since then, Roads Dept have added another toilet block and were in the throes of completing two large shelters with seating on the south side.  Impressive to see find these roadside comforts for travellers provided by Shire and Roads Dept.

  

Walking the north side beside wonderful wide swathes of wildflowers throughout the bush we found Roads Dept. in the midst of constructing toilets and picnic shelters on that side of the river.

We took the route through Kalbarri National Park to the town of Kalbarri. A severe fire had passed through this vast area of National Park leaving scorched earth with a few blackened twigs spiking out of the ground in what was once thick ground cover. On the south side of Kalbarri we found Wagoe Beach.  The approach very like the Eastern Cape with the rolling hills covered in open grasslands as far as the eye could see. Aside from a tent tucked behind a wind protection barrier we were the only folk in the campground and duly placed ourselves behind another wind barrier having decided there must be a reason for them although the wind was not blowing at the time. From our hilltop position we could see the primary dunes and every so often plumes of spray rose in different places above the dunes; even the thumping sounds coming from that direction indicated a wild sea. The tent man came and spoke to George and we gathered this was more of a fishermen’s haunt with weekends being the busiest time. The beach road required low tyre pressures to get through the dunes and we decided we’d walk. Going downhill was no problem and with wide expanses of dune blowout there were plenty of animal tracks to keep George’s eyes down and looking and his camera busy. Many rabbits scampered across the sand to take up new cover.       

Patiently waiting for George! 

Bombs away! Surf thundered up into the air on Wagoe Beach...

The next morning we turned inland for the Principality of Hutt River.  We had read about the Hutt Republic soon after migrating to Perth. In 2006, on our way to Kalbarri with Saxon, Paul and little brown dog Harley Rose – George had noticed a sign to Hutt River and only now all these years later had an opportunity to visit arisen. Well off the beaten track herein lies a story. Hutt River is an Independent Sovereign State having seceded from Australia in April 1970 and CURIOSITY brings in the visitors... According to Prince Leonard, Western Australia was never proclaimed a British State by Captain Stirling, as required under his letter patent. He only proclaimed a settlement – Swan Settlement (very close to where our daughter lives) in Western Australia. We thought it was a tourist publicity stunt until we arrived and discovered far more... The Casley family farmed 13,000 acres of wheat a year on their property comparable in size to Hong Kong, some 595 km north of Perth. Their ‘grief’ with the West Australian Government arose when Wheat Quotas were given to farmers in October 1969 after the wheat had been grown. Leonard and Shirley and their seven children found themselves with a quota equivalent to a hundred acres despite all their thousands of acres. Two clauses in the wheat quota legislation deeply concerned them. No Compensation and No Appeals! Leonard Casley lodged protests and all fell on deaf ears until Leonard lodged the largest claim WA had ever received throwing a ‘cat’ among the pigeons that had advisors rushing between the Wheat Quota Board, Parliament and the Governor until a decision was made to pass a Bill enabling the WA Government to have the power to resume the Casley’s farming land. Leonard was quick to point out that Land resumption was illegal and no more than 1/20^th of any land can be resumed for any purpose by the State Government.... No response followed and while the Government was rushing through their Bill, Leonard issued Secession Documents. Even the Prime Minister became involved offering Commonwealth Powers to the premier of this State to deal with the Republic of Hutt.  Over years the Principality or Territory of Hutt came into being and by 2010 HRH Prince Leonard and HRH Princess Shirley were celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Secession with a grand banquet despite the Prime Minister, Governor of WA and State Premier politely turning down their invitations due to other commitments. Australians place people who kick against bureaucracy on a pedestal and a story like this grows in admiration.

We found a very pretty campground laid out for $5 per person per night – and, as soon as we’d set up, we walked into the ‘village’. George was certain the man in the Hutt River Administration Building was the prince himself as he looked similar to the stone carved head of HRH Prince Leonard near the entrance gates! From the little I had seen from SKV I did not think he was quirky enough!  However, on entering the Arcade housing the Historical Society displays and Memorabilia Dept. we found ourselves in Prince Leonard’s presence. His beloved wife and mother of his four sons and three daughters, died in July 2013. Her memorial stone fronts the Inter-denominational Chapel. In another building we found the official Rolls and a Mercedes each with Royal Coat of Arms imprinted on the sides gathering dust.  We spent intriguing hours looking and learning about all things to do with Hutt. In between talking day visitors through the Historical Arcade the old man would take a rest on his walker outside in the sun.  The Post Office was also interesting with its own philatelic history. Lea bought two post cards for grandchildren however on hearing the philatelic compromise that took place between Hutt Principality and Australian Post George wanted this bit of history so ‘my’ postcards were put into an envelope, the stamp pasted on the back before being addressed to himself in Maida Vale.

             ,

Over lunch we noticed HRH Prince Leonard celebrated his birthday on the same day as our son we’d also seen the stamp to his wife’s memory had come out on his birthday last year. During the afternoon George went and bought another post card and after writing our birthday messages to Keith had Prince Leonard add his!

George went to explore the Hutt River, during which time our near neighbours Colin and Christine came and invited us over for a drink. Earlier, we’d recognised their rig from Galena Bridge as they had a large Police Forensic sticker on their vehicle. Knowing George’s deep interest in forensics Lea accepted and went across and on George’s return he joined us for a rare bit of socialising, although not too much about forensics.

[Many days later I was relieved I had not gone bush walking down to the Hutt River as George began scratching and ticks had to be carefully removed by his daughter!]

Delighted to have coincided with the spring flowers... we decided to forego a night on Coronation Beach outside Geraldton and head inland towards Mullewa before taking the Midlands Road to Mingenew through what is known as Wildflower Country; an area considered to be one of the most diverse and colourful in the world. We covered a lot of mileage that day to put us within easy reach of Perth by the end of the week.  Mingenew located in a ‘ring of gold’ was in its heyday, a life preserving stop-over point for prospectors on their way to the Murchison gold discoveries as it had an abundant supply of fresh water arising from the original spring in the grounds of the caravan park. Today, Mingenew is recognised as the largest inland grain storage point in the country and the massive barn-like structure stood out in the grain and sheep farming landscape. Late afternoon we walked through town before taking a brisk walk out to the top of Mingenew Hill on the NW boundary of town.

Drovers Park with its collection of boots to which have been added any old shoe was at the base of Mingenew Hill.

From the top of Mingenew Hill looking across the patch-worked district.

Walking up the hill we certainly didn’t notice any wildflowers. It was a different story on our way down as the setting sun highlighted the numerous wildflowers hidden in the surrounding grassland covering the hill – reminded us of a similar experience en route to South West Africa (now Namibia) in 1976 when we saw no flowers until George looked in his rear view mirror and a spectacular sighting of wild flowers materialised – all depended on the where the sun was!     

Leaving Mingenew next day we took a more leisurely ride and drove ten kms east of Three Springs to see the largest Talc Mine in the Southern Hemisphere and second largest in the world. What a waste of time – there was no viewing platform or entry to the mine. The supposedly spectacular colours to be seen in the overburden heaps were not only too far from the road the rain clouds looming dulled the landscape. We back tracked and stopped at the VIC and found a very chatty lady manning the centre and learned more about the little town’s steep decline in recent months. She noted our complaint about lack of signage... IF we’d been coming from the east we’d have seen a sign to the viewing platform which turned out to beyond the Talc Mine!  The green cereal and yellow canola fields were a sight to behold- totally transformed from the dusty stubbles we usually see for mile on mile. Western Australia’s cold winter and wonderful rains have produced one of the best starts to a season in many years and the same can be said of the wildflowers. The warmest August week recorded in more than a decade was making farmers a little twitchy as they still need more rain before the end of winter to maintain fine crops. As we chattered the sound of rain began to drop on the roof and we hastened back to our caravan but the big black clouds blew on eastwards.

That afternoon we stopped over in Moora Caravan Park and enjoyed a wonderful walkway along the river with nesting boxes for the endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo – sadly no sightings!  Once again heavy cloud ominously hung in the sky but despite wet roads ahead we had a dry run into Maida Vale to be met by Saxon and a very delighted Harley Dog. We were safely back in a ‘home’ base after fifteen months on the road. Talia and Erin were equally delighted to return from school and find the caravan parked in their garden. We intended to post the blog at that stage and take a respite for the next four months. However, the whirl of being back and busy with family, overdue health checks, preparations for a special family wedding in Haga Haga, Eastern Cape along with matching dates and visits with many Natal friends in readiness for our rapidly approaching South African trip overtook us! In a quiet moment, as August fast draws to a close we turn thoughts back to the blog and advise of a quiet spell until next year! We depart for South Africa on the 19 September for six weeks and will continue on to South America for an incredible adventure in November in celebration of George’s 70^th Birthday, crossing off the top places on his s Bucket List. Our round world ticket brings us back to Perth via New Zealand where we have a two week stopover with sister Holly and Phil. 

         

True to form our site  was beautifully illuminated our first night back at  Sunset Ridge