Mid     West 

Leaving behind the heat that followed us down from Marble Bar to Geraldton, we were pleased for the cool change when we arrived at Lake Indoon, near Eneabba.

The wind swept across the lake into our camp spot. In the early evenings we found ourselves retreating inside, as the wind is tiring, but sitting looking out the window at the scenic view until dark.

It is 5km around this little lake. We started walking clockwise from the day use area one morning. We had fun kicking the natural foam being formed along the shore by the wind-created waves. Just over half way around we were forced to retrace our footsteps. There was stream barring our way, just too wide to jump over and too soft sand to wade through. We walked 6.8km instead of 5km and appreciated the cup of tea on return to Huberto, the caravan.

I did the walk round the anti-clockwise direction on my own in the afternoon despite being buffeted by the breeze. So that was a good day of exercise completed!

We had admired wildflowers on the stretch down to Lake Indoon but did not stop because we thought there would be a good display at the lake. Sadly not. The wildflower season was coming to an end.

From Lake Indoon, we cut across to Leeman on the coast and followed the Indian Ocean Drive back to Tuart Reserve, one of several free camps in the Shire of Dandaragan. More appreciation of wildflowers as we whizzed by.

Another sense of first chapter of the travels closing. This was where we had our first night on the road back in June. The flies were crazy here and we made good use of the fly nets over hats.

We set up camp, caught up with diaries and blogs and enjoyed some time reading. When we woke in the morning, we slowly packed up and then drove into Cervantes to treat ourselves to a meal at the Lobster Shack. We skipped the tour this time round.

And finally, we arrived back at friends in Woodridge to a warm welcome.

A whole week to spend in Geraldton! A few days’ work and a few days strolling along the foreshore and accessing ‘big town’ facilities.

Geraldton’s newly laid out foreshore is a big improvement. Previously, the railway ran along the front between city and sea. This has been rerouted and landscaping turned once good yards and sidings into a beautiful waterside frontage.

We enjoyed a milkshake overlooking Champion Bay at the local Dome café but there are a couple for other options for a drink or bite to eat with a view. Skeeta’s at the lovely Batavia Coast Marina is one, which we popped into and you can read my food review here.

We were very impressed with the Museum of Geraldton, another improvement to the town. We learned more about the shipwreck Batavia and the mutiny thereafter. There were good exhibits of pastoral influences and changes to the existing culture and environment that still impact the area today. A little bit like a Cinderella scenario, the museum was neither too big nor too small but just right for a couple of hours visit.

As well as the supermarket and fuel station, we made good use of the car wash facilities. Hetty was still pock-marked red with dust inside and out despite an earlier wash in Karratha. We had tried to wipe clean common touch points on her so she really looked messed up. By the time we finished at the Sun City Auto Spa, used the new vacuum purchased at Bunnings (see the vacuum blog on my vehicles page) and used a damp cloth on her interior, Hetty was gleaming again.

Geraldton Caravan Park offers 7 nights for the price of 6 and we had enjoyed our time here before so we booked an unpowered site for the whole week. The facilities are clean, the small pool enticing on hot days, the staff friendly and free Wi-Fi access from the camp kitchen.

Yes, we were in The Shire of Murchison when at Ballinyoo Bridge, but truly felt like arriving in the Shire when we drove into the tiny Murchison Settlement, the largest settlement in the Shire, thus ‘The Shire With No Town’.

For such a small place we were delighted to discover a botanical garden walk. Stones labelled with the names of the native plants took us on 1km tour. There were rest points where we could stop and sit on benches created from wire-encased rocks from the region topped with wooden slats and a notice explaining the type of rocks: granite, quartz, basalt and serpentine.

There is a museum here too with a varied collection of machinery and tools used in the wool industry by the settling pastoralists as well as some of their household belongings. Most amazing to me was the wooden wagon used well into the mid-20th Century to carry bales of wool along tracks between the Mullewa and Carnarvon areas.

One day, we took a drive out to Errabiddy Bluff, about 12km from The Settlement. It’s a good example of a ‘broad rounded cliff’ and is named after the local Wajarri language word meaning ‘mouth of bucked teeth.’ What a great description!

I scrambled to the top through large boulders, deadwood, shrubs and bushes, and smaller stones and rocks. Hetty looked so small as I looked down on her from above, being careful to stay away from the very edge. I savoured the views over the flat scrubland we had traversed and were planning to.

We had had a lovely warm welcome from the new managers at the Roadhouse Oasis and Caravan Park. They took over only the week before we arrived and have big plans in place already. Just a note that there is no potable water in the Settlement so make sure you bring your own drinking water, or buy it at the Roadhouse shop. There is water for washing dishes, laudry and for hot showers though.

Leaving The Settlement, we headed into Bilung Pool. A permanent waterhole for native animals and birdlife and taken advantage of by the drovers and their herds. You can read more about all these places from The Shire of Murchison website.

On a final note, I have particular reason to enjoy a visit to this large Shire as it is named after a dignitary from my home area, Sir Roderick Murchison, a renowned scientist who presided over the Royal British Geological Society. Murchison was named after him in 1839 by Lieutenant George Grey an explorer of North West Australia. At least 14 other places on Earth and a crater on the Moon are also named after Sir Roderick Murchison. In my hometown of Dingwall, the Parish Church, St Clements, has an historic Aisle (Chapel) in which there are marble plaques commemorating the Murchison family.

Heading north along the Mullewa-Carnarvon Road, we paused at Ballinyoo Bridge on the recommendation of friends. It was a brilliant recommendation and we wished we had more than the 3 nights we had.

This is the upper reaches of the Murchison River and the ‘old’ bridge was the second oldest concrete bridge to be built in Western Australia, back in 1929/30. It was replaced as recently as 2015 but a section has been preserved for all to see by the side of the road.

Being in the Camp Book, and so highly recommended, we expected the free site to be busy. But when we arrived, we were the only campers.

We snagged the best spot, overlooking a sandbank, across the water and, as we discovered that evening, a large nest in a tall gum tree on the opposite bank for two nesting Black Breasted Kites who entertained us with their screeching calls, their mating and their effortless wheeling in the air. This was their territory!

One or two other campers came and went over the next few days but with a wide, open space and bends in the river, we felt we had an idyllic retreat all to ourselves. We enjoyed bird watching, strolling along the banks and paddling in the cool water at the edge of the sandbank.

At night, we cooked over the campfire and stared up into the starry, night skies, miles from urban light pollution.

No need for the Hetty, the Ford Ranger, to take us anywhere so we left Huberto, the caravan, attached, making pitching camp as easy as possible.

This obviously confused a cow! On our last night, I was woken by sounds of plodding and heavy breathing. The van rocked a little. I listened carefully and then banged on the side of the van. Noises stopped. Then the plodding receded slightly. I braved it to look out the window and there she was, a huge-looking specimen, silhouetted against the moonlit sky as she meandered away down the track.

In the morning, her hoof prints showed she’d tried to step between Hetty and Huberto, had knocked over our raised campfire, had brushed with the camp table and snapped off the kangaroo whistles from the front of Hetty. What an experience for her trying to reach the fresh water in the river. No wonder she left a trail of muck by the campfire!

You can tell we would love to come back by the number of photos taken in only 3 days! See some of them on Instagram .

With personal business to complete in Geraldton, the Midwest regional capital, we headed into a much-upgraded city, at least on the surface.

We took two nights at the Belair Caravan Park right out on the western point and next to the beach. This made a great sunset beer spot after a lot of paperwork and computing.

The obligatory grocery shopping was done too.

But this trip, the highlight was heading up in the evening to the HMAS Sydney II memorial. We had been before, in daylight, but have to recommend an after-dark viewing too. Yes, you can see it lit up from the town below nevertheless, at night it is so prettily lit up and the sparkling lights of the town below glisten against the darkened Indian Ocean.

Then we drove the 50 or so kilometres southeast to Ellendale Pool.

Wow!

Had we visited before?? One of us thought so, the other not so sure. How could you forget such a glorious wee spot?

It reminded us of Glen Helen in the West McDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territories but on a smaller scale.

The pool water calmly flows past the high cliffs they have formed over millennia. The sunsets were fabulous against this backdrop and the walks along the river ‘pool’ were delightful, if short.

This campsite is advertised as paid. We were fortunate as the honesty box was officially closed, the site was free for up to 5 nights, and we stayed all 5 nights happily drinking in the peaceful ambiance and the orange evening glow on the cliff face.

Ellendale Pool has a long history stretching back into the Dreamtime and stories of Bimarra. Then, arrived the early pastoralists and on to more modern authors. All this information is gleaned from informative panels at the site.

You may swim, though there are warnings of amoebic meningoencephalitis if the water temperature exceeds 26 degrees Centigrade. Canoeing or kayaking is also feasible. There are picnic tables and free gas BBQs as well.

After this relaxing time, we returned to Geraldton to finish our personal business, buy some Rock Tamers and a 12V fridge/freezer, which will be more blog posts to come.

Another traveller mentioned the Horizon Sculpture, also known as The Big Marble, on the foreshore. It is an interesting stop as you stroll along by the water.

We found the foreshore was a recent facelift and a welcome one. It gives locals and tourists an easy stroll, jog, skate…etc.. along the seafront to take in the views.

We like this area, a great place to be! Take a look at Instagram to see my photos.

Inland 80km from Dongara, along the Midlands Road lies the little farming community of Mingenew. This was cattle country but now, we saw mostly wheatfields. The history is recorded in iron art work as you enter the townsite and by the Drovers Rest Picnic area on the edge of the settlement.

We enjoyed an excellent coffee at the local bakery. They had a good range of breads, pies and sandwiches too.

On return to the car, we stopped outside the old Post Office. The building is a good example of simple, strong and attractive public building of its era, turn of the 20th Century. The writing at its doorway explained the arrival of post, telegraph and telephone to this little town, connecting it to the main regional town of Geraldton and the wider world.

Half an hour drive north of town, through flat farmland saw us arrive at Coalseam Conservation Park, a place for wildflower hunting in season.

The River Irwin winds its way through this area on its way to Dongara and the Indian Ocean. Over the millennia, the river has cut through the hard laterite crust and worn away the softer sandstone to form a deep, wide gorge. You can see black coal deposits along the river bed that the miners tried to dig out in the mid-1800’s. There wasn’t enough to make it financially viable and mining was short lived.

There are two camp areas within the park bookable through the ParkStay website. We stayed at Miner’s Camp and enjoyed the Plateau Loop walk trail noting the kangaroo tracks left on the soft, sandy path. We drove up to the Irwin Lookout for more fabulous views and were lucky to watch a Wedge Tailed Eagle soar above the gorge and being chased away by smaller birds from their nesting territory.

Our first river crossing in the Ranger towing the caravan was videoed for posterity. And we farewelled the Park continuing northward through flat farmland again. 

Mullewa is a wee town catering for early pastoralists, explorers and gold hunters. It is used by tourists as a base for seeing wildflowers and caters for the farming community.

We headed just to the eastern edge of town to the historic Mass Rock. The local priest in the 1920’s and 30’s wanted to include and convert the Indigenous community into the Catholic Church. Realising they did not want to come to the town church, he chipped an alter table into a large rock near their encampment. The alter is obviously cared for to this day, as there were flowers and a wooden cross placed there.

We finished our first trip to Mullewa at Tenindewa Pioneer Well free campsite 22km west of the town. After a detour for business into Geraldton, we intend to return to the area on the way north and stay at Wilroy Reserve and then Ballinyoo Bridge. All three sites we found from our Camps Australiawide  book 11 and cross-referenced with WikiCamps app.