WA4WD
Wildflowers
Description
WA
has some of the finest wildflowers in the world. They are more striking
because of the harsh environment in which they grow. Some years are
much better than others, and this is dependent on rainfall occurring in
the right months. Even after travelling this area for decades, the first
time I really saw these flowers was in 2011, and the view was literally
breathtaking. It was impossible to capture the images on camera.
Location
East of Perenjori in the Yalgoo shire
History
Trip Report
This
year tried to start our trip on the Rabbit Proof Fence Road just north
of Wubin, but after 10km we found that farm country has resumed this
section of the track. As we had had a lazy start, the day was running
out,so to make sure we were in camping country, we made a quick dash to
Perenjori where we turned onto the Perenjori Rothsay Road.
We saw a number of dead snakes on the road and one large live one making
its way across the bitumen. It survived two of us driving past but made
a sudden dash to safety, but straight under the wheels of our third
vehicle. Having seen so many snakes, we were more aware of our foot
steps after this.
We made the old state farm ruins at late afternoon and set up camp under
a few trees in a clear area. We let off a couple of rockets while there
for a bit of fun. The day had been pleasantly warm, and there were a
lot of flies until sunset.
That night was pretty cool. The next morning we explored the ruins for a
while, and it is sad to see that vandals are continuing to damage the
very thing that brings them out here.
We stopped at the old sandalwood cutters shack, where we could see that
there was water in the channel that run off from the rock has caused,
but the area was bare of much growth, unlike in 2011. There was an old
fridge near the shack, and dickheads have carefully placed their rubbish
here, full well knowing that there is no rubbish collection (yeah I get
on my high horse but, bugger me dead, what is it with dumbshits and
leaving their shit behind for others to clean up. If you take it in,
then bloody well bring it out).
From there we drove to Forrest's lookout, and had a terrific 360o
view. In 2001 every bare patch that we could see from this lookout was
covered in a variety of colours, but this year, it was just red dirt.
We drove to Rothsay, but now the old town and mine sites were out of
bounds due to mining. We spent some time walking around the cemetery and
other areas not impacted by mining leases. The cemetery clearly has one
grave which is marked by a large headstone,
but we could not really find any more than a grave each side. It seems
as though someone has buried something else in the cemetery. Whilst
walking further into the cemetery reserve we stumbled upon a pile of
stones that was marked by a small cross, it is hard to know whether this
is one of the known burials in the cemetery or one of the other burials
that occurred in the region. It is the size of an adult grave.
We then camped that night in the area shown as an old brick mill, where
it was pretty windy in the evening and cold again at night. How they
made bricks is beyond us. It is basically a gravel pit and there is no
evidence we could find of a kiln.
We moved on in the morning and still, we saw only a limited number of
wildflowers. We stopped at the old Warrierdar Battery and walked around.
We then visited the old Warrierdar Station site, where very little
remains.
Our next destination was to be Field's Find, and this time we did a
different route in and found two abandonned mine-sites. One of these had
a lot of infrastructure remaining, including 4 dongas and kitchen area,
a shed with chemicals, the old mill and winder shaft. It is disturbing
that no rehabilitation has occurred, though I suspect the mines
department accepted and the retained the bond paid by the mining
company. What is really concerning are the drums of Sodium Cyanide left
in the shed.
We arrived at Field's Find and set up camp. The dog was disturbed by the
braying of the goats and he found a very big bungarra that looked like
it had just eaten a massive meal. We chased it away so we did not have
to worry about it trying to run up our legs. During the night we had
some clouds come over and a couple of brief showers. The following day
we spent camped there while we walked all around, looking for old
relics. I found a piece of an old tea cup with an image of King George
(or Edward, or some king), which was quite striking. The rest of the cup
was no where to be seen. We also found the shattered remains of an old
earthenware kettle, and the fragments had some very intricate writing on
them. Too bad it was smashed.
The next day was our last day and we headed back to the Great Northern
Highway via Yeoh Hills. This is an interesting place and if it wasn't
for the small trees there, you could well think it was the moon. There
were a lot of goats here and the bucks had some very big horns!
Then it was back to the big smoke and work.
Places to See
Damerwa state farm ruins, Sandalwood cutter's shack, Forrest
Lookout, Rothsay Cemetery, Warrierdar mining area, Field's Find, Yeoh
Hills
Degree of Difficulty
I rate
this as easy. 4WD not really needed unless it has rained.
But after Perenjori there are no services.
Treks
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