Mt Barker to Hyden Week 41

                         Week 41

                 Mt Barker to Hyden

The week began with problems to solve, namely some elderly batteries that were no longer holding their charge. Settling quickly to Mt Barker, we ended up in Albany once again to buy some suitable replacements. Brian is happy with his new additions, but is eager to free camp again to test them out, but I fear the weather gods have other ideas. There are some hot hot days here, with strong winds, so power is going to make life more comfortable.

Near Mt Barker is the Porongurup National Park, a smaller version of the Stirling Ranges, but there is no camping in this park. The walk started in an exciting way when some backpackers cooking breakfast blew up their stove and their breakfast.It created quite a bang.

The direction is up, and up and up, but once you get near the top ridges, it is like walking through a garden, a bush one admittedly, but quite delightful amidst the granite outcrop that signifies the mountains here in the southern regions of Western Australia. A class four, the walk was challenging, but within my fear factor, so all was well.

Moving on, we find ourselves in Kojonup where we intend to sit out the Christmas break. It is very quiet here and they have an affordable weekly rate that suits us. Brian strung out the Christmas lights to lift our spirits and found an ad for a Christmas lunch at the local RSL, the price, a donation. Thus we celebrated Christmas with a lunch with locals of all ages and descriptions and even ended up with take away containers of ham and some fresh vegies and some Christmas cakes for us and our neighbours. Truly country hospitality much appreciated.

Kojonup of course has a grand golf course, but the drought here is causing havoc with the grass. Of course we had to play on the day of the start of the heatwave. We did nine and scurried home to airconditioning and planned to return late in the afternoon. At 4:30 it was still 37C in the shade, but shade and wind helped the last nine to be played more comfortably. I wish I could say our scores were improving, but it is good exercise.

The wind became so strong we were nervous about leaving the awning out so put it away for a few days rest till the wind was all blown away. Ironic that at home the category 1 Cyclone Tash crossed the coast early Christmas Day. Happily no reports of any major inconvenience to anyone we know. Remember being away from one about twenty years ago and coming home to a freezer of food that had gone bad because of the power cuts. Hope that is it for you poor rained out people up there, but reading between the lines, we think there will be more wild weather to come in the months ahead.

It is strange here with everything so dry, the farmers actually now say it will be a bigger disaster if it rains now. They want it in winter closer to seeding their crops. None of us are ever satisfied, are we. That is really my New Year’s resolution - to be satisfied with the way it is and make the most of it - easy to say with our present lifestyle.

Of course life doesn’t run smooth- you’ll laugh when you learn that our latest problem is that the handle on the door has broken inside the van. It has now become an art to open. You have to get the right expression on your face, just the exact pressure in your fingers and a lot of prayer to get out. Brian has been chuckling, but even for him the novelty of coming to my rescue is wearing off. This will be another test for the resolution to see if we can see the good side for another fortnight before we reach Perth and new parts.

While we are here, Brian wanted to cross off Hyden from his bucket list. It is about a four hour drive from here so we left the caravan behind and treated ourselves to a night in a unit. It isn’t even New Year yet and already my resolution is undergoing tests. For the price, it was not the most salubrious of settings, but it was clean and comfortable, and right there at Wave Rock, so in the passing of time, it was fine, not great, but OK.

Treating ourselves further, we had a late anniversary dinner at the Hyden Hotel/motel. We didn’t realize it was a cook your own deal, so I have to admit to a long face for a while as each problem unfolded. I asked for fish and got a long explanation about how it was fresh but had to be defrosted. I didn’t care as long as it tasted OK. Then Brian asked for T-bone X that looked pretty good to him but got T-bone Y which had the good part cut off. Truth is display is not a feature here. Then the house wine. Take your pick De Bortilis, Penfolds, Cooibah etc etc - brand names, but no wine type. A choice on a wing and a prayer and the glass came out half empty - I though of Wim and Wal when a particularly small meal comes out and they wonder where the rest is. Lips firmly fastened I accepted my fate and claimed a table. Brian thought it was too close to the BBQ area, so we moved, only to be joined by a family with 6 kids, so we moved, to a rickety table that threatened to turn topsy turvey every time Brian tried to cut his steak, so we moved - talk about Little Red Riding Hood - at least she stopped at three! Still, resolution practice to the fore, my fish cooked in lemon and cherry tomato foil was great and the salads, disappearing fast were nice. My big win was the chips coming out to the buffet right when they were needed and free coffee. End result, a lovely evening out, thanks you Brian.

Wave Rock is just a small part of Hyden Rock. It is interesting to see, but all over in ten minutes. Walking onto Hyden Rock, there is a wall skirting the edge. It was the town’s way of capturing the water that ran off the rock and diverted into a storage area. Now they have a supply elsewhere, but the wall still is mostly intact.

The main resident here is the ornate dragon, busy bobbing up and down to attract a mate. Life must be hard. Early in the morning we were lucky enough to catch a bird watering on the far part of the rock that hasn’t had the water redirected.

About twenty kms from the Wave is Mulka’s Cave where we were expecting to see cave painting, but after seeing sites at Carnarvon, Cooktown and in Kakadu, it was a bit “Ho hum”. Here we walked the granite outcrop in fierce winds so had a bad hair and hat day. The part that makes it worthwhile is the 360 view of the vast wheat farms, albeit in their driest form. It also helps you appreciate the people who live in this harsh environment, both now and in the past. How lucky we are.

As we drive home, it strikes me that we are long longer in “-up” land, but have moved to “-in”. This is your cue Owen to tell me what this means. We find Kalgarin, Kulin, Kalgarrin and so it goes on. Dumbleyung was thus a breath of fresh air as was Dumbledee. The other day we passed Jellicoe Road, so I am starting to believe the early settlers were very merry when they chose the place names.

We trust you all had a great Christmas and wish you all a very happy new year. The challenge for all all is to send me your favourite New Years Resolution, the one you really want to keep. Brian is going to stop telling young children tales. He told three small boys they could stand on the Hippos tongue, and they believed him. All of you who know my beloved well will know this will probably be the first broken resolution of them all.

Have a good week and enjoy those holidays. Brian is already lamenting that holidays are no longer the same now he is on a permanent holiday. Poor thing.

Cheers

The Nearly New Year Nomads.