After breakfast we set off to explore the station, looking at other possible campsites for the club trip scheduled for the long weekend in September. We climbed to the ridgeline under which we were camping, where there were great views all around.
Small water pools had formed on the outcrop, and the rock was weathering off in sheets in places.
There was even a miniature “Wave Rock” which made Anne happy as we’d decided not to go to the one at Hyden as it was somewhat off our planned route.
We eventually made it into the vehicles and hit the dirt tracks, where we saw plenty of kangaroos as we drove along (kangaroos aren’t the smartest animals out there, more often than not they veered into the fences as they bounced alongside them and headed towards the cars instead of away from them).
There were reports of a couple of feral camels from one of the other cars but I didn’t see them (although Anne says she did), and lots of goats and sheep were grazing for the meagre pickings. Anne’s mum’s sheep would have a shock if they had to live out here after their lush fields (and general pampering) back in the UK.
The station comprises something like 500,000 acres, about half its former size, and we spent all day just in the south east corner. Rocky outcrops provide vantage points over the surrounding land, and we drove up Mount Singleton to have lunch and enjoy the amazing views. SPOT
We let Will drive the Camel most of the morning in order to cheer him up as yesterday he’d received a call from his insurance company to say that his Discovery was going to be written off following a small accident he recently had. He may look to buy his Discovery back, or will strip it of parts before handing it over. The others joked that we wouldn't be able to get Will out of the driver’s seat, and by the grin on his face he seemed to be enjoying himself.
We ventured down to the edge of Lake Moore, a large salt lake extending across much of the station.
It’s currently dry, although as soon as you venture out a few feet onto the crust you realise that a lot of moisture in hidden just below the surface and nobody fancied driving out onto it.
We back tracked along a new fence line which has been constructed to form a nature reserve, as much of the station has been destocked and is being returned to nature - assuming they can keep out the goats. We passed several wind powered bores, used to draw up water,
and an old shaft which must have been over 40m deep and we theorised was built to look for gold (but the station owner later told us it was an unsuccessful attempt to find water).
Returning to camp before dark it was time for a proper fire, and Will disappeared into the bush to return with various large trees. Brad helped us route our UHF aerial and soldered it up for us so that we now have our own communications and could return Darryl’s handheld radio. Steak, sausages, potatoes and onions were all cooked on a hot plate, an item which we’ll have to purchase as there is nothing quite like cooking over an open fire. I discovered a taste for Kahlure, shared with Brad and Will, and it was a perfect end to a great day’s driving.
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