2008-09

September 2008

SUBARU 4WD NEWS

Meetings of

THE SUBARU 4WD CLUB of WESTERN AUSTRALIA INC.

are normally held at

7.30pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the

Wembley Community Centre (Joan Watters Building) 40 Alexander Street, WEMBLEY W.A.

Subaru 4WD Web Site: http://www.subaru4wdclubwa.asn.au

WA 4WD Association (Inc): http://www.wa4wda.com.au

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SUBARU 4WD CLUB NEWS

SUBARU 4WD CLUB of WESTERN AUSTRALIA INC

P.O. BOX 434, SOUTH PERTH, W.A. 6951

2008 COMMITTEE

(Home Phone)

PRESIDENT: Simon Newton 9450-5953 [email protected]

SECRETARY: Robert Griffiths 9250-6270 [email protected]

TREASURER: Tony Richards 9386-7705 [email protected]

SOCIAL ORGANISER: Keith Wilcox 9344-6830

TRIPS CO-ORDINATOR: David Peck 9275-5617

EDITOR: Jim Wilcox 9306-8222 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Peter Andruszkiw 9440-4075

Geoff Hayden 9447-5698

Martin Southwood 9349-0182

Keith Low 9459-3358

Wendy Griffiths 9250-6270

MERCHANDISE: Tony Richards 9386-7705

WEB MASTER: Karl Boeing 9341-5087 [email protected]

4WD ASSOC DELEGATE: Tony Richards 9386-7705

M’SHIP CO-ORDINATOR: Keith Low 9459-3358 [email protected]

PROPERTY OFFICER: Peter Joensson 9447-3658

LIFE MEMBERS

Fred Offer, Keith Anderson, Jonel Householder, Ray Stewart,

Ian Johnson, Peter Andruszkiw and Ron Caunce.

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SUBARU 4WD CLUB of W.A. INC

President Returns!

Hello again members.

Welcome to what may be the first mile high Presidents report, being written on the plane on the way back from Mauritius.

A good way to help pass 6 hours or so. Anne and I have been in Southern Africa for the past month but no doubt your Committee has kept things running as normal during this time and I take this opportunity to thank them all for that.

At least I trust there hasn’t been a Coup during my absence. Nor has there been in Zimbabwe, unfortunately. A lot of our time was spent in Namibia, a place not unlike WA, Deserts, Canyons, and Rugged scenery with long distances to travel and of course Sand Dunes, only these are over 200 meters high. The Brumby would struggle a bit to take on one of these!

Would make a great place for a club trip. The wildlife is a bit different, we don't get to see Elephant, Giraffe or Hippo too often

In WA but the Crocs look the same. The only close encounter we had with dangerous animals was a group of drunken Afrikaners in a campsite bar. A diplomatic withdrawal from their territory around the waterhole was called for.

One highlight of the trip was a Micro light flight over Victoria Falls. It’s like a little trike with wings, would be great to have one of these at Lochada, save going up all those dead end rough tracks!

If you think it sounds dangerous try an impromptu swim down the rapids of the Zambezi (fell off the raft)

Now, back to Business, there are plenty of Trips and Socials coming into springtime, already looking forward to the LWE trip.

Hope to see you all soon.

It’s Saturday afternoon and while typing this report I received the sad news that one of our members, Barrie Stone has passed away.

On behalf of all our members I wish to extend our sincere condolences to Faye and Barries Family.

Simon Newton.

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TRIP CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT September

It’s been a quiet month for trips with a number of members recovering (i.e. trying to get the red dust out of their cars) from the Pierre Repairre and Karijini to Coast trips. The good news is that Dawn was able to get her automatic transmission fixed and is back on the road. The trip reports are in the magazine and some of the photos are on the internet, send me an email to [email protected] if you missed out getting an invitation to view them.

I lead my second trip (a day trip this time) and have received various comments that normal people lead a day trip first, before an extended trip. We went “East of Armadale” and we ended up with seven cars, with visitors in two of them and new members Paul & Viv Jagger as well. The drive was easy and the weather was great and best of all I didn’t get lost thanks to my father who navigated for me.

You may not have heard of Mooliabeenie (it is an old WWII gravel airstrip near Gingin) but you have a chance to go there on September 14th, to practice your driving skills. See the promo in the magazine for all the details.

Keith’s trip to Barrabup sanctuary on the long weekend at the end of September has a lot of names down already and may have reached the limit. If you are planning on going their website is well worth looking at as it tells of all the beaut things to see down there and by all accounts it should be a good season for wildflowers.

Another trip to Lochada is planned for October 9-13 to continue our promise to DEC to carry out maintenance work in the area, Reg has put more details in the trip promo. Having the trip spread over a few days like this has worked well previously as some people come at the beginning and others at the end which helps ease the load on the facilities there.

See you out there David Peck

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TRIP PROMOTIONS/INFORMATION

ANNUAL DINNER – Saturday, 25 OCTOBER 2008

The Annual Dinner is only a few short months away, again being held at the historical Dwellingup Community Hotel. It should be a great night with the normal annual and silly awards being presented as well as Club Member of the year. It is important to get the date into your diary and to make your accommodation arrangements as soon as possible. The hotel has come up with a menu (see below) and choices will need to be finalised a few days before the event so they can organise the provisions.

Last year the Sunday breakfast at the hotel proved very popular so we plan to do it again this year.

Where: Dwellingup Community Hotel

When: Saturday 25 October 2008

Menu:

Entree: Soup

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Mains: choice of -

Steak with pepper or mushroom sauce

Chicken Parmigiana

Grilled fish

Beer battered fish

Above mains served with chips. There will also be a salad bar set up.

Dessert: choice of -

Cheesecake

Pavlova

Apple crumble with custard

Tea and Coffee

Cost: $26 per person

Contact: Keith Wilcox 9344 6830 or [email protected]

Accommodation:

The hotel has a limited number of motel and hotel rooms so it is advisable to get in quickly. Alternative accommodation is available in and around Dwellingup, including the picturesque caravan park for those who wish to take vans, camper trailers or tents. Below are some options.

Dwellingup Community Hotel 9538 1056

Dwellingup Chalet & Caravan Park 9538 1157

Berryvale Lodge B & B 9538 1239

Jarrah Forest Lodge 9538 1395

Dwellingup Forest Lodge 9538 0333

Banksia Spring Cottages 9538 1880

Holyoake Rise 9538 1308

You need to let Keith know your selection from the menu by Saturday the 18th to allow for catering.

We would also ask you to think of awards for the clubman of the year and any other notable events and send your choices to Peter Andruszkiw by the October meeting.

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FUN DAY ON GRAVEL SKILLS DAY ON GRAVEL

Sunday 14th September 2008

This is an opportunity to hone our driving skills on some typical WA ball-bearing gravel. It’s for all ages, skilled or not. Partners / spouses have a go too!

The location is ideal, and we can cover things such as braking, turning and reversing. ‘Garages’, ‘fences’, rubber ‘stumps’ are placed so that you need to locate where your wheels are. Previous outings have been a lot of fun, and you will learn something about you car and driving it better.

We need to know the numbers early, so please get back to me ASAP. We need a large roll-up to make the day worthwhile. Insufficient numbers will mean cancellation so get the calendar out and register now!

Be there. It’s a load of fun!

Meet at: TBA. Please contact Ian to register ASAP.

Depart: 8.30am for 8.45 (No waiting).

Fuel: Full tank before meeting place.

Vehicles: Subarus only. Suggest tyre pressures 34psi+

Distance: About 100k one-way.

Pets: Yes, but must be on a leash at all times.

Bring everything: Picnic & snacks, drinks, slip-slop-slap-shade (Umbrella?).

Markers: We need lots of old cones, pot plants, icecream containers etc.

Contact: Ian Johnson 9448 5419 [email protected] 0419 936 566

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BARRABUP SANCTUARY – LWE 27-29 September Barrabup Sanctuary is situated 8km west of Nannup at ‘Quigup’ on the Old Barrabup Rd. It has a private campground which I have booked for the Queens Birthday long weekend in September. The camp holds 12 vehicles, 25 adults + children but we can fit in a couple more if need be.

The property contains 60 Hectares of mainly Jarrah/Marri association with Blackbutt, Banksia and River Gum along the Blackwood River. There is a diversity of habitat, ranging from river flat to ironstone ridge.

There are over 100 recorded varieties of Native orchids, which mostly flower in September, but some of which can be seen all year round. The property has a particularly high occurrence of native fauna, possibly due to its fire history in recent years, and birdlife abounds.

Barrabup Sanctuary is being developed as an open zoo, park and arboretum, with plans for the complete eradication and exclusion of cats, dogs and foxes with the gradual re-establishment of the original native flora and fauna.

Contact me or get your name down on the list at the next meeting as places are limited. Anyone wishing to stay down longer please contact me as soon as you can and I will try and arrange it with the Sanctuary. You can view their website

www.barrabupsanctuary.com.au for further information.

Depart: Saturday morning 8.30am for an 8.45am prompt start

Meet: Coventrys car park, corner of Albany Highway and Davis St, Kelmscott

Fuel: Full tank (there is a filling station almost opposite Coventrys)

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Bring: Everything for camping including food, water, drinks, nibbles etc.

Cost: $10 per person/night. Children under 12 free.

Contact: Keith Wilcox 9344 6830, 0413 266 245 or email [email protected]

LOCHADA TRIP – OCTOBER

From Thursday 9 October

To Tuesday 14 October

9 to 12 October is the last four days of the October School Holidays

Saturday 11 October a BBQ and some drinks will be catered for by DEC Geraldton Region for all members attending the trip, in apprecia-tion for the work we have carried out over the past adoption period and the formalisation of the current agreement.

During this period we will be erecting Track Name signs supplied by DEC throughout the property and we will also be developing a map of drives and highlights of the area. This will be an excellent opportunity to see areas of the stations you may not have seen before as many of the tracks have not been covered by the Club on past trips.

Enquires to Reg – 0417 096 417

More details over the coming months.

Pre trip notes will be sent to members registering their interest.

Get your names in early on a first come basis. Depending on condi-tions in the past we have had to set an upper limit for people attending the trip.

Members please come along to a meeting and

collect your new name badge.

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Restaurant Meal– Saturday 6 September

I have booked a table at Ruby’s Restaurant at the Northlands ‘Round House’ Tavern. The function is this weekend so I will need to know by Thursday 4th if you want to come. Sorry this promo did not get in the last months magazine but it had not been finalised by then. Places are limited to 15 so the sooner you ring me the more likely you are to get on the list.

Date: Saturday 6 September

Time: 7.00 pm

Where: Ruby’s Restaurant, Northlands Tavern, corner of Main and Amelia streets Balcatta.

Contact: Keith Wilcox 9344 6830, 0413 266 245

Annual 4wd bush dance Is to be held at the Boddington Rodeo ground on 8th-9th November.

Numguts bush band Saturday evening 7-11pm

We have tickets at $20 or $25 at the gate.

Camping available from 12pm Saturday. Raffle, face painting and ac-tivities from 2pm. Food soft drink, tea and coffee for sale. BYO alco-hol $3 sausage sizzle breakfast Sunday morning 8-10am.

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Trip Report: Millstream National Park.

Thursday 24 July,

We left Tom Price Caravan Park after a noisy night listening to ore trains rumble pass and the departure of vehicles for the 6:00 start at the mine. Then the LPG tanker arrived to fill up the caravan parks tank at 7:00. Had breakfast with crested pigeons, pink & grey galahs, and corellas that were present at the caravan park. Some of us ended up leaving around 8:30 to visit the local bakery, then we all drove up Mount Nameless (the highest drivable mount in W.A) for some great views over the mine and Tom Price. We had got permission to use the private rail access track which passed near Millstream the day before and it was in much better condition than the tracks around Kari-jini. On it we passed a 2.2 km long ore train. We stopped for lunch near the banks of the Fortescue River and were surprised by the num-ber of wildflowers around. Tom noticed one of Dawn’s tyres looked flat so he changed it with help from Karl. We made it into Millstream and headed for Crossing Pool which sounded like the nicest spot to camp and arrived around 3:30. There are only 10 campsites after some re-cent cyclone damage and six were taken but luckily we were able to convince Rob & Carol our camp ground hosts that we could squeeze in. Karl braved the cool water and went for a swim. We then all gath-ered with the other campers for nibbles and stories of everyone’s trav-els. It had been much warmer at one stage reaching 27 degrees.

Friday 25th July

A lot of birds making a noise at sunrise most of them were so small they were hard to spot, but the promised flock of 500 corellas didn’t arrive. It had been warmer overnight only dropping to 5 degrees, and we all sat on the banks of the river bird watching until after morning tea, when Josan, Karl, Tom & I decided to walk the 3.4 km trail to Mill-stream station homestead whilst Jenni & Dawn drove around. This proved to be a lovely walk along a couple of creek beds with towering paperbarks and river gums and local Millstream palms. We all had lunch at the Millstream homestead which is now the visitors centre

TRIP & SOCIAL REPORTS

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then did the 750 m walk around the grounds which crossed many small crystal clear creeks flowing out of a water lily covered pool, very relaxing. Tom set a cracking pace back and we made it in 45 minutes but were all hot & sweaty so we decided to go for a swim ( I only lasted about 30 seconds before heading back for shore). I took Dawn’s tyre down to a shallow section of the river and was able to discover the very slow leak which had been and was caused by a small stone in one of the tread grooves, which Tom & I plugged. Drinks and nibbles again with a different group of people (two in a Forester from S.A). With a campfire not being allowed we sat around Dawn’s little citronella lamp until bed time.

Saturday 26th July

Up early with the birds again but we didn’t stop to admire them as Karl was heading off back to Perth and the rest of us wanted to get to Warroora station about 520 km away but I was unsure of the road conditions. We left around 9:00 but took the scenic route through Mill-stream to a couple of look outs finally reaching the main road to Pan-nawonica by about 9:45. It was pretty good and we arrived just before lunch and refuelled, only paying $1.35/litre as it was subsidised by the mining company. We all bought lunch for a change and were de-lighted to be back on the bitumen again, but still had 400 km to go. We needed to have frequent rest breaks and finally made it into War-roora about 5:30 and asked for a sheltered campsite and was di-rected to Steven’s which was nestled between some dunes. There were a quite a few kangaroos around as we drove in (into the setting sun) but we managed to get the tents up just as it was getting dark. Everyone had a simple dinner and our campfire tonight was Josan’s “tea candle” in a small lamp which proved to be a perfect focal point while still allowing the multitude of stars to be seen. It had been warmer again being 29 degrees most of the afternoon. We had cov-ered 558 km in 7.7 hours of driving averaging 71 km/hr and I aver-aged 9.1 lt/100 km.

David Peck

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I have a 2.5 litre 2005 Forester automatic and since fitting a 50mm lift kit and new Yokohama AT-S tyres my normal fuel consumption around town has gone up from 9.75 to 10.59 Litres / 100 Km.

On my recent Pilbara trip I was concerned by how much fuel I was using a couple of times. I had a steel roof basket which was loaded with a spare tyre, two 20 litre jerry cans, and a 4kg gas bottle. Once when leaving Wiluna on a good dirt road, the other time was when there was no fuel available at Kamarina and we had to make it to Newman (over 100 Km with the low fuel light on). So I used the oppor-tunities to check my fuel consumption at various speeds a number of times doing 10 kilometres at each speed and using my scan gauge to record the figures.

Dirt - 70 Km/Hr was about the best compromise between speed & fuel consumption.

Speed Average Litres / 100 Km

100 12.5

90 12.4

80 10.7

70 8.8

60 8.6

50 7.8

Dirt up Mt Nameless

22 22.4

Bitumen - 80 Km/Hr was about the best compromise between speed & fuel consumption.

I removed the empty jerry cans & gas bottle to reduce drag, and some supplies had been used by now.

Speed Average Litres / 100 Km

100 10.5

90 9.2

80 7.7

70 7

60 6.5

50 7.8 ?

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Other recorded figures that may be of interest for future trip planning.

David Peck

TOTAL 10.92 Lt/100 Km 521.9 Litres 4779 Km

Litres / 100 Km

Litres used Distance Driving time Average Speed

Wiluna to well 5 - station tracks

10.7 28.5 265 4.0 64

Well 5 to well 6 - rough track

12.2 2.4 19.9 0.9 39

Well 6 to Serpents Glen - rough track

11.9 8.0 67 2.8 23

Serpents Glenn to Middle Branch Bridge - station tracks

9.2 17.2 187 3.8 49

Middle Branch Bridge to Newman -Bitumen but No fuel at Karmarina

9.1 39.2 428 7.4 57

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CLUB CALENDAR

November 2008

S M T W T F S Wed 5 Committee Meeting

Sat 8,9th Bush dance (see page 11)

Tues 11 Annual General Meeting

Fri 14 - Sun 16 4WD show

Sun 23rd Lancelin, fun in the sand

30 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

September 2008


Sat 6 Restaurant meal (see page 11)

Tues 9 General Meeting

Sun 14 Day Trip - Mooliabeenie

See page 7

Sat 27 to Mon 29 LWE Barrabup

Sanctuary (see page 8)

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

October 2008



Thurs 9-13 Lochada

(see page 9)

Sun 12th Sids for kids (see page 10)

Sat 25 Annual dinner (see page 5)

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

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Potential members are most welcome to come along on any Club activities before joining. Please phone the Trip Leader for further information.

Register with the trip leader if you are wanting to join a trip or social. Also contact the trip leader if you have to cancel, as we don’t want to wait for someone who does not turn up!

Some trips are ideas only and may be subject to change. Some of the later trips need trip leaders – volunteers please.

SCHOOL AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

School Holidays: 27th Sept to 3rd October.

Public holidays: Sept 29th, Dec 25,26th Jan 26th

December 2008


Sat 6 Xmas Party


1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

January 2008


Tue 13 General Meeting

Sun 11th: Beach run

24,25,26 LWE Blackwood area

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 28 30 31

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Saturday 5th July 2008 Pierre Repaire

Fully equipped for our Northern adventure the 6 cars Ian and Nina, Jim and Joy, John and Pauline, Keith, Karl and Dawn left Muchea at 8.30 am camping the first night at the Granites - and it was freezing. We needed all layers plus beanies.

Next morning everything was very damp with dew and needed drying off to some extent before packing up. On the way fuel stops at Dal-wallinu and Meekatharra where we had to wait a long time to pay and then Wiluna.

A little drive around the town then to book in at the hotel where we sorted out rooms. Jim and Joy, John and Pauline and Karl had decided to carry on up the Stock Route looking at Wells l to 5 before meeting us at Well 6. The evening at Wiluna was a great "cultural experience".

The other group of people with Ian S arrived soon after us and we met them all and rooms were sorted out before the special even BBQ.

This was a very special evening with a huge crowd of our own 2 groups plus people just in from the Stock Route, including a poets group, a group from Alice Springs, others heading North like us, locals and drill-ers and there were some stories going around. Most interesting to hear from the Hotel owner who had been there for 17 years and told us about the water (Wiluna sitting over a huge artesian basin, the mining for all sorts of minerals including Uranium, and the local history. As the eve-ning progressed and the wonderful BBQ (including prawns and great fresh fruit and vege salads) and the drinks were downed and hilarity and excitement grew. The poets invited us to join them for a "reading" but it was very cold and they had been at the bar for some time and soon re-turned after their reading. (They were camping) We had comfortable rooms with even shampoo, soap etc. provided.

Next morning breakfast was served from 5 am but we were about last! Breakfasts included 3 eggs, rashers of bacon, sausages etc. all in king size serves.

We left Wiluna in 2 convoys, with Brett and Robin with us and the other group with their trailers and equipment a bit later. Along the track we vis-ited Lake Violet Station with Brett and Robyn hoping to visit friends who unfortunately were not available, but the lady there with her 12 week old baby would have invited us all in except she was busy with the baby.

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We also stopped at the Granites station and paid $20 per car and $30 per trailer to help the owner keeping the tracks graded and in re-pair. Very friendly people.

We all arrived at Well 6 at about the same time and set up camp.

The "Gero" group were very well equipped with special fire powered hot water heaters for dishes and showers and it was fascinating to see the camp ovens and plates producing and sampling the gourmet food.

The next three days kept all the men busy repairing the Well using recyled plastic sleepers with every piece of machinery available for every sort of job. (Just as well for me!)

The evenings were hilarious especially on the Wednesday evening to celebrate the completion of the Well repair and Jims team the loo lighting and the very xxxxx job of cleaning out the enviro loo!!!!!! A horrible job well done. It was overflowing and who would have done these most important jobs otherwise ??? While the men were work-ing there were many vehicles passing through going both ways along the CSR. Some left donations to help with the repairs and all appreci-ated the work being done.

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In between all this I had my spot of bother. I had mistakenly left my lights on when we arrived and rigged up a light in the tent from the ciga-rette lighter - so had a flat battery! I was really kicking myself for not replacing the battery before we left. But don’t worry !!!!! I was as-sured all the help was there - and it surely was. From Ians solar charg-ing to Bretts generator/charger - I was worried that it was dead and very relieved when it started again the next day.

So Wednesday night was celebration night - and what a celebra-tion. Finishing the Well and loo repairs and Robyns birthday. What a bush party under the beautiful white gums and lit up with powerful lights , decorations and a piñata. Starting with Champagne and nibbles and carrying on with sparklers, poppers, magic lights, and drinks. It really was a great night and almost freezing night temperatures (ice on bowls).

Thursday was a rest day and David arrived just in time to meet everyone and see all the gourmet food being cooked and in the morning before leaving we had group photos taken by David who said that was his con-tribution. How many cameras - ? Who knows ! Just one after the other.

So we all left at different times. Ian, Nina, Jim and Joy heading off ex-ploring, John and Pauline further up the CSR ( celebrating Pauline's 70th birthday!), our group heading to Serpents Glen and the Gero group to Virgin Springs .

The track was wash aways, rocky, sandy, smooth, corrugated, straight, twisty - all sorts and my car was the lowest not yet being lifted and some of the Gero group were towing trailers so we were driving carefully. Un-fortunately I again had a problem being lower than the other Subarus and the others were all heavyweights.

I was trying to be careful and slow and driving on the mound and flat but unfortunately hit some outcropping rocks!! Next thing the power light started flashing which meant TROUBLE. The transmission.

We were near M6 rock pool and had stopped to see it and David, Keith and Karl quickly put a tin underneath to catch the oil. Yes, I had dam-aged the gear box plate. So it was the dirty job to drain the oil, remove the plate and patch the hole with epoxy and seal the plate to the body with silicone and replace the oil with Davids special gear box oil.. So the car was driveable and we continued the short distance to Serpents Glen. As we were stopping a drip could be seen and it meant trouble again - the patch had cracked. Out with the ex-biscuit tin again to catch the oil - fortunately not a lot had been lost.

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So it was time to set up camp and "wait and see". After a combined effort removing the plate again and see that the patch had cracked de-spite me trying to drive carefully and avoid rocks Keith drove over a very rough track to Virgin Springs knowing the Gero group had all kinds of gear and calling for help. Before Keith left it was all hands and bodies under the car to finish draining the oil and remove the cover to find the hole. Well done! and thank you all.

Later on Keith arrived back with Brett and Mike (they had all travelled over a very rocky track - where I definitely was not going. Brett had cleaned up the plate and re-plugged the hole on both sides with 2 pack epoxy (like a sausage roll - cut off a piece and mix to use) and he was laden with all the group's spare oil. After the plate had been cleaned of all the old silicone around the edges and replaced with more to seal it, David was again under the car to refit the plate. The last lost bolt had been eventually found, then they had to replace the oil again using the special filler (using part of my water syphon, a used jelly container and tape) because the filler was so difficult to get to.

Then to try again - light still flashing !!!! Maybe needs to be reset by the dealer? Turn off and try again - yes!! it drove off and still runs through all gears.

So now I must drive carefully again trying to avoid rocks (as I do) oth-erwise the filler could crack again and then get it brazed at Newman and refilled again with gear box oil. The guys were interested to see the underneath off an auto gear box.

But thats not all. On sunday Keith was going to put the spare fuel in my car and I needed a special filler - no go -so modification came in again. This time a cool drink bottle from the bin (who will empty it ???) top cut off and perfect funnel to tip fuel from my can into Keiths can into my car.

Next day was a rest day and Karl and David went off to Virgin Springs and other interesting places (again over that rocky spot) to see the other group. Keith went rock climbing, I checked out the Rock art and secret rock places. Karl is a super rock climber and the day before we spotted him right at the top waving to us. He said there was an old campfire up there and a fantastic view all around. On ground level just sitting surrounded by rugged red hills and grasses and small trees whispering wind (cold) and silence is so special.

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Next day at 9am we were packed and ready to leave when I started the car and the dreaded power light was still flashing. no worries just add some more oil. Still flashing all the way along the track , gently over rocks, burn over the sand hill, creep over wash aways, rattle over corru-gations. No worries - heading for Kumarina and we'll all fill up (expensive?) Visited Neds Creek station and had a chat and on we went to get fuel we were all on nearly empty. Watching the gauge get down to quarter full we pulled into Kumarina to see a sign - "pump not working" No icecreams either!

Next fuel was Newman/Capricorn so we had to drive VERY care-fully. 408 kms from Serpents to Capricorn. So we were on the bitu-men and David was measuring distances and consumption and differ-ent speeds. I was on empty and waiting for the light to come on and thought the light was broken. Eventually the light came on and I went 70 kms until we reached Capricorn - so that is something to know.

When we got to Newman and settled into the Caravan Park we set about trying to find someone to braze the gear box cover. No go. The mine was closed for maintenance and all mechanics were out there. So off came the plate again (Dave' s an expert) and the guys found a helper who had a man working for him and would help us - so it was brazed for a slab of beer and Dave put it on again. and filled it with new oil.

The light was still flash-ing and did so until I ar-rived home - perhaps 3000 km later but thats another story.

Two days later it was great to be joined by Josan, Tom and Jenni and another adventure began.

How can I thank David, Keith and Karl and all the Gero people for their wonderful company and help when I desper-ately needed it. PS I also had a flat tyre later on and these great peo-ple fixed it for me.

THANK YOU ALL. Dawn

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Karijini Section

This section of the larger trip had 7 participants in 6 vehicles. Josan plus Jenni and I linked up with the others at the Newman Caravan Park. We got to hear the full story involving Dawn’s automatic transmis-sion, repairs etc which I would expect would be covered in the preced-ing section. David, Karl, Keith and Dawn had put the extra days based in Newman into exploring the local area whilst repairs were made.

A mine tour the next day provided us with the opportunity to see an ex-plosion from a safe distance as well as to take in the incredible size of the operation.

Lunch at the nearby Silent Grove gave us our first small scale introduc-tion to a Pilbara Gorge. We camped at Wanna Munna that night which is a superb spot with hundreds of examples of ancient Aboriginal rock carvings. A number of the group later rated this as their preferred camp site of all those used.

Wanna Munna was a substitute for the original plan to camp at the Munjina East Gorge. We checked the latter out the next day- the views were spectacular but the setting was very exposed to the strong winds. All agreed we had made a good choice.

We refuelled at the Auski Roadhouse which is at the north east corner of the Karijini National Park. Our travels then took us along the northern boundary. Most of the group did a brief foray into Yampire and Wit-tenoom Gorges. The latter was clearly very spectacular but there seemed a degree of inconsistency in various information sources as to the safety or otherwise of visiting there.

The road to Hamersley Gorge took us through some spectacular nar-row winding rock passes. Camping at the gorge itself is not permitted so, based on Simon’s advice, we camped outside the National Park. This gave us a good start to visit Hamersley Gorge the next morning. This set the basic pattern of our visits with lots of climbing on rock faces and swimming in the very cold water by the more adventurous. Karl clearly has rock wallaby in his ancestry as every time we turned around he was scampering up another cliff face.

We checked into the Eco Lodge later that day for the first of our 3 nights within Karijini itself. We experienced very cold nights with over-night temperatures of around 2 degrees. As we could not have a camp-fire we huddled around Dawn’s citronella lantern after dinner till the first

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person yielded and went off to bed, generally about 8 pm.

Over the next few days, we managed to do day trips to all the gorges within Karijini. The roads within the Park were predominantly badly cor-rugated but manageable. Each gorge had distinctive differences from the others though all were well worth seeing. Josan was busy keeping a record sheet of the expanding number of bird species we sighted on our visits and round the campsite.

At Dale Gorge we met up with club member Bob Harrison. He was scheduled to be acting as a DEC volunteer host. Unfortunately for him, a change in family circumstances meant he had to cancel these plans and return to Perth the next day. The Dale Day Use Area also included a photogenic dingo who was unfazed by the presence of people to the ex-tent of standing in the middle of the road whilst the buses and other vehi-cles drove around him.

We marked our last evening at Karijini with a very pleasant dinner in the resort restaurant. Keith set off early the next morning for the long drive home. The rest of us headed out of the Park a little later for the drive to Tom Price. By this stage we had travelled approximately 400 km in or skirting the park since we fuelled up at Auski.

Tom Minto

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Warroora to home 26th – 30th July

Having left Millstream around 9am on Sat 26th we had a fairly long 500km+ drive ahead of us to Warroora, a station about 30km south of Coral Bay whose coastal boundary boasts a 51km stretch of the won-derful Ningaloo Reef.

We refuelled at Pannawonica and enjoyed a very cheap subsidised, $1.34 per litre and became a four car convoy as Karl had left us that morning to head home. So we enjoyed the last picture perfect scenery of the Hamersley Ranges and headed south towards what we hoped would be warmer temperatures so we could enjoy refreshing swims and snorkelling at Woorra.

After a long but pleasant day’s drive on the bitumen we arrived at the homestead just before the sun disappeared over the sea. The station manager suggested we camp at Stevens which was a good move as we found an ideal camping area protected behind a couple of high sand dunes. It was also the perfect size for four cars and four tents. As it was quickly getting dark we set up camp in haste and by 7pm we were all enjoying dinner and sitting round a candle lamp admiring the clear sky and amazing coating of stars.

Sunday 27th

We all commented how luxuriously warm it had been during the night after enduring near freezing temperatures inland in the first week of the trip. Our first task of the day was to set up the chemical loo which Tom and Jennie had bought especially for Warroora. With a couple of tarps and a few guy ropes we had a great convenience set up and we now had the day ahead to relax and enjoy. As it was warm and sunny we headed for the beach near our camp and all but one of us snorkelled and enjoyed lots of colourful sea life. This was a great refreshing swim after the long dusty drive.

The first part of the afternoon was spent at the camp reading, relaxing and luxuriating in warm sunshine. By 3pm I could not resist the urge to go for another snorkel and suggested to David that we try and walk up to Elles Beach which was described as “magic snorkelling”. The wind had picked up slightly but did not deter us. However, the soft sand got the better of us and we stopped where we thought Elles Beach was but after getting in to the water quickly realised we hadn’t walked far enough as there were no fish to be seen! Also the wind started to pick up more, and we both found it challenging as there was a fairly strong

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current causing us to swim hard to get back to shore. So disappointed in the sea, we made the most of the walk and took our time getting dry admiring the colourful shells. Just to make the jaunt more eventful, I re-alised I had shaken my shorts with my sister’s birthday present earrings and which were now somewhere in the sand. After half an hour of de-tailed searching David became my legend for the day as first he found one and then the other earring! Needless to say, I was full of gratitude and relief and marvelled at David’s perseverance and patience in find-ing them. I will forever be grateful – thank you David.

By this time it was late afternoon and by the time we got back it was drinks and nibbles time. We were all so relaxed by then that none of us could be energised to walk down to the beach to watch the sunset, as was our plan! So instead we sat around the camp, admired the sunset colours of the sand dunes, cooked our dinners, lit the camp candle again and enjoyed chatting and storytelling whilst admiring once again the clarity of the Milky Way, this time through the binoculars as well.

Monday 28th July

We had two full days at Warroora and this being the second day I was keen to discover the other good snorkelling spots shown on the mud map. First we went down to our local beach near the camp for a morn-ing swim, and this time all of us went in.

Unfortunately the rest of the day was controlled by the weather which was becoming windier and cloudier by the minute. So we made a good decision to dismantle the chemical loo in case we had to make a quick exit of the camp if the weather deteriorated, and we all packed up as much as we could to avoid our belongings getting wet if it did rain. Tom then offered to take the contents to the dump shown on the mud map. By the time he returned it was pretty windy and the clouds were closing in so sadly we were not going to be able to snorkel so we decided to take a drive to Pelican Point which was home to a Pelican sanctuary with “excellent snorkelling”. The track became soft sand so we all re-duced our tyre pressure. When we had set off to Pelican Point it was spitting rain, but did not look too ominous. But by the time we got to Pelican Point it was raining steadily and so we did not enjoy the views as much as we hoped.

On the return back to camp, David wisely diverted off to the homestead to find out the weather forecast and was advised that they had already closed one of the two tracks in to the station. So the decision was easy

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– pack up and leave before they close the other track and we get stranded at Warroora!

So we packed up everything in record time and were on the track out of the station by 5.30pm. This was a most entertaining part of the day. With the track now nice and slippery, Dawn did a perfect half pirouette! After that we went on gingerly as it was getting dark now and the rain got heavier and the track more like an ice rink. Plus, we still had to stop at the main highway to pump up our tyres, in the dark and the rain!

As Coral Bay was the nearest place to find food and a dry bed, al-though going in the opposite direction, we decided it was the best op-tion. So we arrived in Coral Bay around 7.30pm in cheerful spirits de-spite our damp day. After discovering the petrol station was already closed we tried the caravan park for accommodation and it was also closed with a notice saying “Fully Booked” Oh ooh, we thought, we may end up sleeping in our cars tonight. So we then found the nearest restaurant and walked in amusing ourselves at our by now rather di-shevelled appearances!

Whilst we mulled over the menu Tom suggested he find the back-packers hostel to see what they could offer. This was a great idea as he came back with the good news that they had a family room with enough beds for the five of us. Great! We all ate our fish and chips with glee and happiness at the thought of a dry bed for the night and hot showers.

Tuesday 29th July

So this now ends the last main part of the trip as the next morning we were off south and it was our last full day. As our original plans for the last night of the trip had been put out of balance by the weather, we were wondering what to do and where to stay. But this was all an-swered when Jennie found a brochure in the Carnarvon information centre advertising Eurardy Station which is around 180kms north of Northampton run by the National Heritage Fund and renowned for its bird life. David rang to see if they had accommodation and they had. So after arriving late afternoon and being warmly welcomed, we had a lovely comfortable evening celebrating the end of the trip and also the night before Jennie’s birthday. It is a great place to stay and enjoy the birds and countryside so well recommended.

Last Day... Wed 30th July

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The next morning we made the effort to get up earlier than usual so we could take a walk around and see the birds. We saw a flock of zebra finches, a black shouldered kite, Rufous Whistler, and heard the wrens. Unfortunately, the rain stopped us from seeing more.

We left at 8.40 am, had lunch in Northampton, parted with Dawn in Geraldton, as she was going to enjoy a couple of days with family, and continued our way home through heavy rain which was timed beauti-fully to wash the mud off the cars.

Thanks to everyone for making it a very enjoyable two weeks: David for being the most patient and considerate trip leader ever; Dawn for her gracious and kind personality; Tom and Jennie for their great story tell-ing, wit and conversation; Keith and Karl for their adventurous spirit!

Josan

A copy of the last meetings minutes is available on the website, or a copy may be viewed at the meeting

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THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT

NECESSARILY THOSE HELD BY

THE SUBARU 4WD CLUB OF W.A. INC.

Please send articles to the Editor by the Thursday before the end of the month (earlier is better). Email: [email protected] in Word format or plain text;

Soft copy articles preferred by email, diskette or CD.

Subaru 4WD Club WA Website: http://www.subaru4wdclubwa.asn.au

23/07/2008 Tom Price Australian White Ibis

24/07/2008 Mount Nameless, Tom Price Striated Grass Wren

" Fairy Martin

25/07/2008 Crossing Pool, Millstream Great Cormorant

26/07/2008 " Blue-winged Kookaburra

26/07/2008 " Hard-head white eyed duck

26/07/2008 " Great Egret

26/07/2008 " Grey-crowned babbler

26/07/2008 " Scarlet Robin

26/07/2008 " Rainbow bee-eater

26/07/2008 " Peaceful Dove

26/07/2008 " Star Finch

27/07/2008 Woorra Sooty Oyster Catcher

27/07/2008 " Silver gull

27/07/2008 " Welcome Swallows

28/07/2008 Billabong Roadhouse Red-Capped Robin

29/07/2008 Eurardy Black-shouldered Kite

29/07/2008 " Zebra Finch

29/07/2008 " Rufous Whistler

30/07/2008 Swan Chickens

A list of the bird species seen

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2008-09

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