2011-06

June 2011

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

Rotary Hall, 55 Sandgate St., South Perth

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

SUBARU 4WD CLUB of WESTERN AUSTRALIA INC

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

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SUBARU 4WD CLUB NEWS

2011 COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT: Tony Richards 9386-7705 [email protected]

SECRETARY: John Cahill( Acting) 0439 922 338 [email protected]

TREASURER: Keith Wilcox 9344-6830 [email protected]

SOCIAL ORGANISER: Tom Minto 9382-4678

TRIPS CO-ORDINATOR: David Peck 0402177886

EDITOR: Joy Unno 0429473709 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Rob Griffiths 0411249933

Jim Wilcox 6467-7063

Keith Low 9459-3358

Ian Johnson 9448-5419

MERCHANDISE: Tony Richards 9386-7705

WEB MASTER: Karl Boeing/ 9341-5087

Rob Griffiths 0411249933

[email protected]

4WD ASSOC DELEGATE: David Peck/ 0402177886

Tony Richards 9386-7705

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

PROPERTY OFFICER: Peter Andruszkiw/Simon Newton

Club member of the year 2010: Rob Griffiths

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

Fellow Members,

Just a few days now until my Kimberley trip kicks off. And I’m not counting! There are also 7 cars on the trip to Walga Rock (so far), so it should be a good send-off on the Saturday night.

I am disappointed to report that the Club is now desperately in need of a Secretary. I took the minutes at the May meeting and Dave Peck has kindly offered to do the June minutes while I am on the trip. But we still need a Secretary from the July meeting through to and including the November AGM. If you felt this was a position you could take on, then please step up and help out your Club.

Another plug now for our speaker at the July meeting! Dr Christopher Dunne, Senior Research Scientist, Flora Conservation and Herbarium Program, DEC will be presenting to the meeting on dieback in WA. It should be a very interesting presentation, so please put it in your diaries now.

And while we are talking about speakers, thanks to Dave Peck’s efforts, it looks like we may have another speaker. Dave bought some solar panels from Mandrake’s Solar Power. Their new WA agent (Mike Burns) was very helpful and offered to be a guest speaker at a Club meeting. Hopefully, Dave can line him up for a meeting later in the year.

Finally, Track Care WA is proceeding with its adoption of the Warriedar Station buildings. DEC has agreed not to demolish these historic buildings as long as TCWA agrees to restore them and maintain them into the future. Accordingly, TCWA has agreed to an MOU (yet to be ratified) with DEC setting out TCWA’s and DEC’s responsibilities and obligations in relation to the retention of the Warriedar Station infrastructure. TCWA has advised “This will be a large commitment and will require the strong support of TCWA and the many 4x4 Clubs that are members of TCWA”.

I look forward to seeing you all out on a Club trip.

Regards, Tony Richards

PRESIDENT’S REPORT June 2011

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Hi All,

Well we have had a couple of great trip this month. Thanks to Jim for the extended long weekend trip to Warriedar the area certainly looks inter-esting and worthy of another visit. He also introduced us to Geocaching which is the free high-tech treasure hunt where you use your GPS re-ceiver to find caches hidden by other players. We didn’t have any luck finding the two caches on the way up but we found them on the way back. We also did a trip 100 km up the road to look for one (which we found) at Joker’s tunnel which is near Yalgoo and its well worth a look if you are in the area.

The campsite had the luxury of a corrugated iron long drop toilet, a shower enclosure and walled enclosure that Jim put a tarp over. The only downside was the number of flies around, still we managed to visit some wells and abandoned mines and explore a number of the station tracks.

Joy’s trip to Gnangara and Pinjar was well attended with a number of visitors and a new member (welcome Brad and Tremaine). We had a play in the Gnangara bowl and a few of us managed to get bogged in-cluding me. I learnt a bit more on how to drive the diesel and tyre pres-sures will be more important for me, as just putting your foot down does-n’t have the same effect, but once I got it right it tended to chug along quite nicely at about 2000 rpm. Further up the road at the hill by the Pin-jar power station it sounded like a WRX outing as a few of the younger drivers had the tuned exhausts burbling away as they tackled the hill.

We have a couple of dates picked for day trips later in the year but need your help with some ideas. If you have any favourite destinations let me know, you don’t have to lead the trip I can find someone else to do that.

Cheers David

TRIP CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT June 2011

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TRIP CALENDER:

June LWE 4-6th June

Camping Trip to Walga Rock near Cue - TL

D. Peck

4th Jun-3rd Jul Kimberley Capers TL- Tony R

Sat 18th June Social trip – Christina's Restaurant -

Sun 10th July Lake Clifton.– TL – Joy U –

Sat 16th July

Movie night- Harry Potter TL Tony R

July 30-31 Myalup cabins – Christmas in July – TL - TBC

Sun 14 Aug TBA perhaps Orchid Hill- wildflowers TL- Tony R

August 25 Thurs Dowerin Field day

August 27-28 Camp oven cookout and Gymkhana Toodyay - TL John C

11 Sept Day trip TBA

September 23-25

Fitzgerald NP – Quaalup – up on Website. TL Nina M

15 Oct Annual Dinner-TBA

Queens Birthday LWE Oct 28-30

Subarogain – Pemberton area – TL Phil and Liz R.

TRIP CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT June 2011

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Let’s go ----------- Italian!

Christina’s Café/Restaurant 891 Albany Hwy. East Victoria Park (between Can-terbury Tce. and Westminster St.)

Saturday 18 June 2011 at 7pm

A shared Italian banquet recommended by two of the “bon vivants” in the club.

$40 per person

Our booking is on the basis of everyone having the banquet (rather than some banquet, some a la carte). Vegetarian mains are available as re-quired, but please advise when you register.

Corkage is $3 per person. They are also licensed.

Put your name down by 9 June 2011, this is the final cut off date as we need to confirm numbers with the restaurant.

More information Tom Minto 9382 4678

Christina's Italian Banquet Menu

APPETISER ENTREE

Christina's Tasting Plate Penne Napoletana

and Garlic Bread Ravioli Alla Panna

MAIN COURSE

Veal Parmigiana and

Chicken Griglia

Accompanied by Salad

Seafood - Chilli Mussels and Deep Fried Calamari (Optional Extra - Additional $8 per person)

DESSERT

Dessert of the Day

Coffee or Tea

TRIP PROMOTIONS / INFORMATION

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SUBAROGAIN-PEMBERTON AREA

THURS 27, FRI 28-SUN 30 OCTOBER LWE

Rogaining: The sport of cross country navigation

Subaru: Cross country navigation in style.

Overview:

Subarogaining is a car rally based on the rules of Rogaining (orienteering). Vari-ous markers or locations have a point value ranging from 10-120. Teams must choose their own routes to get the most number of points within the allotted time.

Base Camp will be the Pemberton Caravan Park but the event will extend from Augusta to Walpole and North to Bridgetown.

Each team will be able to choose one of several challenges (driving plus 1. hik-ing, 2. picnicking, 3.tree top climbs and 4. fishing).

Points are allocated to locations and activities. The focus is fun and safety. Teams will not be able to do everything so I encourage you pursue those activi-ties you enjoy.

Briefing & Planning: The morning of the event will be taken up with a briefing followed by planning activities.

NO ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION AIDS CAN BE USED

Convoys MUST be formed if going to the following destinations

D'entrecastaeux National Park, Warren Beach, Yaegerup Beach (via Yaegerup Lake), Jasper Lake (via Black Point Rd, along pneumonia Rd and Scott Rd ), Lake Jasper to Black Point along Woodaburrup Rd.

Other Destinations: Moores Hut, Fish Creek.

Starting: At 12.30 pm staggered starts 1 minute apart will commence.

As teams travel to each destination they will note

it down on their record sheet and take an appropriate photograph.

Each challenge will have a set time limit.

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◦ Driving challenge: 5 hours

◦ Fishing challenge: 6 hours

◦ Picnic challenge: 6 hours.

◦ Hiking challenge: 5 hours.

Finishing: Approx. 6pm. All teams must present themselves to the registration desk along with their record sheet and photographs. The photo's will be downloaded onto a laptop to verify the record sheet.

Scores will be tallied and announced later.

Essential Equipment.

UHF Radio

Each hiker must have a backpack with food and a water bottle.

Water and Food (in case of an unplanned over night sleep in the car.)

Recovery Gear, especially if planning to drive on sand (eg, tyre deflator, shovel, snatch strap).

Full tank of petrol, A Jerry can may be useful but not essential.

Camera - either digital or film. The laptop will have a USB port, SD Card reader

and bluetooth. Please ensure your digital camera can communicate with the lap

top.

Accommodation: Pemberton Caravan Park Registrations will close 3 weeks prior to the event and Subarogain registrations close 1 week prior to the event. I have 10 temporary camp sites booked for three nights (Thursday, Friday and Sat night). All departures are 10 am Sunday $35 for two adults per night, only 1 car per site. I must know if people are taking caravan or camper trailers or tents.

Participants will need to check in with me (the Team Leader) on the Friday night. There are chalets etc for those who want to stay elsewhere .

PLEASE be respectful of others, 4wd tracks and general road rules. The caravan park has already permanently banned one 4wd club for partying and disturbing other guests after being repeatedly told to quieten down. We do not want bring the Subaru Club into disrepute and miss out on revisiting a beautiful part of WA.

Full Details of Rules, etc., are available on the Club website.

Phillip R.

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MOVIE NIGHT MOVIE NIGHT MOVIE NIGHT MOVIE NIGHT

16TH JULY16TH JULY16TH JULY16TH JULY

As luck would have it (great

timing?), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

(ordinary and 3D) opens on Thursday 14 July and I’m a big

Harry Potter fan. Are there any other Harry Potter fans out

there?

If you are not a Harry Potter fan and would prefer to see

something else, that's fine. Check out Coming Soon on the

Event Cinemas website:

http://www.eventcinemas.com.au/Movie/ComingSoon

Session times are not available yet. It will be the last ses-

sion before 5.00pm, with an option for dinner afterwards at

a local eating establishment - details TBC.

I expect to be able to organise discount tickets @ $12.00

each.

Tony R.

Email: [email protected]


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CAMP OVEN COOKOUT & GYMKHANA

Sat-Sun 27-28th August

Come join us again for a weekend of good company, good food, good fun and play as we cook our favourite camp oven recipes around a great big fire in a sheltered camp site next to a creek before we have a good night’s sleep prior to playing in the cars on the Sunday.

We had such a good time last year we thought it would be good to try the event again at a time when there might be bit more water, is slightly warmer and when there are not a lot of trips in progress, so more people can come along.

Peter’s farm near Toodyay has a large flat area where we can try our skills re-versing and driving through witches hats in manners which do not bring too much embarrassment to the drivers, plus it has a whole range of hills, valleys, streams and tracks of varying degrees of difficulty where we can see what the cars and we as drivers are capable of doing. On top of that there is a large camping area (with flushing toilets not far away) and a campfire pit that will be fully stocked with wood for us to enjoy a winter’s night camp fire.

The idea is to go up to the site at about 4pm on Saturday the 27th to set up for the Camp Oven Cookout and camping overnight. Plan to share the product of your camp oven with others and to enjoy theirs as well. If you can indicate what you would like to bring on the web site so we end up with a good range of dishes and desserts!

On Sunday morning the 28th at about 9:30AM we will split into 2 groups. One will go off with Peter exploring around the property trying out those challenging traverses and being surprised with what the cars will do. The other will try out the gymkhana events – different to last years. After lunch we will swap the groups around to have ago at what the other group had done.

The cost of the event is $15/car overnight Saturday and $25/car for the Sunday events coming to a total of $40/car for the full event. See notes for rendezvous and address of event. If you would would like to participate in any or all parts of the event please register you interest on the website or call John on 0439 922 338.

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DOWERIN FIELD DAY THURSDAY 25TH AUGUST

http://www.dowerinfielddays.com.au/

We plan to visit on the second day of the Dowerin GWN Field Day as it is only 156 km (2 hour drive) from Perth

Give Rob a call on 0411249933 or add your name to the website list if you are a member.

Meeting place & time information available to Members on the website.


LAKE CLIFTON EXPLORATION

DAY TRIP SUNDAY 10TH JULY

Lake Clifton is a long linear lagoon in the Yalgorup National Park about 40km south of Mandurah. It is famous for stromatolite structures called thrombolites which line its Eastern shore for 7 km.

Come for a day's drive down the Forest Highway and then up the Old Coast Road exploring the area's attractions including:

♦ The Thrombolite Discovery Boardwalk

♦ Lake Clifton Winery

♦ The Old Lime Kiln

♦ Lake Clifton Bakery & Tavern (possibilities for lunch)

♦ Preston Beach (if there is time)

More information at http://www.lakeclifton.com.au/

Time and meeting place details are on the Club website:

www.subaru4wdclubwa.asn.au

Otherwise ring Joy on 0429473709.

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‘Christmas in July’ 30-31st July 2011

A ‘Christmas in July’ is to be held at the Myalup Pines Cottages 142 km south of Perth. We have se-cured three cottages and the hall, more cottages might be available if we get more numbers. Each cottage holds eight people and you can book your place on a first come first served basis with a de-posit of $10 per adult and $5 per child. Cost will be $20 per adult

and $10 per child for the cabin. Each family/couple is requested to bring a main meal or dessert to be shared, which can be prepared before you come or cooked in the halls kitchen. It could be a casserole, a roast which can be cooked in a weber, or a hot dessert with custard or cold dessert with ice cream. Single members please bring vegetables, salad or rolls and butter. When putting your name on the list please put down what you will be bringing.

On Sunday we are hoping to run a day trip leaving from the cottages at 10.00am so anyone not staying can come down and join the trip.

What to bring:

Sheets, pillowcases and blankets or a sleeping bag; drinks and pre din-ner snacks, breakfast for Sunday and lunch if you are coming on the day trip. Each chalet will also need to supply tea towels, dish washing liquid, a sponge, matches and firelighters

Note: each cottage is to be swept out and cleaned before we leave.

Contact: Keith Wilcox 9344 6830

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Quaalup Quest – Fitzgerald River National Park

September 23, 24 and 25, 2011

– optional extra day Sept 22

Here is your chance to visit the Fitzgerald River National Park, with over 1,800 known plant species - 250 of these being rare and 62 only occurring within the park. There are a greater number of flora species in Fitzgerald River NP alone than exist in the whole of the

The weekend will have a wildflower theme, as the season should be in full swing with the rare Quaalup Bell and stunning Royal Hakea in flower. There will be several guided walks, including a wildflower walk, a bush sun-downer, and an easy climb up West Mt Bar-ren. There is also excellent kayaking in the Gairdiner River - access just 2k from camp - as well as whale watching from Pt Ann.

Please note that this trip will NOT be on the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend as

originally planned, as that holiday has been moved to the end of October – no good for wildflowers! So you may need to arrange a day off to make the three day trip – why not take two days off and really relax? It is outside of school holidays so there shouldn’t be any crowds!

Unpowered Camping Accommodation: Please register with trip leader Nina or club website; first night’s camping fee as deposit by Aug 2011.

Other Accommodation: Apply direct to Quaalup Homestead at [email protected] or 98374124 (please do not ring before 10am).

Accommodation (other than camping) is limited, so if you don’t want to rough it, please book as soon as possible.


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CLUB CALENDAR

June 2011

S M T W T F S Tue 7th: Committee Meeting

Sat 4th-Mon 6th LWE: Walga Rock

Sat 4th Jun-Sun 3rd Jul: Kimberley Capers

Tue 14th: General Meeting

Sat 18th: Italian Restaurant Meal page 6

Thurs 30th: magazine articles deadline

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

July2011


Sun 10th: Lake Clifton, p 13


Sat 16th: Movie Night Innaloo, p 10.

Thurs 28th magazine articles deadline

Sat 30th-Sun31st: Myalup Cabins, Xmas in July, p 14.

31 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

August 2011

S M T W T F S Tue 2nd Committee Meeting

Tue 9th General Meeting

Thurs 25th: Dowerin Field Day-page 13

Sat-Sun 27-28th: Camp oven cookout & Gymkhana

Wed 31st: magazine articles deadline

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: Jul 9 -Jul 25, Oct 1-Oct 17, Dec15-Jan31

Public holidays: June 6, Oct 28, Dec 26 & 27, Jan 2, Jan 26

September 2011

S M T W T F S Tue 6th Committee Meeting

Sun 11th: Day trip tba


Fri Sun 23rd-25th: Quaalup Fitzgerald NP p 15.

Thurs 28th: magazine articles deadline

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

October 2011


Sun 9th: Day Trip tba

Tues 11th: General Meeting

Wed 26th: magazine articles deadline

Thurs 27, Fri 28-Sun 30th: Suba Rogaining p8-9.

30 31 1

22 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

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TRIP & SOCIAL REPORTS

The Lancelin Dunes of the Yukon, Canada: the Carcross Desert

G.P.S. Location: N-60-11.140, W-134-42.023

Our travelling correspondent in the Northern Hemisphere, Josan Moss, came across an interesting feature in western Canada that will resonate with all of us Subaru sand drivers here in WA. While cruising in her tem-porary non-Subaru vehicle (a 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier), Josan found the Carcross Desert, a landscape of sand incongruously set with pine trees and snow-clad mountains in the background. She has kindly provided photos of this fascinating area, known locally as “the smallest desert in the world”.

The Carcross Desert is small at 1 square mile or 2.6 km square, but it is not the smallest desert in the world (currently the Desert of Maine in the USA holds that distinction) and, in fact, it is no more a desert than our own Lancelin Dunes (which are a mobile dunefield of coastal sands). We here in Australia will never guess what the Carcross Desert actually is, so I will tell you – it is the sandy bottom of a former glacial lake! When the

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northern glaciers retreated in the last 10,000 years, water levels in Lake Watson dropped leaving the lake bottom exposed. Strong winds today also blow sand from the shores of nearby Bennett Lake, forming sand dunes which are sparsely vegetated with Lodgepole Pine and an ever-green ground cover with the unusual name of Kinnikinnick. Several rare plant species such as Baikal sedge (Carex sabulosa) and Yukon lupine (Lupinus latifolius) are found in this uncommon (for Canada) sandy habi-tat.

Yukon government authorities tried to make Carcross Desert a reserve in 1992 but were opposed by locals who utilise the area for off-road ac-tivities such as trail & quad biking, 4WDriving, scenic tours and sand-boarding. See if you can spot the lone motorbiker in Josan’s pictures.

Thanks, Josan for sharing this extraordinary landscape with us and we hope to hear more from you as you travel about in northern climes.

Joy U.

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SUBI SHOP – CLUB MERCHANDISE

(Available to Club members only)

The Club has a number of “standard” merchandise items for sale and the Mer-chandise Officer can also arrange for the purchase of Zazzle merchandise items, all with a Club logo on them.

“STANDARD” MERCHANDISE

The “standard” merchandise items and current prices are as follows:

Polo Shirts Blue (pocket - 1L) - $27.00

Polo Shirts Blue (no pocket) - $23.00 (2x2XL, 2xXL, 1xM and 1xS)]

& 1S) - z$35.00

Club Jackets (new - 3L, 1M & 1S) - $35.00

Hats (3M and 6L) - $2.00

Club Beanies (new) - $11.00

Subaru Stickers - $2.00

4WD Australia Stickers - $0.00

Club Jackets (old - 2L) - $35.00

Embroided Badges - $5.00

History Books - $20.00

Polo Shirts Yellow (2M) - $9.00

Note:

There are no beanies currently in stock, but they can be ordered at the price quoted.

New Club Jackets ordered (not in stock) will cost around $47.00.

INFORMATION

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Note:

There are no beanies currently in stock, but they can be ordered at the price quoted.

New Club Jackets ordered (not in stock) will cost around $47.00.

ZAZZLE

The website address for Zazzle is http://www.zazzle.com.au/

Four versions of the Club logo are available for use on Zazzle items:

LOGO 1 LOGO 2 LOGO 3 LOGO 4

The Club logos are owned by (copyright property of) the Club and cannot be used by anyone on any merchandise item or in any other shape, form or man-ner without the Club’s permission. Accordingly, the Club reserves the right to refuse to permit the use of a logo on any Zazzle item where it does not think that the proposed use is appropriate.

How to use Zazzle website

Once at the website, search for the product you are after. There are approxi-mately 30 different product types. Most of them have a “Create Your Own” button.

Click on the “Create Your Own” button.

For some products you have a choice of base item which is used to “Create Your Own”. Other products only have one base item. Where available, click on “Choose your colour and style”.

Choose the item, style and colour that you want and make a note of these de-tails and the price.

Decide which logo you want and, if you can choose position, where you want it. If you can add text, decide what text you want and where you want it.

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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 and photos to the Editor by the Thursday before the end of the month (earlier is better).

Email: [email protected] in Word format or plain text

Subaru 4WD Club WA Website:

http://www.subaru4wdclubwa.asn.au

To order the product, send all relevant details (see points 5 and 6) to [email protected].

An image of the finished item will then be emailed to you, together with the total cost, which will include a shipping charge.

If the finished product looks as expected, pay the cost to the Merchandise

Officer (cheques payable to the Club) and the item will then be ordered.

There is currently no Club mark-up applied to the cost.

Sample items:

MUG HAT

Tony Richards

Merchandising Officer

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SCARP SCAMPER

It's 8:15am on a simply perfect blue sky morning in the Carpark of Gateway Shopping Centre in Cockburn on the 27th March. Eight subes start to filter in, one by one, into the designated meeting point from each point of the compass, with some six Foresters and two Outbacks in total. Keith Low was our illustrious Trip Leader and organiser for the day. After a brief confusion as to where in the sizable car park we were to meet, we all eventually found each other thanks to a keen eye spotting other subes accumulating in adjoining carpark. A quick intro-duction was made by all present, as those who were not present couldn’t speak for themselves for some reason :-P . Existing members Keith Low, Jim Wilcox, Richard and Rae LeServe and myself, made a warm welcome to our non mem-ber guests:- Diana, Raymond, Lachie, Elle and James. Keith highlighted the day's Sube Itinerary and we were soon heading south in convoy down the Free-way towards Waroona (108kms south of Perth), after performing a quick radio check of course.

After about an hours cruise down the relatively quiet roads, we hit the town lim-its of Waroona, just in time, much to Jim’s delight, for a timely morning tea stop at the Waroona Bakery. We soon all ambushed the quaint lil country store for our dose of patisserie delights. The Sausage Roll that I bought was one of the best I'd ever had, without exaggeration! So with satisfied tummies and taste-buds, and a pocket or two of Rocky Road (we won't name names)…(or talk of ‘melted’ dreams) hehe, we followed our trip leader up some windy hills up the Darling Scarp. After some casual snaking through scenic country hillsides we eventually came across the famous ‘Lane Pool Reserve’. We slowly rolled through dappled sunlight flittering between towering eucalypt and pine trees overhead, with cool, inviting ponds and creeks hidden away in peaceful, inviting, tree lined hills, surrounded by acres and acres of pure aussie eucalypt bush-land, heaven! I believe the Bibbul-mun Track even comes through this site. Unfortunately, time didn’t permit for us to get out and explore the area but what we saw from our cars was breathtaking, yet calming at the same time. I for one can't wait to get back there and explore some more, or camp in their well appointed ( and popular ), camping grounds.

Keith was regularly on the two way giving us a very descriptive history of


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the local and extended area which was very instructive and interesting. He explained after living in nearby Dwellingup for nearly 10yrs he knew the area rather well. That and working for D.E.C. ( Department of Environment and Con-servation ) he was a very accomplished and instructive tour guide for us. He even explained some of the nearby mining giant Alcoa’s proc-esses in the area and how they rehabilitated each area they had worked in.

The dust on the gravel roads was a bit of a challenge for some to negotiate but we got through ok. I felt for poor Jim at the back end of the field as ‘Tail End Charlie’. Keith intro-duced us then to a local living Jarrah Tree giant which was preserved intact to show visitors

what these majestic trees looked like in their hey day and how they can look when you leave the chainsaw at home. We looked at our clocks and listened to the sound of occasional murmurs from our tummies, so we headed into Dwellingup ( pop 505 at 2005 ) for a spot of grub for lunch. We found a nice spot and nestled our subes in a row in the cen-tre of town under the shade of a strip of huge pine trees and watched the locals and tourists mill gently about us as we munched and chatted away. After lunch I went for a quick stroll nearby to inspect the historic ‘Hotham Valley Train Sta-tion’ which was just behind us. I took some photos of the carriages and their Steam Engine, which were all beautifully maintained. I got chatting to the pro-prietors and I learnt that the lovely steam engine can only be used from May to Oct due to a fire risk of using the slightly lower grade coal they use now as it sparks more when burnt. So they utilise a historic diesel engine for the rest of the year. They conduct frequent day and occasional Diner Carriage night trips for tourists. Looked like great fun. Another reason to revisit. ( For more info:- www.hothamvalleyrailway.com.au/ ).

After lunch, Keith took us out to another historic sight, a rather unusual and un-expected one for me, the ‘Marrinup No. 16 POW Camp’. In 1943-46 it housed about 1200 German and Italian Soldiers. It was prompted by huge demand for human labour in Australia during the 2nd World War. Apparently 250,000 odd prisoners were brought to Australia during the war to locations like these for la-bour use. ( Thanks Google ). All that remained of the camp were some building


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foundations, a concrete pond and some sculptured garden bed ‘edges’ shaped in a heart, spade, club and a diamond. Cards were probably a focal time passer for these men. Numerous info boards with pics were posted. We also drove through some recovering bushfire sections from a few years back to see how it’s recovering. It appeared to be doing well albeit it the odd dead tree spotted here n there, still with its leaves, which Keith explained were likely due to drought than anything else.

As the afternoon encroached we headed to the final stages of our sube day out. Keith toured us to two water catchment locations. The first small ‘Oakley Dam’ was constructed in 1930, to supply the local steam trains and engines with wa-ter which later supplied irrigation to the local area. Lastly, was an ever so slightly bigger dam, the ‘Serpentine’, which was finished in 1961 to supply the ever increasing water demands of the growing city and countryside. With a 137 million cubic metre capacity she was only 20% full, which was a tad depressing to see. Standing at the massive base of the dam looking up, the embankment of the dam was covered in tonnes and tonnes of crushed granite boulders and rocks, giving it an almost surreal appearance of a snap frozen land slide. It was eerie and awe inspiring at the same time. In the Water Catchment side of the dam stood what appeared to be an Airport Control Tower which looked so weird and again surreal. I didn't know they could land planes here, how about that. hehe. At the base of the dam was a nicely designed, and busy, tourist bay, with picnic tables, BBQ’s, amenities and had a ‘grassy knoll’ ( without the book-store suppository and smoking gun though ) and a large water catchment pond. The biggest talking point of our group was the 30 odd kids swimming in this green coloured water who were only metres away from huge bold signs saying ‘No Swimming! Due to Public Health concerns’. We just managed to sneak into the Serpen-tine Café at the conclusion of the day as they were closing the doors and sweet talked them or maybe Keith even bribed them (just joking), to stay open for 15 more minutes for 8 Subaru car owners.

This concluded our ‘Scarp Scamper’. We hopped in our cars and headed back north in convey, back to the concrete jungle. We said our goodbyes over the two way one by one and said thanks to Keith for his very successful and fun sube day out. See you out there again soon… Happy & safe motoring Karen T.

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Warriedar Wandering – Day 1 – Good Friday 22 April 11

We arrived at 8.32, just 2 min-

utes after the appointed depar-

ture time, but that was too late.

The other members on this trip

had all arrived before us (very

prompt indeed!) and so we

were last! Accordingly, I volun-

teered to write the day 1 trip

report.

The convoy of 9 cars left as

soon as we arrived. The weather was fine and clear. Surprisingly, there

was not a lot of traffic on the road and we easily maintained 95-100

kms, noting that 100kms is the speed limit for a car pulling a trailer,

which I was doing. Keith also had his camper trailer.

Our first stop was at New Norcia for morning tea, at about 10.15. From

there, we made 2 further stops before arriving at Wubin for lunch and

fuel at about 12.30. Those two further stops were at geocaches:

· “Thirsty, Thirsty” just after the Northern Highway turns left at a T-

intersection with the Bindi Bindi Toodyay Road; and

· “Over the Line” about 9kms south of Wubin.

According to the Geocaching Australia website “Geocaching is the free

high-tech treasure hunt where you use your GPS receiver to find caches

hidden by other players. It's a great way to be outdoors, enjoy the envi-

Page 27


ronment and revel in the thrill of the hunt!”. Unfortunately, at both stops

we were denied a “kill”, as we did not find the geocaches [although we

did find them on the return journey!].

At Wubin, we met up with Ian & Nina (who had left earlier) and Jon & Val

(who came from Northam). We were now 11 cars in total.

After we had satisfied our cars’ appetite for fuel and our own appetite for

food, we set out on the last leg of the day’s journey to Warriedar Station,

arriving at the camp site Jim had located at about 3.30 or so. Except for

the flies, the camp site was great, as it had a camp kitchen, toilet and

shower cubicle (although not quite as good as they sound!).

It didn’t take long to set up and we were soon all sitting around a camp

fire, in the cool of the evening, sipping wine and enjoying an early Easter

egg or two or three!

My thanks to Jim for organising the trip. Well done! It was most enjoy-

able.

Tony Richards.

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WARRIEDAR WANDERING Day 2 Saturday 23/4/11

We got up about 7.00am. The sun was already up and quite warm. The flies were already busy so the hat and net went on straight away. The camp was all activity, with people getting fed, cleaned and packed for a day out. At 9.00am we departed for Warriedar homestead.

Off we went along the fence line to Cement Tank, turned and headed toward War-riedar via some back, dirt tracks. Next thing was Jim’s call, “Hole! Crap!” He had dis-covered a few deep ruts to walk the car through. The country was dry red dirt with Mulga trees and small rocks over the

ground. We arrived at the homestead about 9.30am. We stopped there with time for morning tea and to explore the area. Warriedar was once a thriving station. It was interesting to see the old homestead (now stripped of everything) and the shearing shed and quarters. Some others from Trackcare were there as well. With our cuppa over, we headed out again around 10.30am. We drove on some good track, some sand, some rocks, and some washaways. We wandered past an abandoned mine and followed a track along side of miles of black poly pipe. At the end was a pump setup. We had a short stop to check it out, and then continued along a rocky track.

Dawn had a “beep” in her car and stopped to investigate. The diagnosis - the second battery had moved, the strap had touched something and the charge system was burnt out. This was not good but her car was


Page 29


okay. Jim checked it all further when we stopped for lunch.

Moving right along we came out onto a main road along Mongers Lake. There was a great view of the lake and we just had to stop for a photo. We trav-elled on the main road to Thundelarra which was very dusty. Then we turned onto the bitu-men heading toward Yalgoo. About 10 kms short of Yalgoo, we turned off to Jok-ers Tunnel to explore and have lunch. photo: K. Taylor

It was quite hot, with a warm breeze and not so many flies. Then it was into the tunnel for a look. The temperature dropped as we headed in. The tunnel went all the way through the hill. It was all rock, no reinforcing of any kind. There were big crickets on the roof, and bats flying in and out. It was really an excellent experience. Some walked through to the other side. Jim was able to locate a Geocache while there, after a couple of failed attempts on the way up. Then some cars went into Yalgoo for extra fuel and a quick look. The Yalgoo runners were asked for ice creams. We all met back at the turn off with choc wedges. Thank you! The ice creams were much appreciated.

It was 2.45pm and we headed for home. We stopped for afternoon tea at Gnows Nest Range. The area was breakaway type country – red and white with lots of shapes and caves. Off again and we hadn’t been going long when Keith spotted 2 wedge-tailed eagles sitting on a branch on a hill. They were absolutely magnificent. As we turned onto the dirt Jim was heard to say “Whee- a little uppie, downie bit”, and it was! Overall the travelling was pretty good; we just had to keep back out of the dust.

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As we were getting closer to camp, we headed off down a side track for a stop to look at Mongers Lake and take photos. The salt lake was quite amazing and interesting. Karen just managed to save herself when her feet sank and slipped. She only ended up with mud on her hands and shoes.

photo: K. Taylor

Then it was back to camp, only five minutes away. It was a long, but very interesting day. It was still warm at camp and still lots of flies. As the sun set the flies finally went to rest after their very busy day. We started cooking our gourmet meal of bangers and mash, under the stars without heat or flies. What more could one want?


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After dinner we headed for the campfire. A very relaxing chatty time was had while devouring Tony’s Easter eggs and Katie’s lamingtons, and Val’s talk of quandong tart (or was that condom tart) for only $25. “It was a bargain. You could go back for another go but it was a bit hard to swal-low”. All this and some peoples’ minds caused much hilarity. Then it was decided that Tony could not hold his liquor as he had dropped and bro-ken his wine cask last night and then dropped a bottle today. And won-ders will never cease. Tony was still awake at 9.00pm because he has a new chair that he has to sit more upright in. Then it was rubbish burning time as people move off to bed.

Another super day in the great outdoors.

Glenda Rayment

FOR SALE

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$50 [email protected]

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