Friday 12th September, 2025

From Eagle Rock Campground we went to the village of Beacon, which was recently in the news quite a lot due to disappearance, then rescue, of a young backpacker who had been working there. It is tiny, with one general store and a fuel station that is so nondescript that we drove past it and only located it after asking at the General Store.

The only option for staying in town was the caravan park. It was one of the council run parks, with clean factilities, an excellent camp kitchen, some cabins and marked camping/caravan sites. Now that we have fine weather for a few days it feels particularly cold overnight, and even during the day there was a cold wind.

We also found out that we have a plumbing problem, there is a leak into the underseat locker which flowed into the kitchen cupboard. I wasn’t able to identify where the water was coming from, but when we switched off the hose connected to the van, the water stopped flowing. There was no leak just using the internal water tank, so that is what we are doing. We realised that that was the source of a water flow we had noticed at Merredin, but as the van was slightly tilted towards the driver’s side, the water did not come inside.

On Wednesday it was time to head towards Wongan Hills. We took the opportunity to have one more overnight at a rock, this time Mollerin Rock. It is fairly flat and spread across a wide area. It’s one of the rocks that was used by early settlers as a water catchment, though we didn’t actually see the retaining wall.

I looked for orchids, but could only find everlastings and other flowers we had already seen. Some orchids are very hard to find, of course.

At Mukinbudin on Wednesday we stopped to have lunch and do some shopping. We wandered into the cafe that is part of the hotel looking for coffee and lunch options. The girl behind the counter said that the little pop up fundraising cafe would be our best option and have nicer coffee that she serves. She said it’s her personal preference as well, but don’t tell anyone.

So, that’s where we went. The cafe is run by volunteers, with home cooked food, and it’s purpose is fundraising for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a small orphanage in India. We sat inside the small, renovated station building and had the opportunity to chat with some locals who asked for our help opening a bottle of water.

Yesterday we stopped at Koorda for lunch and enjoyed fresh out of the oven zucchini slice in the small cafe within the IGA store. We also did a small shop.

We arrived in Wongan Hills at about 2.30 p.m. and had a cup of tea and a rest. Marie and Geoff walked over later to welcome us and we decided to have dinner in the pub later. Marie and Geoff picked us up and drove us back from the pub.

Saturday 13th September, 2025

Yesterday we had a busy time, shopping, including getting RAT tests, and then relocating to the caravan park. There was no problem with checking in at about 11.00 a.m. I had a brief chat with Matt who was at Kings Park to see the wildflower exhibition. After resting, I did the washing, we had more than our two laundry bags and I thought I was overloading the washing machine, but it worked out. Most of the washing went into the dryer, but I put some on our outside line. It was quite warm and very windy, so it dried well.

We sat outside for a while with Marie, Geoff and Glenn, swapping stories and enjoying cheese and biccies. Then I went inside to tidy up a bit, after washing there is a lot of putting away, then put on our evening meal, stirfried chicken and veggies.

It was a busy day and my cold has intensified a bit, so am not feeling very well. Stephen has had these symptoms for more than a week now, but keeps going and enjoying walks. Our testing was negative for Flu A and B and COVID, so it must be something else.

Sunday 14th September, 2025

Yesterday I rested due to not feeling well. Stephen and Geoff went on the wildflower walk that was our reason for coming to Wongan Hills. It was quite challenging as it was hot out in the open between 11.00 and 2.00 pm, but they say it was worth it. They went to the nearby Wildflower Walk and there were lots of orchids there, so I’d like to go there before we leave tomorrow.

In the afternoon we went up to the Mt O’Brien Lookout, well worth going as it gives quite an overview of the surrounding areas.

In the evening we went back to the pub for steak dinners. There was a mixup with the orders and Stephen and I waited for quite a while before checking things out. Once sorted they got our meal to us quite quickly, which was appreciated. We all went in the car, quite squeezy in the back with Marie, Glenn and I, but we make it work. Marie took Glenn home after he finished, so we had more room on the way home.

Today a strong cold front is coming through, with very high winds. We are just on the edge of it, according to the map and we had some sunshine this morning even though there was a strong wind. The front appears to be coming through now, with rain and strong gusts. We have an excuse to stay sheltered in our vans.