Wed 19th: to Mullewa

Breakfast is served :-)

We join the other two guests in the dining room. It's self-serve continental. We select unidentified cereal, yoghurt and fruit salad. The salad is fresh fruit, finely chopped, works well. Deb also has toast, I have more fruit and cereal.

The other guests are farmers living, for the last six months, in Burekup. Their farm borders on Evedon Ridge, an O map.

There's an interesting coat rack in the house. Coat rack as in, board to attach to wall, hooks on board to hang coats on. The board is local wood, the hooks are railway spikes. Must tell BrianA, he collects railway spikes.

We leave, not very early. Fine and chilly, 8 degrees. The day gradually warms to 15.

The roads are all in good condition, recently graded. Graders still working on one section. I find myself driving fast, I slow down, set cruise control to 60kph. We're here for the journey, there is no hurry.

We stop for morning tea. Just drive 20m off the road, get out the gas burner and chairs. Listen to the birds, enjoy the bush.

Further on, there's a named hill to one side. It looks interesting and there is a track leading to the hill. (The name starts with Cui... maybe.)

The track goes round the base of the hill, we follow about half way round. It's a good track except for the washaways and rocks. Easy driving but slow. The hill has a more gentle slope on one end, we park and walk.

We walk to the top of the hill. It's maybe one or two hundred feet high, not very high, easy walking. Of course there is a cairn at the top... we each add a stone.

The view is spectacular, in a very flat kind of way. Definitely worth climbing.

There are signs that kangaroos have been on the hill, and sheep or goats. The wind brings a smell of sheep but we don't see them.

Then we head down and I've forgotten where the truck is parked. That is, we go down a different path, reach the bottom, the truck is not there. Not to worry, we just follow the track in the right direction.

We have a gps which could have pointed back to the truck, we just forgot to carry it with us. Stupid, really.

Anyway... it was a great walk, most enjoyable. Our legs are stretched, we drive on.

There's plenty of bush worth watching, nothing outstanding. Just a very enjoyable drive. Easy driving gravel and dirt roads. A lot of the road is very flat, with some muddy puddles. We are able to drive on the edge of the puddles, no trouble.

We reach the highway... the Geraldton Mt Magnet Road. Bitumen. There's a cache ahead, we decide we will stop there for lunch.

It's a few km down a gravel road. The cache leads us to an old railway settlement. The big features are a dam and old railway tracks. Supposedly ruins as well but nothing is clearly old building. It's a beautiful spot. A couple of caravans have set up in the area.

Lunch is the leftover sandwiches from Mt Magnet, still fresh and tasty. Plus some bits and pieces from our supplies.
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After lunch we drive straight to Mullewa. Straight? Well, via some geocaches.

One cache is just off the road -- amongst a lot of everlastings. Beautiful! We have finally started seeing carpets of wildflowers :-)

Another cache is called wreath flower, it's 10km off the main road. Also 10km off the highway is a wreath flower viewing area... We drive.

Wreath flowers -- leschenaultias? -- grow in a circle, a wreath shape. And they only grow in a very few spots. It's early in the season. There are plenty of green plants... and we find three or four flowering. Beautiful flowers :-) We also find the cache.

Okay, we check a few signs on an after dinner walk: wreath flower, leschenaultia something. Good.

A final cache before we hit town, at the "mass rock". The local priest gave services at a big rock near the old showgrounds, for the people who did not like to go into town. Another place we would never have heard of -- if not for a geocache.
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The Mullewa Railway Hotel is (I'm guessing) a mid twentieth century version of the country hotels of 50 years' earlier. Standard brick, two stories, not too big, no fancy pressed iron ceilings. We eat in the dining room, we're first in but it soon fills up.

Our room is a donga, small, neat, complete. A sign near the door reminds us to lock the door -- especially when going to sleep... hmmm. Ah, but with the luxury of an ensuite :-)

There's a tv which occasionally loses its signal. There's free internet with a weak signal which regularly falls out.

Okay, it's not great. But it's warm and comfortable and fine for one night :-)

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
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