Along the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail
We were both awake and moving a little earlier than usual. By 7:30 am we were ready and driving out of the campsite. First stop was to fill up with diesel and then Majella drove us out of town.
It had been overcast when we rose and a light shower was falling as we left Kalgoorlie-Boulder bound for Northam, a little short of Perth. The road was mostly through timbered countryside but we passed a few mines before we reached Coolgardie about 30 minutes on. We drove through on the wide main street without stopping. There did not seem to be much happening at that hour.
Beyond Coolgardie we continued through bushland occasionally passing mine sites. The roadside had a sprinkling of flowering bushes, mostly yellow but with some deep purple. An hour or so on we were still driving through bushland and passing an occasional mine. Although most areas had good tree cover there were some that had just low saltbush or similar and sometimes spindly trees just a metre or two in height by the roadside. By that time the sky was clearing and the wind was blowing strongly enough to affect driving.
About 50 kilometres short of Southern Cross Majella spotted a sign to Karalee Rocks, a site on the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail. It was just 5 kilometres off the main road on decent gravel road and had been a source of water for travellers to the goldfields and later for steam locomotives. A granite outcrop had been ringed with 6 kilometres of stone wall to feed rainwater into a metal aqueduct that took it to a dam. We walked up for a look across the dam and the followed the aqueduct and walked up onto the large granite outcrop. It was an interesting diversion on an otherwise uneventful drive. We had morning coffee before driving on.
At Ghooli, a few kilometres short of Southern Cross, we reached the first signs of farmland with green paddocks of grain by the road.
It was just after 11 am when we reached Southern Cross, the first township of any size since passing Coolgardie. Majella checked the information board as we entered and we decided to visit the museum but its Friday morning session had been scratched from the notice on the door. We drove around town for a look before rejoining the highway. On the way out of town we passed an old open cut mine.
As we approached Carrabin Majella saw a sign advertising cheap fuel. It was the cheapest we had seen in more than a week so I filled up. Not far along we paused to see remnants of the rabbit proof fence at its original starting point.
We had been thinking about lunching at Merredin. As we approached I checked online and found mention of Merredin Peak, another instance of a granite outcrop walled so water was diverted to a dam and a site on the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail. We followed the signs to the campground beside the dam and walked along the wall and then the aqueduct and up onto the outcrop. There were views of the surrounding area with fields of wheat and canola in the distance.
Lunch was Majella’s leftover seafood pappardelle from last night. There was enough for both of us – my portion had two prawns and two scallops and Majella had something similar.
After lunch we went into town intending to visit the railway museum. We parked in a space near a sign saying the museum was 50 metres away. Before walking there we had an errand to perform.
The man who had checked us out at THL in Adelaide had asked us to send a postcard. To this point we had not done it and time was running short. The Newsagency had just 2 copies of the one Merredin postcard. Majella bought one and walked to the post office for a stamp. I found a name and address, she wrote a brief message, and it was on its way. We wondered how often he got postcards from Merredin.
The railway museum was directly across the street and the railway line but our path was blocked by an area fenced off for town landscaping work. We walked further toward the new station, crossed the line, and walked back to the museum only to find a sign apologising for it being closed. Not our day for museums. We returned to the van and drove out of town.
By this time we were in the midst of agricultural country with green wheat and yellow canola visible in all directions. The cross wind from the north had gained force and we could see rain clouds ahead to the west.
We met the rain at Kellberrin. A sign on the outskirts advertised accommodation at The Prev, a title so intriguing that Majella had to know more. It was an old homestead so we drove through town to the far edge for a look before continuing on in solid rain. It soon eased but continued more gently as we went on.
By the time we were approaching Meckering the rain had stopped and there was scattered sunshine. There were signs pointing to the site of the 1968 earthquake so we drove in to look. They led us to an old stone farmhouse that had been destroyed in the quake. The ruins appeared to have been left as they fell. As we drove into Meckering itself, we saw signs for an information area and spent some time exploring the information in a memorial park.
We arrived at our caravan park in Northam a little after 4 pm, checked in, and set up. There was enough food left in the van for a simple dinner of baked beans, ham, and cheese with a little Rosé and Malbec so we had no need to into town for dinner. There was time to attend to necessary repacking of bags in preparation for returning the van and then to relax. Majella produced her Anagrams game for after dinner entertainment. I really thought/hoped she had forgotten that.
