Tag: wheatbelt

What comes around goes around …

All good things come to an end. So too did our stay in Merredin. The boys from Carr Care fitted a freshly minted axle mid morning and we made a late start en route to Albany.

This phase of our journey was essentially a quick trip around WA’s silo art trail separated by some nice campsites where we might trip over some of WA’s special birds. Our first camp was at Cosy Corner at Kronkup, about 26km west of Albany. This is by the beach in coastal heath and although the wild flower season is well short of its peak  it’s already very pretty.

In the morning we visited the silo in Albany. Artists The Yok and Sheryo present us with a Ruby Sea Dragon which given its jockey cap might be somewhat whimsically interpreted.

Albany – The Yok & Sheryo

Then on to Pingrup where the Miami artist Evoca1 has turned 230 litres of paint into scenes of local life.

Pingrup – Evoca1

It seemed to me that the standard of art work and presentation had picked up considerably since Merredin and Northam (not to take anything away from Phlegm, from London where else -it’s probably the smog, whose flying machines had me thinking.) It was about to reach new heights.

At Newdegate Brenton See (from Perth and with a real name) has given us a water droplet, half fresh, half salt a Malleefowl, a Red-tailed Phascogale and a Western Bearded Dragon. Beautiful, accurate, evocative. He gets my nomination for best of the WA silos …

Newdegate -Brenton See

… although Amok Island at Ravensthorpe gives him a run for his money with charming depictions of Banksia baxteri, only found between Esperance and Albany. A cheeky little Honey Possum on one side and a New Holland Honeyeater shown on the other are its principal pollinators.

Ravensthorpe – Amok Island
Ravensthorpe
Ravensthorpe

You can learn more <HERE>.

For a Ha’porth of Tar …

… the ship was lost. On this occasion it wasn’t a ship or even a sheep it was the wheel bearings on the trailer and they became so warm that the assembly was welded to the axle. We discovered this about 30km west of Merriden on a Friday.

In an impressive display of alliteration the trailer was loaded onto a tilt tray tow truck and was delivered to the Merriden caravan park. A mechanic was kind enough to come and take off the axle. The search for a replacement could begin on Monday. But was fruitless and abandoned on Tuesday. On Wednesday it was decided that a new one would have to be fabricated. Thursday’s child has far to go. So do we and we are looking forward to it. Maybe Friday.

Merriden is located in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. It is a pleasant little town of just under 3000 people. It’s on the pipeline, the noisy rail line and a busy road, the caravan park especially. It has it’s own big granite rock collecting water by a system of walls, aqueduct and dam. There is a conservation park adjacent to the rock. The streets have well maintained grass verges and the Roy Little Park speaks of civic pride. It would be a worthy entrant in a tidy towns competition.

It has a painted silo.

The surrounding country side is green presently, it being winter. What was once mallee and Salmon Gum woodland has been cleared for wheat. People have to eat. The various rocks have escaped the clearing and most of them are busy collecting water. Some natural vegetation has survived around the rocks. From a conservation perspective it would be nice if there were more connecting vegetation. So far we have visited Karalee Rock, Bruce Rock, Eaglestone Rock, Elachbutting Rock, Wave Rock, Totadgin Rock, Baladjie Rock and Beringbooding Rock where the water is stored in the largest concrete water tank in Australia. Oh, and the Humps.

It’s not the style of camping that we enjoy and Merredin is not where we would choose to stay. If anyone had actually heard of the place it would be the butt of jokes like Christchurch (spent a week there one Sunday) or Blackpool (first prize a week in Blackpool, second prize two weeks in Blackpool).

Aside from the shower the nicest thing about caravan parks is the people. The salt of the earth stay in caravan parks and are almost always willing to engage in conversation and swap travel yarns. Almost no one stays more than one night here so every day brings new friends. The missing axle is an excellent conversation starter and the conversation always improves after they finish chiding me for my ha’porth of tar.