The Grampians and South Coast

Well it came time to leave Quomby and the call was to head to the Grampian Rangers, it was an easy scenic drive.On getting our camping pass at the rangers office ($14 per night) it was of to find a suitable camp, as some the roads where still closed due to real heavy rain in January we decided to stay close to the town of Halls Gap and the next day tour in the Ute. Not long after we arrived we had the most incredible thunder storm with one bolt of lighting right over the top of us it was a bit scary but things got better and it just poured for about one hour then all was good.That evening we met two ladies Gail & Anne and it turned out that Gail had been a midwife at our local hospital in Geraldton and also lived around the corner from us.The next day was nice and sunny so we where of to do the tourist thing.

                                                  Mackenzie Falls

                                                  Boroka lookout

                                                  somewhere to sit on one of the walks

                                                     where we camped

It was a very exhausting day doing all the walks but well rewarding.The area has a most interesting history in that they dammed the water and tunneled it though the mountains to all the near by towns and to think that this was in 1875. The next day brought more rain so the decision was to move on to SA and the coast the first stop was a little place called Southend and a stay in one of the SA parks so we could use our parks pass. Kotgee was the name of the camp very small and pretty and being the only ones there it was very quite. The coastal vegetation is very dense with lots of wrens and wombats.

                                               just one of many carvings at Millicent a town we passed through

                                              one of the walk tracks to the beach

                                                     Superb wren

                                            Southend fishing boats most ex  WA.
Two days catching up with things and exploring it was time to move, checking out all the coastal towns as we headed for Coorong and a night at Longpoint.Just before Robe we checked out the Woakwine Cutting it was the brain wave of an old farmer who along with a mate spent 3years with one D7 bulldozer making this cut to drain the wet lands and turn it into good farm land this was in 1957 imagine trying that to day with all the red tape.

Woakwine Cutting     length 1km= 276,000m of dirt removed = 28m deep =5,000hrs with a D7.

                                              Robe just like a little Geraldton