Mount Magnet

21 - 23 October 2022

The drive to Mount Magnet would take less than an hour from Cue so we took our time packing up and left around 10:00am. On the way we stopped to have a look at The Granites, about 10 kilometres north of our destination. There is a very basic map at the entrance from the highway, indicating some picnic areas and a walking track, but we could see a huge number of tracks going off in all directions. We found a picnic area to have a cuppa before having a bit of an explore. This should be a good birdy spot so a return in the afternoon or early morning was put on the agenda.

We arrived at the caravan park in Mount Magnet and had lunch before having a quick look around town. Once again a town with not much other than pub, supermarket and post office. There is evidence of lots of mining operations in the area and most of the traffic on the highway is enormous mining and supply trucks.

We decided to leave the visit to The Granites until the morning, so set the alarm for 5:00am. We had a good look at the map this time, and checked the area out on Google Maps in satellite view. It is an amazing landscape with a significant breakaway and lots of rocky outcrops and ridges. We stopped at a few spots, over about 3 hours, so Mick could photograph birds. He didn’t find the one he was after so we decided to spend an extra night in Mount Magnet and try again.

We went back to The Granites again in the afternoon and Mick ventured out on his own again in the early morning. He still didn’t find the bird he was after, but it wasn’t for want of trying.

The caravan park offers a third night free but we had to keep moving to fit in the rest of the stops we needed to make before our Perth booking. Because we only had another short distance to travel, we asked if we could stay until about 2:00pm. The friendly response was “no problem” – so we stayed until after lunch, then headed south.

Cue

19 – 21 October 2022

Cue was on Mick’s list of birdy spots to visit so that’s where we headed. We stopped for coffee in Meekatharra, and discovered a book exchange at the Visitor Information Centre. Along the way we stopped at Lake Nallan to photograph some ducks and admire the wildflowers.

We continued on to Cue and arrived around lunch time – again! We set up and retreated to the camp kitchen to escape the flies. Later in the day we took a drive to the scenic lookout for a view across the area where evidence of past and present mining operations is clearly visible.

We rose very early to drive the 20 kilometres to Lake Austin – a salt lake where birds were likely to be found. Mick spent a couple of hours wandering around with the camera.

Cue was once a bustling hub, but had all but died with only a few businesses open. The caravan park has everything you could need, including a recreation room and enclosed kitchen. There is a pub which opens in the evening and a genuine “old school” general store complete with long counter and goods displayed on shelves behind. We also found the op-shop which had a fabulous collection of books for sale at $1 each.

It looks like the local council is trying very hard to provide facilities and points of interest for travellers including a very good Visitor Information Centre, a lovely little park with picnic tables and building restorations being carried out. Hopefully, one day Cue with be a town bustling with tourists.

Gascoyne River (South) Rest Area

 18 - 19 October 2022

We left Karijini with a big drive ahead of us, again unsure about how far we would be able to travel. We stopped in Newman, another mining town, and did some grocery shopping, fuelled up and had lunch in the picnic area adjacent to the Visitor Information Centre. We returned to the Great Northern Highway and continued south.

We don’t often stay at rest areas, but Western Australia has some that are available for 24 hour camping, and have toilets, picnic areas and dump points. The one at Gascoyne River (South) is also nicely situated on the river, with lots of space well back from the road. We arrived around 3:30pm, tired and ready to stop. We found a nice spot close to the river and set up a quick camp for the night – no awning and we left the trailer hitched to the car.

The spot was attractive enough but we soon discovered that the flies and mosquitoes were prolific. We ended up sitting inside to have dinner – but with the back flap rolled up we did have a lovely view.

There was a bit of highway noise through the night but nothing we couldn’t manage. While not the best place to spend the night, this rest area certainly served us well. From there we continued south to Meekatharra.

Along the way we saw lots of wildflowers, especially in the disturbed ground on the edges of the road. We stopped at Lake Nallan for a look – and to photograph some ducks.

Bullara Station

 8 – 10 October 2022

We left Onlsow bound for Bullara Station – another very popular station stay. We had hoped to get in the night before but the powered sites were fully booked. We made a stop for coffee at the roadhouse at Nanutarra and then had lunch at a rest area at Yannerie. From there we turned off towards Exmouth and arrived at Bullara in the early afternoon. We were now in the Gascoyne region.

Bullara has a reputation for being very friendly and well-run and we certainly found that. On arrival we checked in then proceeded to the “meet and greet” spot where one of the camp hosts gave us a run-down of the campground and activities. He also pointed out that the campground wasn’t too full as there had been 92 departures that morning!

Our site was close to the amenities, as requested, and had some shade also. It wasn’t far from the camp kitchen and one of the communal fire pits either. We wandered around the large campground and later in the afternoon we went for one of the station walks. This relatively short (2.6km return) took us to the top of a red sand dune that promised great sunset views. 

The camp host lights the communal campfire each evening so we wandered over for a short while after dinner. At the height of the tourist season there is entertainment and evening meals available but things were winding down ready for the closure in a couple of weeks' time so there were no extra activities available.

The Woolshed Cafe was open each morning so we took advantage and had very good coffee and scones for morning tea. Bullara boasts to have the best scones, as does Ellenbrae in the Kimberley. We tried both, and while both were excellent, we agreed that Bullara's are the best.

The wind conntinued to make things a little unpleasant but MIck was still able to get out and about with the camera. He didn't always have to go far with two bustards visiting the campsite each afternoon.

After two nights, we left Bullara and drove in to Exmouth on our way to Cape Range National Park.