It was certainly a cold morning as we left Mellenbye Station. We even had ice on the windscreen! I swear I am never going to go off grid again throughout the colder months. Even though we piled the blankets on the bed and rugged our bodies up as best we could it was still cold. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning but Philip's suggestion that it would be a lot warmer in the car made me snap to attention 😂
It is exactly 200kms from Mellenbye Station to Mount Magnet. We follow the minor road from Mellenbye to Yalgoo where we stop for a brunch break before we continue along Highway 123 towards Mount Magnet. Just about all the way to Mount Magnet, on both sides of the road, is a carpet of white wildflowers. Sometimes we see pink and yellow but mostly the white. We are following the old railway line (now abandoned) that would have carted gold from this area in the early 1900's.
Philip worked at Mount Magnet back in 1976 (I remind him that is almost 50 years ago 😉) and he has fond memories of his time here during the shearing season. As we approach the town I am struck at how familiar it feels to me after Philip describing it to me over the years. Once we have unhooked the van we go for a stroll down the Main Street.
We see the pub that used to be a favourite drinking hole and the old council dance hall (that is now the RSL) where the heels were kicked up. We pass the old open air cinema that is now closed but love the artwork over the door. When we reach the Post Office cum gift shop we go inside because I really need to purchase a beanie and socks. The friendly lady behind the counter directs us to a doorway at the back of the post office where we find a shop full of locally made products. We purchase a beanie for both of us, a pair of socks for me and also fingerless gloves. I will definitely be warm now!
We are staying at the one and only caravan park at Mount Magnet for two nights and we are told the third is free if we want to extend our stay. At the visitor information centre we picked up a brochure showing us the tourist drive that people recommend. It is about 40 kilometres so we will do that tomorrow. Over lunch today we sat down with the map and worked out where we are going to head from here. We will continue East towards Sandstone and Leinster and then turn south towards Kalgoorlie. From Kalgoorlie we will then head west towards Perth but will turn north before reaching Perth to head to Cevantes for maybe a week. There is a lot to see in this area. We will then drive south along the new Indian Ocean Drive into Perth. From Perth......well we can't plan that far in advance 😜
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