Day 125 Carnamah, WA

After I wrote my blog yesterday we drove to the town centre of Toodyay.  Walking was out of the question as it was drizzling rain and the path was very muddy and slippery.  It's only a short distance to the main centre and we parked the car at one end so that we could walk all the way up the street and all the way down on the opposite side.  The lovely historical town is a pleasure to walk around.  All the historical buildings have plaques in front of the building that are interesting reading.  The town is situated on the banks of the Avon River and in the heart of the Avon Valley.  A truly beautiful area.  Some photos for you to peruse........

Today our drive took us through the townships of Goomalling, Wongan Hills, Ballidu (where we stopped for lunch), Dalwallinu, Perenjori and finally arriving at Carnamah.  Aren't they terrific names!  All along the road the wildflowers are once more blooming.  It is another wet and bleak day so no stopping for photographs but we are well and truly at the heart of the wildflower trail.  Beyond the wildflowers the paddocks are planted with wheat, canola, lupins, barley and oats and all the crops look healthy after the significant rainfall event. There are also plenty of sheep grazing on crop stubble.

We have stayed on the back roads today with very little traffic and it makes our journey easy.  We have almost completed a full loop that started from Geraldton and headed east to Sandstone, south to Kalgoorlie and now we are almost back at Geraldton at the little township of Carnamah.  It has taken us a little over two weeks to complete this lap but it has been 100% worth it.  Such diverse scenery!

A little about Carnamah.  The shire covers an area of 2800 sq km and it is in the Midwest region of WA.  It contains rich farming land and a wealth of history.  There is an abundance of flora and fauna in nature reserves stretching to the coastline.  The principal industries in the shire are cropping, sheep and cattle, with mineral sands mining and gas exploration further towards the coast.  Wildflower farming is also a growing industry within the Shire.  The town of Carnamah is situated 307km north of Perth and has a population of 270 people.

But it's the Carnamah Murals that I'm interested in.  Under the "Painted Roads" initiative the Carnamah locals have planned many murals and at the present moment there are three.......

"The Drovers Rest"

"Sale-Oh"

and "McPherson View"

They are pretty darned good....

After we un-hitched the van we drove out to Yarra Yarra Lakes that covers an area of 119km and has a length of 25km and is 9km wide at the widest point.  The view would be spectacular on a clear day but unfortunately rain dogged our view today.  If the sun is shining tomorrow we will go back and see if the view is any better (I'm certain it will be!)