Hello from Wagin. Home of the Bloody Big Ram!!!!!
We woke to a foggy three degree morning in Bridgetown and if I'm honest I can't wait to get somewhere warmer. Give me 40 degrees over 4 degrees any day 😂. We didn't start readying the van for departure until almost 10am as it is only 160km to Wagin, but it is a very slow drive as we climb and climb and keep climbing all the way. We reached 360 metres altitude at one point and Wagin is around the 270 metre mark.
It makes for a nice change to be back in the Wheatbelt area and away from the Karri Forest for the next week or so. The yellow of the canola is once again the dominant colour of the landscape but the wheat is also now sprouting its grain filled ears. We pass quite a few grain trucks today and I can't wait to see a harvester in action. The grain paddocks are massive - hundreds maybe even thousands of acres - with every spare piece of ground planted with some crops. We passed one paddock that had a couple of rocky outcrops but the farmer has simply planted his crop in a circle around them.
We are checked into the Council Caravan Park here at Wagin that is, once again, an honesty system. You choose your own site and put your money in a box in the laundry. We are paying just $22/night for power and water that is a third of the price that we have been paying closer to the coast and is a much more reasonable and sensible price.
Once we had found a site, set up the van and gobbled down fritters and salad for lunch we walked the short distance into the town area. There is a path leading from the caravan park that takes us to the information centre that is also the council administration building. The parkland adjacent to the council building is fabulous and it is also the site of the Giant Ram. There is a lovely pond that is full of some really large fish but it's hilarious that the council have had to put up a "no fishing" sign
The path continues right into the centre of town but we only walk as far as the local IGA to pick up a couple of items and also to get some cash to pay for our caravan site. Yep. Cash Only. We take our time walking back as I stop to take photos. I have the most patient husband in the world when it comes to photography 😉.
Philip decided to take his bike for a spin this afternoon and explore a little more of this lovely country town. I have been doing a little research into the area and apparently the Historical Village that consists of a re-creation of 26 buildings typical to a wheatbelt rural village, is well worth a visit. And we cannot come to this area without driving the short distance to Dumbleyung where Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record on Lake Dumbleyung in his jet propelled hydroplane boat, Bluebird, in 1964. I remember the occasion very clearly! We will go to the information centre tomorrow when it re-opens as today is a public holiday in Western Australia. No doubt we will pick up a whole lot more information about things to see and do in the area.
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