The Snail Trail

Travelling with my home on my back and in no hurry to get anywhere

Tag Archives: windmills

Beverley, Western Australia


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On the Way to Wagin

I left Oakabella Homestead on September 28th to travel to the Solos Rally in Wagin and thought I’d take the opportunity to go the wildflower route east of Geraldton. The rally didn’t start until October 12th so I had plenty of time to enjoy some of the lovely little towns along the way.

Geraldton to Wagin

I travelled through the town of Morawa and stopped to see one of the many churches designed by Monsignor John Hawes, who left a wonderful heritage throughout this area with his amazing architecture. The Church of the Holy Cross was impressive, but I loved the Priest’s Lodge in the grounds – to stay in that would have really tested one’s faith.

Morawa also has an interesting museum with an amazing display of windmills.

It was time to keep moving and find a camp for the night. My first stopover was at a little community park at Canna. There were a couple of powered sites available and for a suggested donation of $10 I hooked up to enjoy this delightful spot.

There were some wildflower walk trails and also a trail to a massive mallee fowl nest.

A huge rock to climb
Looking from the rock
Mallee Fowl nest at Canna

The next day I headed off and really struggled to find a reasonably priced camp at all the places I visited. I eventually stopped at little spot called Ballidu only to find out when I arrived at Wagin that Peter and Penny, who we had met at Barn Hill Station south of Broome, had a property there!

My third night was at the historic town of York where there was a free 24hour stop provided. What a pretty place! I was parked up behind John Grant and Joy Tobin so we had breakfast together before I left, with Wagin in my sights. It was Grand Final weekend and I thought it would be good to enjoy it with friends who were already on site at the Rally grounds.

Pretty countryside near York
An historic hotel in York
York Town Hall
York free camp
Cute duck family

On the way to Wagin I passed through the tiny town of Beverley. It caught my eye because there was an old plane on the highway and a sign to the Aeronautical Museum. Here? In the middle of no-where? It was worth a look! Just my luck, it wasn’t open but I managed to shoot a couple of planes, so to speak …..

I’ve arrived in Wagin! There’s still a week to go before the rally starts so I am going to do a ‘dry run’ of a Roving Rally I’m planning between the Wagin Solos Rally and the CMCA Rally in Albany. More about that later!


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Pentland, Power and a shower…Luxury!

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As you can see I didn’t travel far when I left Fletcher’s Creek – a mere 100kms down the road! Amazing who you meet when you are emptying your loo at the local dump point – none other than fellow Solo, Tony, with his van Lost in the Woods. We had time for a quick coffee and catch up before he headed off to the Laundromat and I headed off to Pentland. It’s been 7 days since I stayed in the caravan park at Anakie and the thought of a real shower is sooo appealing.

The caravan park was pretty basic, but so were the fees so I wasn’t complaining. The showers and toilets were clean, the washing machines worked, and the little shop at reception made the best sausage sanga I have ever eaten. I needed to wash just about everything so resorted to the sarong until my clothes dried, which was just in time to go to Happy Hour which I’d been invited to at a van nearby.

With everything plugged in and powering up I was certainly getting my money’s worth from my camp site. I wanted an early start to go to Hughenden the next day.

Well, that was wishful thinking. I was late leaving and got sidetracked at White Mountains National Park lookout which was on the Flinders Highway. Starkly beautiful rock formations and a view forever.

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I finally arrived in Hughenden early afternoon – just in time for a late lunch at the FJ Holden cafe (owned by Frank & Jan Holden).

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What a fascinating place, crammed with not just Holden memorabilia but Elvis stuff as well.

I didn’t spend enough time in Hughenden and it was only later that day when I was reading my tourist brochure about the place I realised what I’d missed. This place definitely deserves another visit.

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Main Street of Hughenden

At the end of Brodie Street, the main street for shops, is the Federation Rotunda – look closely and you’ll see that it incorporates two 20-foot windmills, which certainly makes a statement to the streetscape.

Look in the other direction and your view is dominated by another huge windmill.

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But it’s not windmills that Hughenden is famous for. Millions of years ago Hughenden was part of a giant inland sea that went from the Gulf of Carpentaria to South Australia, before Australia was the shape we know it now.

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As the sea receded it left behind a legacy of pre-historic marine animals, which I had a closer look at when I got to Richmond, so more about that later.

My camp tonight is at Marathon Roadside Stop. There were already a few vans there when I arrived so I settled in for a quiet night ….. well ….. except for the road trains. This is a small one – there is usually a 3rd trailer on it and sometimes even a 4th.

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Tomorrow is another day, but tonight is another magic sunset.

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