Ninghan & Maranalgo Stations - Near Paynes Find, W.A.

As the school holidays began, Karin and I decided to shoot up North for 4 days, after which we'd return for a week-long trip to Murchison Station, just outside the beautiful coastal town of Kalbarri.

Ninghan was good again, but Maranalgo Station, just on the Northern edge of Lake Moore, was spectacular too. The photo's never do it justice.

On the way North we stopped (for the first time) at New Norcia. It is a very interesting town; worth the stop.

A little lizzard in our bag of firewood. One of the few
signs of wildlife in the winter. Quite unusual I though, seeing how cold it was (very!).

Something new; well two things really. The first is our new Coleman lanterns. 
It runs on Lithium batteries, so can give light for ~86 hours on one charge. Nice!
We also tried some hikers freeze-dried food. It was entirely edible, but no 
match for a steak on the fire and a foil-wrapped potato cooked in the embers.

A very chilly start to the morning, and yes, it had rained again! Aaargh!

Nice! Mt Stirling in the background, so it is a bit artsy-fartsy.

It is still a month before the wildflowers will explode into the landscape, but there
are already signs of the beauty to come. In person the display was stunning.

Karin chasing some Roo's down the hill. Aside from the hills, it is pretty flat out here.

Karin on Watharagabbing Hill with Mt Singleton behind her.

At the Paynes Find Roadhouse you can get a meal for next-to-nothing. Bargain!

If you want to see Lake Moore in all its glory up-close, you must enter Maranalgo Station.
You can get to the Northern (spectacular) edge of Lake Moore from here.

Just WoW!

What remains of a Roo after a summer exposed in the Outback.

Our camp on Maranalgo Station. We caught up with Byron (station manager) who kindly
gave us permission to camp the night. 

A wider shot. The Sony struggled a little in the low light.

Aside from our fire, there was no moon and no light whatsoever. "Hello darkness my old friend!"

Bush TV has great reception in the Outback.

Sunrise in the Outback. Pretty darned good!

Ninghan Station - 7 June 2021

After watching Ronny Dahl and Torbs visiting this station, we just had to go see it for ourselves. At just over 5 hours from home, it is quite close. Greg, Briar, Sandri & Mitch joined us on this trip, and it was also Greg's shakedown trip with the Jayco Flamingo pop-top caravan. There is a video of this trip on Youtube too.

On top of Bulgaburra Rock, looking towards Amphitheater Rock.

A Drone shot looking North across Lake Moore, and we were fortunate there was water in it
after some recent heavy rains.

Home for three days. We were camped at the base of Mt Singleton (background),
near the old farm shearing quarters, which had warm showers and flushing toilets.
At $15/night it is very reasonable.

Greg & Briar in the creek bed right next to the homestead.

About a third of the way up Watheragabbing Hill (474m), with Mt Singleton (678m)
in the distance.

Inspecting on of the large, intricate ant-nest entrances. The ants are huge (6cm or so) and
not to be messed with. 

Greg next to his 'Tuner.

Standing atop one of the several mine-shafts/wells on the farm. No fence around it, just as it should be.

Parked at the base of Amphitheater Rock. I had the Rhino Rack awning out
to dry it in the breeze, after some rain the night before. June-Aug are
the rainy months in Southern WA, so it is par for the course when bush-camping.

There are several water crossings on the farm, which have
nice firm bases, so good fun. Just drive slowly (Mitchell!)

A beautiful, flat spot next to one of the few windmills on the farm. We had hoped to
spot some Brumbies, but all we saw were some Merino's and the obligatory Roo's.

On top of the best lookout on the station; Sidetrack lookout (~410m).
It has a spectacular view over Lake Moore (below).

Our final morning, enjoying some rusks and coffee before we packed up.
Just look at that red soil; dark, deep red. Amazing.

Karla's 21st

Usually there would be a lot more photo's, but this time around we were busy cooking and making sure everyone was happy, well fed and with a drink in-hand.

We had a great evening and enjoyed the party with mates, for which we are very thankful. Julle is oraait.

Toyota, Toyota, Toyota, Ford. There you have it, South African's prefer Toyota 4x4's...

Beer pong seems to be a standard "sport" at birthday parties these days.
Frank and I nearly beat Karla and Jens. Lost by a single cup.

Pretty cool paper decorations (you fold them open) from that
pricey party supplier store we call K-Mart.

Yeagarup Trip with our families

What a fantastic weekend?! Yeagarup turned it on big-time for our wife's and kids. Very sadly Karla, Jacob and Denielle could not make it. Next time...

We drove down on Friday night, and the spotlights clearly attract some bugs.
Luckily it isn't Spring, else I reckon it would've been way worse.

Not a bad camp site. We had very little wind, and warm sunny days. It could hardly have been a more
picture perfect weekend.

The new Scheepers FJ. The rest of us are pretty darn jealous ;-)

Some coastal grass wind patterns in the fine sand on Yeagarup beach.

A photo showing how close we were to the Warren River too. Perfect spot.

The two new Quick Fist spade holders on the FJ. They work really well.

Charging the battery via solar while we went 4WDriving to climb Calcup and visit "The Canopy".

Eugene probably did a good 35km of beach driving on this trip, and loved it.

A couple of us parked on the first "step" as you climb Calcup.

This is a part of the final climb to the top of Calcup, which is around the 
corner, to the left, in this photo. It can be a real tricky climb, but was not too bad this time around.

Tamryn, Andrea & Karin on the first "step" at Calcup.

Bertus on Drone duties ;-)

The FJ climbing up to the first step. The 4.0L V6 motor is a beast!

Parked right at the top of Calcup, with Bertus and his Hilux on the way up.
The climb to this final bit requires one to drive all the way up, as stopping early
can mean you have to reverse down and try again (not that any of us needed to do that ...)

Karin and Eugene at the famed "Canopy".
Tradition requires the downing of a beer, which was enforced...(not Eugene though).

Cheers!

The girls doing the Calcup-shuffle, haha!

Another view of The Canopy.

This is the rocky outcrop at the Western end of Yeagarup beach, which 
is a good 20km drive from the Warren river. We wanted to cook lunch here, 
but the tide was coming in and it felt a bit too risky to stay.

Time to try and catch some Salmon!

In the distance is our camp site as viewed from the shore break.

Die groot wildjagter gaan nou try visvang. 

Bertus took the bait lines out with his Phantom 3 drone. It works very well!

Yes, that is a chopped up plastic coat hanger you see :-)
It works a charm to take the fishing line out.

Eugene maak lyn nat. Gooi hom seun!

Karin, my liefling, in haar Boetie se Springbok Visvang fleecy top. Love you lief X.

Nou gat ons braai!

Just look at that beautiful moon about to set. 

Base camp at night.

There were hundreds of filleted salmon remains all along the 30km stretch of beach.
The Seagulls were feasting all along the coast.

On our way home (sadly). This is us at the top of the large exit dune. 
Stunning, stunning place. Best in WA (in my opinion).

Eugene and Karin about half way along with 4WD exit track, which takes ~45 minutes.
Beautifully scenic drive.

Just look at that magnificent fish. The bloke kindly agreed to pose
for a photo so you can see what the local Salmon look like.