I realise I have used this title in a 2019 blog about cattle and sheep stations in the eastern states. The life on WA stations is, if possible, even more harsh. I noted last time the diversification into tourism with station tours and camping sites, and I still feel it is a privilege to gain access and some insight into the life of these huge farming enterprises.
On the road you pick up information about interesting places to visit and where the good campsites are. We also use a great app, Wikicamps, which gives all manner of information: everything from whether there are rubbish bins at a wayside parking stop, through to the availability of electricity and water, shade, scenery, a laundry, swimming, fishing etc. Yes, it even notes if there are crocodiles, though we are now too far south to worry. As with any travel site, the reviews are as revealing about the venue as they are about the reviewer.
We spend almost three weeks staying at three cattle stations, which, with apologies to Tolstoy, are all alike, but different in their own way. They are all cattle stations and at this time of year they’re busy with mustering. Depending on the station this involves various combinations of horses, motorbikes, four wheelers, and helicopters. When you’ve got thousands of hectares, it’s a lot of roaming ground for cattle. I’m providing links for each station so if you are so inclined you can read more about them.
Cheela Plains Station is a family owned and managed working cattle station of 188,501 hectares and has a great set up for camping and caravans. There’s red dirt for miles, but we all back our caravans up to a large grassy oval that makes for a (slightly) cooler spot where kids play and adults sit with g&ts or beers. Once a week there’s $10 burger night and staff cook the burgers on a flat plate over a massive open fire pit. These events are always a good opportunity to meet other travellers and, as mentioned, glean information about places that we may not know about.
We take a day trip that is an archaeological journey: a drive up the Beasley River Gorge, which runs through the property, reveals a continuous succession of rocks that record the rise of oxygen in the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere more than 2700 million years ago. This is awesomely known as The Great Oxidation Event. Until this time, our atmosphere was rich in carbon dioxide and methane. Geologists reckon that over a period of 400 million years the earth’s atmosphere became oxygenated, leading to the evolution of complex life forms – like fish, and people who understand crypto currency and non fungible tokens, and the rest of us.
Only open since 2017, Peedamulla Campground is a different stay entirely. Peedamulla means ‘plenty water’ and the Cane River runs through the 226,000 hectares of the cattle station – when it runs. The campground has only 20 sites, and in fact water is scarce, so not so much plenty water at this time. In fact the Cane River is mostly dry right now. Aboriginals own this property but the campground was developed under Tourism WA’s Camping with Custodians program. This is an initiative which allows visitors to stay on Aboriginal lands and engage with Aboriginal people. Tourism WA pays for the development – showers, toilets and general set up – and the quid pro quo is jobs, training, and economic return for the local Aboriginal Community. Typically there would be talks and discussions with locals in the evenings, all on hold because of COVID. There’s a lot of serenity here, so trips provide a change of scene. We 4WD out to the coast, which is stunningly beautiful as the tide comes in. Not so charming, the snake crossing the road on the way there.
Out third station is Bullara Station Stay, another very popular family owned and run property which has made itself as much of a bush-camp set up as it can, without actually being one.
The showers are all set up as “camp” showers -buckets with holes punched in the bottom instead of shower heads. Initially it’s a bit disconcerting when the water keeps flowing after the taps are off, but it is just the bucket emptying.
They use corrugated iron for the toilet and shower blocks, old horseshoes and bolts and bits of tools for door handles and toilet roll holders. It’s an effective technique for using what’s on hand for a design purpose. The overall effect is a bit of fun. You know it’s not a real outback camp, but hey, let’s pretend we’re roughing it.
A few pet sheep wander around the property along with a couple of kangaroos, one of which comes to visit and sleeps under the caravan. She must’ve come back overnight as we woke to kangaroo pee on the mat outside our door. Maybe she was annoyed we didn’t feed her enough almonds earlier in the day.
Another off road trip took us out to the Gulf (Exmouth Gulf) but no snakes this time. The drive was a bit of a disappointment – not because of the lack of snakes, but the gulf coast at this point isn’t particularly arresting: I despise mangroves even though I know they perform useful tasks in the ecosystem.
Even so, it was worth it for the proliferation of wildfowers on the way there. Still lots of purple Mulla Mulla, but now also a lot of white flowers, including these pipe cleaner like blooms pictured below. We never tire of them.
