Holland Track Adventure, Nov 2018
Day 7
An early start to the day as usual, quick pack up the camp gear then off to find out first cache of the day
Lefroy Salt GC2BXP0
We had packed up without taking the time to get some breakfast to ensure that we could catch the sunrise so we stopped at a place we found on the edge of the salt lake
Lake Lefroy Land Sailing Club
There was a rudimentary tin shelter with some tables and chairs, a rough kitchen and a wood fire stove
We set up the gas stove and heated up the kettle for a cuppa and enjoyed the view out over the lake, spectacular
Anchor GC6X4F
It was a short drive to the salt lake Lefroy arriving in time to watch the sunrise over the lake, a great thrill. This was such an amazing place and would like to have stayed a bit longer to appreciate the area
The cache container here was missing, we did find a lid from a Sistema but nothing else
Luckily we had a mint tin with magnet and log book ready so we dropped an 'Angel cache'
Unfortunately the cache owner did not log a maintenance log and by the time we got home the cache had been archived
Mistraluna was able to get a local cacher to agree to act as maintainer for the cache and resurrected it for future visitors to find
Lefroy Salt #2 GC2TNNV
There was some interesting old machinery from the salt mining operations long since ceased
We had a quick find here and moved on to our next cache
Sadly it was time to move on as we still had a great distance to travel and time was limited
Our next destination was Norseman but I really wanted to try to find a trig point along the way
Looking at the satellite map it looked as if it might be an easy drive up park and grab but as we were about to find out the satellite view can be a bit deceptive
After a bit of a wild goose chase trying to find the road we eventually found a track which would lead us in the right direction
We picked our way along the track which became ever steeper and more washed out as we continued, we had to pick a careful line around the worst of the wash outs and when we were about 600m from the cache we dared not tempt fate any further as the track became much steeper with large loose rocks and deep washouts and a steep drop if things went wrong
We parked the best we could and set off on foot bush bashing along a very old and heavily overgrown track
Our efforts eventually paid off as we reached the summit to find a Telstra tower which was serviced by quite a good road from the other direction, ha ha.
We soon located the remains of what we assumed was the old trig station, the vane had gone and there was no brass plaque to be found but the GZ was spot on
The views from up here were spectacular, the mission had been a hard slog but was well worth the effort and we got an FTF :)
We then retraced our snail trail back to the vehicle and were grateful that we could escape the rapidly heating up day in the cool of the air conditioning
We continued on to Norseman stopping to grab some supplies from the local IGA and zooming around town to find a few caches
Horsing Around 2, Beacon Hill GC76MMB
There were some nice views from the top of the hill here and Mistraluna seemed quite impressed by the large mullock heap or mine tailings known locally as the pyramid
Welcome to Norseman GC733P4
A quick park and grab here then time to head off back west towards home
On the way out of town we stopped for some lunch at a nice lookout overlooking Lake Cowen
Heading west on the Hyden - Norseman road we stopped at Disappointment Rock
I had logged the cache here on a previous trip but we stopped so Mistraluna could add a smilie to her total
We climbed to the top of the rock to enjoy the views and check if we could get phone signal but with no luck
We also stopped at Johnno's Lake cache for another Mistraluna smilie
Dissappointment Rock GC1CXQ3
I had logged the cache here on a previous trip but we stopped so Mistraluna could add a smilie to her total
We climbed to the top of the rock to enjoy the views and check if we could get phone signal but with no luck
We also stopped at Johnno's Lake cache for another Mistraluna smilie
Johnno's Lake GC1GZ3A
There is a nice camp area here overlooking the salt lake with some good facilities, drop toilets, picnic tables and fire places
Next stop was nearby to find a trig
There is a nice camp area here overlooking the salt lake with some good facilities, drop toilets, picnic tables and fire places
This is technically not a trig, there is a marker in the shape of a pyramid with the markings NM, F, 670, and a benchmark symbol
I assume NM to mean 'Navigation Marker'
I have no idea where this would be recorded
A short detour down the road to McDermid Rock
McRock GCN1B3
I had also found this one on a previous trip but Mistraluna wanted to be able to log a find
While I turned the vehicle around she managed to find the cache and sign the log
There is also a nice camping area here
The next cache along the road east was at the truly amazing and wonderful Breakaways where there were 2 caches for Mistraluna to find, one being an Earthcache
Have A Break Away - Hyden to Norseman GC5BPVB
"Breakaway" Hyden - Norseman Road GCPT4R
We got some photos and continued on our travels
Another stop on the way for Mistraluna
A quick park and grab and onto the next
Leaving the Hyden - Norseman Rd at the Holland track and retracing our path down to Lake King Hyden Rd, we made a detour down to
About Half Way GC43KNH
It was a pain to get to as we had to park some distance south of the cache and walk down the rocky track to the culvert where the cache was hidden
Once found it was a quick sign of the log and back on the road
Doubling back to the Holland track we took this road heading South and West heading for our destination for tonights camp
Along the way we came to
The Holland Way GCVRPE
We drove quite close to the cache and once we had located it and signed the log we enjoyed a wonderful sunset from the rock
We had a rough plan that we would camp here tonight but the rock was quite exposed to the now gusty wind
We needed to find a camp which was more sheltered
I had a friend who owned a property nearby and had told him that we were going to be in the area and he said to let him know so we could catch up
We actually had phone reception here so I gave him a call, he was just leaving to drive back to Newdegate and was able to come and meet us on the track which passed through his property
He kindly offered to let us camp in his shed in Newdegate which was a wonderful bonus as we would be out of the looming weather and be able to have a hot shower tonight
After cooking up some steak for dinner we were able to relax and get a good nights sleep
All in all a magnificent end to a brilliant day
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