Captian Fawcett Track                    

• Date - 31st August 2008

• Trip Leader - Peter K

• Trip Notes - Peter K

We all gathered at Pioneer village car park ready for the off and after checking in 3 visitors and 10 members we all moved off 5 minutes early.

 After a brief stop in Dwellingup we all turned onto a dirt track on Dawn Creek Road.  First stopping point was a Timber trestle bridge where the heavily rutted track gave us the first challenge of the day.  We continued on with us all looking forward to Mornos which turned out to be an early lunch as we eventually found a place to stop close to the river.  After a bite to eat, the second challenge of the day - a few of us powered up the short steep track from the river while the rest looked on.

Back on the track and after a few more kilometers we came across an abandoned ute blocking our progress.  Yelling and car horns had no response from the owners. The keys were in the ignition so the ute was moved to the side of the track, however with an esky of beer in the back and two stubbies of cold ones in the middle of the seat, it was clear the owners were not too far away.  Sure enough after we all started to move off the owners with their dogs turned up, no doubt after chasing wild pig.

No sign of kangaroos during the trek however those at the front of the convey did get to see an echidna crossing the road.  As for the flora, we were privileged to see the spectacular greenery and wattyl flowers that the area is renowned for and best seen at this time of year.  The rain held of for most of the trip with just a few showers hampering the day.  This probably helped most after we left the tracks and went on the dirt roads where the dust was kept to a minimum.

The official end of the trip was marked by the pine plantation and water tank just before the Harvey Quindanning dirt road.  After a short break and a brief shower of rain requiring umbrellas and in one case a pink parasol (we won’t say who was holding it), the convoy broke up with some returning to Perth while the rest of us headed for Quindanning.  After a drink at the Quindanning Inn, in front of a roaring fire, we finally headed back to Perth via the Albany highway.

There was plenty of banter on the two way radio with the team leaders’ transmission limited by a faulty microphone (thank goodness for the trusty hand held).  Keith was also very keen to point out the benefits of being trip leader and hopes to have many more volunteers for trip leaders in the future months.

Many thanks to Tail end Charlies – Stamps for most of the way and with also some assistance from Bob and Bridget.  Finally thanks to Kieth Parker for finding this great trip in the first place.  May there be many more.

Peter K – Trip Leader