Dryandra – Ladies Day
Trip Leader: Diana
When: Sunday the 24th of June 2007
Location: Dryandra
Participants: Nine Cars
We had nine starters on what was gazetted to be a ladies drive day. Many took advantage of the ladies driving and took the rare opportunity to sit back and check out the scenery as we drove along. The designated meeting place for departure was the “Peak” service station located on the Brookton Highway. Some of us waited patiently (Guy & Wendy) at the Peak service station only to find that our trip leader spells Peak as Gull.
The convoy proceeded along the Brookton Highway and turned off onto the old York Williams Road approximately thirty kilometres west of Brookton. We then veered off the road to check out Boyagin Rock our first official stop. When we arrived there were already several people camped at the camping area. Many of us climbed the rock and had some spectacular views from the top of the rock. After descending from the rock we had our traditional mornos. This camping area would be a great place to camp for a weekender, which is nice and close to Perth.
Upon leaving the rock we commenced back along the York Williams Road through spectacular undulating pastoral land. The road followed the Hotham River and we stopped at the Hotham Bridge while some of us took photos and others had discussions on what some of the crops were. Our next stop was the Log Gray Picnic Area to check out the “Dodgy Lookout”, which no one was game to climb. The area is located in the actual Dryandra Woodlands and the trees are mainly Wandoo which are not very wide and rather hard to hide behind when you need to do your thing (but it did not stop Guy).
We then proceeded to the Dryandra Lions Village which is the starting point for the track around the woodlands. The track is approximately 25 kilometres in length and you can tune in to 100 FM to get a running commentary as you drive around the track. Unfortunately we were not able to get a very good reception and were unable to get the commentary as we progressed around the track. Our lunch stop was at the Congelin Dam that was build to service the rail line to Narrogin. Whilst the sun was out the weather was fabulous but when it disappeared behind the clouds the wind had a major chill factor.
After walking around the dam we moved off to check out the campground adjacent to the dam. This is the camp site we would have stayed at if the club had made the trip over the whole weekend. This was another great spot for a camping weekend and I think that all of the members that went on this run suggested they would be back for the camping trip.
The rain that had been threatening all day now commenced to bucket down.
The convoy then proceeded out of the woodlands and headed to the town of Wandering, renowned as the coldest place in the state. We stopped at the local pub for ice cream (a little ironic) and our afternoon park up. From this point we all headed off homeward bound.
All in all this was an enjoyable day travelling through country that many of us had not seen before. The tracks and roads were in excellent condition and made for a pleasant days drive in the country.
Guy & Wendy