Canning Stock Route 2004

Thursday 19th August.

After packing up and leaving Kalgoorlie about 7 am, we dropped in to revisit the now derelict two up place before continuing on through Menzies and on to Leonora, which is a very nice clean town. A good wide tarred led from there to Wiluna. We saw quite a lot of very pretty wildflowers. It is not far from here that the Canning starts. The dirt road started from Wiluna and we turned off onto a very corrugated track to have a look at Well 1. There were two large tanks and the original well had water a long way down. The walls were log lined and in quite good condition. This well was completed in April 1908. Our campsite for the night was at Water 1a (North Pool). It is a very beautiful area with lots of bird life and water views. We set up camp mid afternoon and camped in a circle around the campfire. There were crested pigeons and Port Lincoln parrots nesting. It was a lovely starry night with a new moon and beautiful reflections on the water.

 Friday 20th August.

  Well 2 was the first stop of the day. It had a large working tank with overflow pipe going to a trough. "Jesus is coming soon" was written on the tank. The wildflowers are beautiful here and we stopped for a lizard standing on the road but found it was dead. The Spinifex is very green around here. We stopped and walked over a large granite outcrop before going on to Well 2a (The Granites), which was blasted from solid rock. There were several resident tortoises in the well. Further on we saw Red Mulga trees which have red curling bark and sparse foliage. They grow in creek beds and only in a small band of latitude and are one of Australia's rare trees. Next stop was Well 3, which had a windlass and bucket as it had been reconstructed in 1998.We brought up a bucket of water but it smelled somewhat. There were cattle nearby. White Well had a working fibreglass lined tank with windmill, also an old tank. Nearby were cattle yards, which had one way gates. Corners Well was a working well with windmill and two tanks. This cattle yard also had one way gates and the cattle used them. The timber of Well 3a had fallen in and it was not in use. Continuing on, the route turned off onto a bypass track as Well 4 is no longer accessible. We took a look at Lake Nabberu, which is salt. Some of the low areas still look boggy, even this late in the season. Some big red  kangaroos  were  in  the  area. We  came to  Kennedy Creek and the  sign said to check the depth, but it was dry. Next stop was at Well 4a where a tree had been used in the original well construction, as there was a slot cut in the tree for the pulley wheel and there was still a large bolt through the tree. A rusted bucket was still there, but the water was a long way down. We later collected some firewood for tonight's camp, which is at Windich Springs. All of us went for a walk along the banks of the water, which was like a lagoon. We were the only people camped here and today we only saw one vehicle heading south.

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