I can’t believe Dudley and I survived the night….LOL. To say we were both a bit wind swept is a total understatement. Drew and Sherrin were amazed that I actually stayed in the tent for the entire night. Although I did consider moving my mattress and sleeping bag into the en-suite I had to escape but then that’s not camping is it.
Here’s me in what I slept in that night……LOL!!!! Look out Vogue…here I come.
attractive – hey!!
But this morning you wouldn’t even know there was any windy about yesterday. It’s a beautiful day, slight rustling of the trees, all the birds are singing and the sun is already high is the sky shining down upon us.
What a beautiful day. Drew and Sherrin have asked if I’d like to join them (in their 4WD) to go exploring the station out to Sunset Hill and Nungartina Hut and since there is no way Dudley or I are capable to traverse the landscape I gracefully accept their kind offer.
Sherrin & Drew
Alpana Station is owned and run by the Henery Family. The terrain out here is pretty rugged and you have to wonder again how the Henery Family settled out here in the 1800’s. The current generation are David and Sally who are extremely lovely people who enjoy sharing their homestead with you and making your stay comfortable and memorable.
Drew’s driving is amazing over this landscape, there is no way I would even try it but he is quite comfortable at it. There are lots of roos around this morning and we have to slow to avoid a mishap. The property is covered in pine trees and prickly pear cactus. Heaps of the cactus look to have blood on them but on stopping and having a closer look its paint and they have another piece of cactus cable tied to it. Later Sally informs us that the cactus needs to be eradicated as it takes over the land and prohibits the sheep from grazing. Volunteers come in and tag the cacti with a piece of cacti that has a native beetle which kills the bush – a natural alternative to spraying pesticides.
Finally after bumping along we come to sunset hill. There are sheep grazing up here and a slight breeze which has a chill in it.
The view is jaw droppingly mind blowing. I literally cannot put into words the feeling I have standing up here on what seems like the top of the world. Just take a look at the pics and see for yourself.
We all pile back in the 4WD and head back down the track and turn to take the next track out to the Hut. This trek is bumpier than the last, you kinda feel like a milkshake. More wildlife, more marked cacti and amazing countryside. It’s beautiful, it really is – you really have no idea how much we have here…..who needs to go overseas for beauty.
Along the way, we come across a grave site of a soldier – PTE C.L (Dick) Wahlert. I do not know the story behind who he was or why he is buried all the way out here. It literally is “off the beaten track”. I can only imagine he worked for the Henery Family way back when and this is where his heart felt at ease. RIP Soldier.
The Hut is nestled deep in the property located on the flat on the edge of a dry creek bed (well it’s dry at the moment but you can see the water marks on the trees when it is flowing).
It’s not flash by any means of anyones imagination. Its constructed from pine and mud with hessian and a corrugated roof (which is has been recently replaced). Inside is sparse………old (I mean old) steel bunk beds x 3 with a piece of foam for a mattress which has seen better days.
The table, fire place some tin pots and hessian bags over the window for curtains…it’s as simple as that and beautiful in its own right. The out house is a long drop with a view that you could charge a squillion for!!!
You immerse yourself in the land here and imagine what it would be like to stay here and wake up in natural beauty.
Sherrin and I enjoy an imaginary cuppa billy tea.
Back at camp I thank Sherrin and Drew for taking me with them. Now it’s off to Blinman on Dudley to explore the town bought to life by Fleur MacDonald and do the Blinman Mine Tour.
The 5km to town is an adventure in itself. Emu have bred in massive numbers the last season and they are “everywhere”! Nothing like a bit of excitement for the morning.
A homemade pastie is calling me for an early lunch before I meet the tour guide who has kindly offered to drive me to the mine (given it’s all gravel to get there and not particularly nice).
Blinman General Store
The mine is A-Maz-Zing!!!
Mine entrance
The miners themselves where Cornish and came to Blinman with high expectations which were dashed when they arrived and discovered that there is really nothing there. It was hard yakka for the families. The men and boys 14years and older were sent to work in the mines while the woman, girls and rest of the children stayed on the surface. The miners would leave their homes in the dark of the morning then work for 12 hours a day in the dark of the mines with the only light provided by candle then return to the surface and home again in the dark. These guys rarely saw the light of day unless they were sick or injured and unable to work otherwise it was like ground hog day for them. The women’s work was just a tiresome. With no running water they had to walk for miles with a bucket(s) whatever they could carry over some rough terrain to get water for the day then return back home and cook, tend to the young , clean, wash etc before turning in for the night themselves. When you think about and look at what these folk had to deal with we have nothing to complain about really.
Eerie is one way to describe the feeling you get when in these mines underground. The tunnels this way and that are not very high cos the Cornish were very short people but managed to operate in the conditions like moles. During their 12 hour shifts they weren’t permitted to leave the mines, so they had to do everything down there. The loo consisted of a tin which one of the boys would carry back to the surface at the end of the day and empty….pretty grouse really. Lunch was carried in a pouch around their necks which contained the famous Cornish Pastie. Now here’s something I never knew……the Cornish pasties thick pastry scrolled top was made that way so the miners could turn the pastie upside down and use that as a handle to eat the rest of the pastie without wasting anything. The scrolled top was saved though as superstition ran rife and it was left in the meal cutout as an offering to mine gods/ghosts/entities to ensure all went well. If the next day the offerings were gone, they knew that things were good….little did they know the gods happened to be giant rats that lived down there and thrived on the offerings.
This is one of the hand cut mine shafts. They used to dig a hold in the wall and place a plank and peg in it to secure the plank then climb up another run to reach the next level to mine.
We aren’t able to view all the mines as some of them are unstable, however below is a photo of the mouth of one of the shafts and the levels they go down. Each level is dug at a depth of 10 fathoms or 18 feet each with its own labyrinth of cut outs.
Back out on the surface and the sun is blinding….lol. Again I realise how lucky we are in todays day and age.
Now it’s off to take photos of this iconic town to me anyway and cement the picture of the Blinman Town that Fleur MacDonald created so beautifully. The room behind the General Store and the Pub where the character stayed…to the walks up into the Finders Ranges which are farther away than they are depicted in the book but the imagination is a wonderful thing and I can still see it all in my minds eye…..Thank you!
Blinman Hotel
An original hut which would’ve been occupied by a mine captain or someone senior on site.
Now this piece of artwork is a mine bucket which has been adapted to incorporate parts of the history of the town and the mines.
Just after the Blinman town sign there is a road off to the left (dirt) which was maintained by this Heavy Drawn Grader from 1933 as well as a couple of other roads
Back at camp and I take some time out to catch up on some blogging in word cos yep there ain’t no service out here. It’s really weird not being able to talk to Karl each night and let him know I’m ok. New family of campers arrive and new friends Drew and Sherrin offer to take me into Blinman to the Pub’s first Pizza and Pasta night – thanks guys! The pizza is the best I’ve had from an external source (Karl’s are heaps better but this came a very close second). Afterwards we head back to Alpana Station for the night.
The en-suite is a real blessing and I am able to have a pipping hot shower, stoke up the Trangia and make myself a nice hot cuppa before heading out into the tent for the night. There isn’t any wind tonight so it should be nice and quiet and I should get a goods nights sleep…..Right!
