Rain Stopped Play

Wellington Dam Mural by Guido Van Helten

Wellington Dam Mural by Guido Van Helten

A gusty south easterly wind blew across the plains at the foothills of the Darling Escarpment as we trundled south towards Donnybrook. We devoured a French vanilla slice from the Waroona Bakery while we spun a yarn with a group of local bikers and then we were on our way to Wellington Dam.

 

The mural on the dam wall, pained by Guido Van Helten, is nothing short of breath taking. Pensive Aboriginal Elders look on while industrious children, both black and white, still with their life's song to play out before them, will remain in my heart for a long time.

 

We stopped at Gnomesville for a picnic lunch to find that our clan's gnomes, all eleven of them, were gone. The bank where they lived had been washed away and no doubt our gnomes had been swept downstream in the flooding waters. I'm sure they continue to make mischief in the wild wood which lies just outside the village boundary.

 

A small group of the Gnomes hanging out at Gnomesville

Donnybrook's Transit Park

Although it was a long weekend we scored a late booking and pitched our tent at Donnybrook's Transit Park. This is an excellent facility. We found grass sites, clean ablutions, a hot bbq and a sink to do the dishes; more than we ever dream of for $25 per night unpowered.

Saturday morning we were on the road to Nannup to soak up the atmosphere at the Nannup Music Festival. Beware of road works on back roads. We came across a long section on the Upper Capel Road, it seemed that Friday knock off time had arrived before the road workers had time to roll the freshly laid gravel. With no clearly defined car tracks to follow, the gravel lay thick and menacing in places; I got away without a tank slapper but I felt that the percentages were high. 

61 was a very good year

Nannup was very welcoming, even to those folks that don't hold festival tickets. Buskers lined the street and the cafes were buzzing. Even the bowling club was in on the act with a free for all folk band playing on the terrace alongside a "try bowls" for anyone willing to take their shoes off.

 

Kings of Collie - Pit Exit

A historic motorcycle meet at the Collie Motorplex was a thoroughly enjoyable interlude on Sunday. Whenever I go to a local race meeting I'm acutely aware that the racing is just as enjoyable as the professional meets I've been to. You can wander around the pits and get up close and personal with the bikes; magic.

 

Kings of Collie - First corner action

Heading home from Donnybrook into the rain.

The long weekend was supposed to be the start of a longer motorcycle journey around The South West of Western Australia. As we were only 165km from home, and rain was forecast for the next four days, we decided to head for home on Monday. We checked the radar before we put our helmets on and we both said, “Lets go for the full wet weather kit.” We were on the road by 6:40am and were rewarded for our early departure as we didn't catch up with the rain until we were nearly home. The riding gear and the tent are drying out in our sunroom and we're hoping to be back on the road again soon.