Day 15
Forrestania Plots to somewhere past Norseman
The rain had fallen lightly overnight, but came down more as we finished off our eggs and bacon and realised that our gas bottle was pretty much empty.
By the time we were trying to get swags on top and ready to go it was harder, and poor Trev ended up tying them on really well so we had no flapping, but also getting quite damp.
The road between Hyden and Norseman is a special "Granite and Woodlands discovery trail "due to the many species along the road, and it was actually a great treat to drive along, noticing the differences in vegetation due to differing soil types as we went. This would be fantastic in wildflower season particularly.
Along the trail we could pull off and read the notes about that spot. These gave great insight in to the area, which contains a large amount of land which has never been farmed due to lack of ready water. There were more amazing rocks, the breakaways, rare eucalypyts, heath lands, salmon gums, salt lakes, and an agate gem deposit where you could fossick if you wished.
We all particularly enjoyed a walk on McDermid Rock, a granite formation with lots of interesting rock pools, cracks, colours, suspended boulders and other features which were explained in a really entertaining fashion on the 18 information boards dotted along the walk path. This would have been a fantastic place to camp.
These puddles had tadpoles swimming in them.
The breakaways were interesting to see with the many colours in the rock and the overhangs and formations which have formed here, but it looked like it is a bit too popular as a campsite for us, with about half a dozen campers still there when we arrived mid morning.
Lake Johnston was quite scenic, and there was a walk we didn't have time for. Great Vista with Salmon gums stand on the eastern side.
Disappointment rock had some great flowering trees around and offered another 2km walk on the rock which would have offered similar insights to McDermid, but we didn't have time for that, so we admired and went on. This would also be a great place to camp.
Lake Cohen was near the end of the drive, (with Norseman in sight) and is a huge salt lake. Very impressive.
We stopped to fuel up and fill with gas in Norseman and headed on, but decided about an hour down the road to call it a night, pulling in to a parking area, and following a track back in off of the road to find a nice spot. We planned to have a fire and put up a tarp to protect us from the expected rain tonight. This gave us a chance to erect shelters and collect some wood while it was still light and before rain arrived. The fire also gave us a chance to use our "Suchy"-the wonderful blacksmith's special peg puller and billy lifter that our friend John Such made for us.
By the time we went to bed the grey sky had cleared and the stars were visible.
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