Date: 24th April 2023
Travelled: 180 kms from Bridgetown to Waroona in Western Australia
Visited: Wellington Dam and Waroona
Stayed: Waroona RV Stop, free, S32.84720, E115.92336
Budget: days @ $ per day
Our day starts as usual with a walk. Firstly down through Bridgetown to the old trestle bridge crossing Blackwood River. From here we pick up the river walk on a section called the Old Rectory, itโs a pleasant walk along the rivers edge but we never find the old rectory.
Back at the RV stop we pack up while several tuggers come and go using the facilities which isnโt that easy given the turning circle is very tight. Jobs done we roll out of Bridgetown for Collie.
What started as beautiful sunny morning turns as the sky rapidly changes and the predicted change in the weather starts to show itself.
We arrive in Collie an hour later. Itโs a big town built on coal mining and it looks very well to do. Weโre tempted to explore Collie as is has a couple of beautiful old pubs and a rail museum, but the dark clouds and drizzle are close behind.
So we take a couple of picture and continue the 30 kms or so to Wellington Dam.
Thankfully the weather holds as we drive through the NP to the dam wall and its famous mural. We note the WA Premier making announcements on TV about this and that happening at the Wellington Dam. As the road and bridge below the dam are currently closed to vehicles and pedestrians this is the best picture I can manage.
The conciliation is we can now walk over the dam wall which previously you couldnโt. Nice walk but you cannot capture the mural properly from up there.
So the damโs done. We had thought about staying the night in the NP camp here at Wellington but the likelihood of a walk here this afternoon or in the morning looks thin as the drizzle starts on our way back to the Jayco.
As we have a booking at a CP in Fremantle tomorrow night we decide to continue north for another hour to shorten tomorrows drive.
Setting the GPS for a free RV stop in Waroona on the South-Western Highway about 45 minutes away. Arriving we find the RV stop is on the old netball court just around the corner from the town cenotaph, perfect for Anzac Day tomorrow.
It buckets rain most of the night, but kindly it has stopped and dried a little by the time we walk around to the cenotaph in the dark. Donโt let the photo lead you to believe there was no one there. There we at least 500 people in my opinion.
After the service we follow the crowd to the Memorial Hall for a smashing gun fire breakfast with the locals.
Waroona is a small town seemingly here to service the aluminium refinery just up the road. But it does have some excellent murals and these are just a few.
So that was our day on the road and our Anzac Day morning in Waroona.
Michael + Pam
