Holland Track 16 - 18 June

By Tony Berson

Well we're finally back in Perth after a fantastic 3 days in the goldfields and parts yonder. It has been left to me to write the trip report and as I have never done it before, forgive me if I go on.

Here we go. The second CampingWA forum camping trip started on Friday 16th June in the early hours of the morning. We had 7 cars and 12 people on the Holland Track and Keedy and his wife Carmen were good enough to meet us in Hyden with the fire going. I headed up to Coolgardie with Derek in convoy after a 5.30am meet up in Midland. The thought was let’s not drive too hard into the sun and we'll stop and drag our heels over breakfast on the way up. Off we go, nice breakfast in the biggest roadhouse I have seen in a while in Cunderdin. Got to Southern Cross for morning tea to be greeted by the news from the locals that the mornings had been -3 degrees for the last 4 days in a row. I believed it as the car temperature gauge on the way up was reading between 1 and -1 in the early hours.

Finally hit Coolgardie for lunch and kicked back waiting for the rest of the crew. John (prado4x4) and Dave/Fiona (Bent S) could be heard yabbering on the CB's so we knew they were coming in. Corey/Cass (CnC Cnoz) came in from a big night painting Kalgoorlie red and we were ready to go.

Our initial plan was to head straight for Victoria Rocks camping ground but after a brief chat and some good advice from John we decided to change plans and head for Cave Hill for the night. This was a good plan.

After the crew determined I didn’t have a clue as to where to go, John graciously accepted the trip leader’s role and off we went. First stop was Burra Rock for a climb and a look. There is a dam at Burra Rock with diversion walls built of stone. Apparently there are 5 dams in the area which were built to service the trams and locomotives that were owned by the firewood companies that served the goldfields in the Kalgoorlie region with Salmon Gums and Gimlet.

We went for a quick walk to climb Burra Rock and have a poke around the dam areas.

Parking at Burra Rock for the march upwards

View from the top of Burra Rock

Burra Rock Dam

After Burra Rock we headed for the Cave Hill campgrounds via the old Woodlines track. This is 4wd access only however it was easy going and low range was not necessary. In some parts it was somewhat rutted due to cars travelling through in the wet however in nearly all cases it was either easily driven or there was a track around it. This is not an area to make your own tracks. Firstly it damages the habitat and secondly with the salmon gums there are a lot of smallish stumps which can easily stake and account for tyres.

The trip to the campsite was relatively uneventful except for Derek getting stuck on his diffs in a rutted part of the track. A quick pull and we were on our way again. It was interesting to watch Dave negotiate the track with his Patrol and Aussie Swag camper in tow.

It made me realise with a bit of common sense and care you could easily tow an off road camper on these tracks.

Driving to Cave Hill

The picture tells the story.

Arrival at camp was around 4.00pm and we set up the swags and got a fire going. There is no water at Cave Hill except for the dam, no power however there are fire pits and long drop toilets which are clean and well maintained by all accounts. Fires are allowed during non fire ban periods. There is a lot of fallen timber around to use for firewood however a chainsaw would have come in very handy to make it more manageable. The fire pits had billy holders and BBQ plates that swung on and off them.

We settled in for the night for a few quiet (did I say quiet!!!) drinks and an early night. Very impressed with the array of setups and gear used and must say Dave’s lamb roast in the camp oven certainly showed me a new way of cooking without roughing it.

So we hit the swags on a very cold night and the camp finally went quiet for the evening.

John the minimalist up the back with the swag out.

Derek and Brother Greg swagging out of the back of the 60

Dave and Fiona in the Aussie Swag and Corey and Cass in the back of the 80 series

The mighty Pajero and swag

The morning was very cold and not too many heads surfaced until around 7.00am when some locals camping with their motorbikes decided it was time to get started.

How cold was it? The frozen water glass tells the story.

A quick breakfast and a walk to the top of Caves Hill and it was decided to detour around to the caves on the other side.

I am sure the photographers in the group will post photos later that will do this area justice.

So after consulting the GPS a woodcutter’s track to Victoria Rock Road was found and we were on our way to the start of the Holland Track. This took somewhat longer than expected and we actually ended up at the starting line at 12 Noon. By this stage Dave had also staked a tyre causing another stop and change proving the small diameter tree trunks are lethal. This trunk went straight through the side wall of a three ply BFG AT.
We departed from the start of the Holland Track at 12 noon and headed for the first destination of Thursday Rock which was a shortish way for a lunch stop

Lined up and ready to go

Away we went. Not long down the track and Dave realised that he had bought some dirty fuel in Coolgardie as the Patrol was losing rpm’s rapidly. Eventually Corey and Cass had to tow the Patrol to the lunch break where damage could be assessed. Definitely dirty fuel was the consensus and without a spare filter, a bit of bush mechanics by Dave saw the old one cleaned and ready to go again. As a learning experience Dave realised that he filled up just after the tanker had resupplied the service station which we think led to all the sediments being stirred up. 

After lunch we soon realised that the going was a lot slower than anticipated. The bulk of the Coolgardie end of the track has been burnt out not giving very nice scenery. The track alternated between sandy and gravel with ruts along the way. 4wd was the way to go but again, low range was never used. At this stage I want to add that we only attempted this at this time of year as there had been hardly any rain to speak off and as you can see from the photos the track was dry. The environmental impact on the track would have been detrimental as it is very clay based. On top of this, you simply would end up digging your way out in a lot of parts of the track. This is definitely a dry weather track only and it was proven again that although tight in some areas, capable driving makes it easy to drag a trailer through.

Coolgardie end of Holland Track

A couple of fuel filter cleaning stops along the way and we got to the middle where the John Holland Plaque is. There is also a geocaching cache here with a visitor’s book. A signature on behalf of CampingWA and away we went. Actually we got started and then Corey told us his car wouldn’t start. A bit of luck and a hit with a screwdriver got it going again and the problem was fixed on Sunday in Hyden. A loose starter motor was the problem solved by the bush mechanics when the heads were clear. We got to the vermin proof fence right on sunset and couldn’t find what Rod was asking in the forums. He will have to answer it for us. The dust combined with the sunset right at eye level made it tough going and the thermometer dropped from 18 deg cel to 8 deg cel in approx 40 minutes.

Around 5.30 pm and already the headlights were going on. The speed was picking up and the stops to look at the sights were becoming non existent due to the darkness enveloping. We made it to the Bounty Mine Road and had an option of bailing out and running for Hyden which was decided against. We came this far so we were going to finish it. At 5.50pm we set off for the last 35 kilometres of bush driving with full headlights and spots blazing. This part was somewhat more challenging as narrow tracks, darkness, water and mud filled ruts kept everyone’s concentration going. However a lot of chatter on the UHF from John up front and everyone down the line kept us up to date with the hazards and conditions so this was very comforting down the end of the line.

Finally we hit the Hyden Road around 7.15pm and a 50km dirt/asphalt run into Hyden saw us greeting Keedy at the Wave Rock Caravan Park around 8.00pm. It was certainly a long days drive so a meal and a hot shower was welcomed by all and after a debrief with a coldie around the fire we hit the swags early.

Sunday morning saw a nice breakfast, a fuel filter clean, a starter motor repair and some exploring of Wave Rock and Hippo’s Yawn.

Again the photographers will do this more justice than I can with my little digital. We headed into Hyden for fuel and to reinflate the tyres and headed home. Stopped at Corrigin for a farewell photo of the group

From here the chatter slowed down and we hit Perth about 3.30 this afternoon saying our goodbyes through the foothills. The banter throughout the entire weekend was playful and questions to many mysteries were asked and sometimes answered such as:

Jokes aside, the general consensus was that this was a good trip and that the Goldfields region is one that needs to be re-visited again in the future. On a personal note, Derek and I started this idea sometime back and put it to the forum to see if we could get any interest. We joined Camping WA with the sole purpose of finding new friends with similar pursuits. I am sure a lot of you are in a similar position to us where our normal friends may have other interests and the idea of sitting dirty in the bush for days without a TV is abhorrent!

To date I have done a day trip, A Dwellingup overnighter with my family and now the Holland Track.

The Holland Track crew was great. We all got along. We all respected each other and did the best where possible to ensure everybody got out of the trip what they wanted. I consider these people friends now and will gladly follow any of you camping or day-tripping again. We had five non forum members come along as well and they all had a great time.

My personal opinion is that this is the primary goal of the forum and I have found that by taking the plunge and getting involved in these trips has been very rewarding personally for me and my girls.

I am now really keen to try and do a similar style trip again sooner rather than later and hope to see old and new friends

Cheers

Tony