FROM THE DUKE TO THE KING (LAKE KING, THAT IS) (23 - 28 MARCH 2015)

As we reluctantly pulled out of the Duke of Orleans Caravan Park we did so knowing that we had just begun the next major phase of our lives....this was the start of our haul out of Western Australia. We still had almost 4,000 kms to go before crossing the border into the Northern Territory, but we were on our way.

Our feelings were mixed. We had been here in the west now since late October 2013..... we had enjoyed some wonderful experiences to date, and knew that there was much more to come, but the vagaries of the Western Australian weather, particularly the winds, were beginning to wear us down. 

We knew before hauling across the Nullabor that wind would be a constant companion in these climes, but to be honest, we were not prepared for the almost constant buffeting we had been taking, everywhere we had stayed.  A still day and evening had become events to celebrate. Oh, and did I mention the flies?

The other great, inescapable and constant impediments to an extended travelling lifestyle in this part of the continent are the prices. The two major travelling expenses, accommodation and fuel are consistently higher in WA.  Even the most modest of caravan parks are universally dearer than others in Australia.   A simple pub meal borders on a luxury item, and as for a pint of beer.....don’t let me get started!

We have been somewhat amused by all the political hand wringing and grandstanding in WA since the mining downturn. From all we have observed, this State is reaping what it sowed. The boom was celebrated, prices soared, and now the bust brings bleating. We are singularly unsympathetic.

But all that aside, we still have much to look forward to. The Pilbara and the Kimberly promise tourist treasures. We have friends in Perth and several country towns with whom we are very much looking forward to catching up. Forrest Gump was right...life is like a box of chocolates.

Our first port of call was a return to Esperance. Re-supply, some frantic blogging and a visit to my newly discovered relatives (about which I have already rattled on) were on our brief agenda. Let me confine my comments to a quick run through our chosen park for these few days, The Pink Lake Caravan Park (the noise at Pine Grove was something we were not keen to repeat).

The park entrance on the busy Pink Lake Road

leads to the somewhat unusual architecture of the park office where, as normal, we conducted the arrival formalities.

We made our way post the children's playground directly opposite

and on down the park entrance roadway. We ere already impressed by the grass and the trees.

As with all parks, Pink Lake has its fair share of cabins, but here they were all neat and tidy and set in good grounds.

We continued on past more lawns and the first of two ablution blocks in the park,

the not-so welcome bouncy pillow,

more garden areas,

and the grassy expanses of the tent area

before settling in on our allotted site.

Ours was all grass, but many in this park have a shade cloth mat in lieu of a cement slab, something we always consider to be a very good idea.....this caters easily for annexes of all sizes and allows them to be pegged in completely.

And as for convenience, in both senses of the word, directly behind us was the second park ablution block and camp kitchen.

Looking back along our row, it appears somewhat crowded, but we all had plenty of elbow room on these good sized sites.

The enclosed camp kitchen here at Pink Lake is one of the better ones we had come across where the tables and benches

were complemented by a well equipped kitchen area.

As can be seen here, we were but one site away from all these facilities

I made good use of the outdoor BBQ's on more than one occasion.

At the far end of the park a large development was underway. 

Two permanent park residences were already in in situ, with many more obviously to come. Whilst permanent residents can create their own problems for park management (as we had discovered in Carnarvon) this is a very good way of maintaining a cash flow during the low seasons.

In summary.....we enjoyed the location, the lawns and gardens, the facilities and the general ambiance of The Pink Lake park.....we would stay here again.

After our few days back in Esperance, with bulging food lockers and a renewed sense of adventure, we made our way back onto the South Coast Highway on which we travelled as far as Ravensthorpe before turning our heads northwards. Destination for the day....Lake King....why? Because for some reason or other, unknown to even her, Liz had set her mind on seeing Lake King. This was a 'bucket list' day.  And, some 250 kms or so later, there we were. 

We knew that the Lake King caravan park was near the local tavern which purportedly served fine meals and provided good local colour. As we drove in past this watering hole we were a little uneasy....this all looked a bit agricultural!

Undaunted we pushed on to the caravan park, our home for the one night. We were expecting a 'bush' park, and as we turned in

to look down one of the two park roadways, 

and drove around the other to gain a good feel for where we would settle, we realised that is exactly what we had.

But we found a level, drive through site with plenty of shade, and the place was certainly quiet and peaceful.

I did remark to Liz that had this been a year ago, I would have seriously considered leaving, but we have learnt that there can be much more to a comfortable park that green grass. In this case, that was exactly so.

The amenities block here at Lake King is excellent. It was spotlessly clean, had large shower cubicles, hand wash, small towels etc etc, better than many larger parks in which we have rested.

 

The camp kitchen at the rear of this building is small but neat and well equipped. 

The nearby BBQ area suffered from the lack of a solid roof (the weather was threatening), but on a fine day this would be a lovely spot to scorch some beef or lamb.

We were perfectly content, and arrived just in time. Within half an hour of settling on site, the heavens opened with results which were clear to see the following morning. But here again, this park had something many others don't...bitumen roadways...no mud on the tyres on departure here.

Fortunately the rain eased by the time we were ready to toddle off the to the tavern, which is a mere three minute walk away. Here we joined a few Friday evening local revellers and, to our real surprise, enjoyed one of the best pub meals the West has to offer.  The chef here is a marvel, something I was happy to tell him as we left (to his real surprise!)

Because of the weather we had done no sightseeing the previous afternoon, so we were out of the cot first thing the following morning for a pre-departure wander around the town. And it was then we discovered that Lake King is a town of two distinct parts, quite some distance apart.  

Near the tavern is a small 'suburban' area with sealed roads and well established homes.

A very impressive Anglican Church raises its roof nearby over the scrub verge, a building of some significance given the size of the town.

As we walked through Lake King 'suburbia', I was very impressed to find that the locals had created a direct path to the pub. This showed a good sense of priority!

We took this option and wandered down into what was obviously the town park area. Here, at the back of the tavern we found a playground and basketball hoop

and, of all things, set in the grass of the park area, a time capsule.

The tavern, which we read was the result of a real community co-operative effort, is surrounded by a sea of brown dirt. No visitor here need be concerned about lack of parking space.

The tavern building would certainly be more inviting if surrounded by a few trees or some other amenity, but we suspect it remains something of a work in progress.

The front verandah area is decidedly rustic and inviting.

The tavern also provides motel units, tucked well behind the screen of large trees to the side of the main building.

From here we took a pathway 

to the intersection of two main country roads some half a kilometre distant.

We had read about one of Lake King's 'attractions', a tractor museum. The shed which houses these machines can just be seen here at the right of the photo. I was not overly enthused, but took the view that, 'well, we're here now'. 

As it was, I was very glad we stopped. I had though this to be the resting place of some old, superseded workhorses of a past era.....absolutely not. As we took a closer look at what initially appeared to be a very modest exhibition, we discovered that these machines were anything but standard tractors.

What an extraordinary collection of ingenious machines this is.

For some reason I was not able to fathom, a few of the more creative local farmers had decided that needed more than what was available off the 'tractor shelf', so they set to and built these hybrids, some of which are impressively large,

and others, such as this coupled set of originals, ingeniously conceived. They were an inventive mob here at Lake King. 

From here we set off down another well defined pathway alongside the highway to the distant Lake King general store.

And it was here that we discovered the second half of the town. This large parking bay allows for those with big rigs to pull in 

and avail themselves of the goods on offer in the large general store opposite.

Preserved in the middle of all this bitumen is this quaint little shed, the 'Hole in the Wall'. Between 1936 and 1987 it was here that goods being delivered by road to the town were dropped off awaiting collection by those for whom they were intended.

It was here that I spied other buildings set back in the bush. More of Lake King?

Indeed it was. In this most oddly laid out small town here was the local sporting complex, and more. The football oval

and tennis courts stand side by side in this section of Lake King.

Close by we discovered the local administration buildings and the base of the Lake King ambulance service.

And then, a short distance along this roadway, the real surprise of our visit, the Lake King primary school. Now I don't wax lyrical about schools too often, but this is a gem and an absolute credit to all responsible.

All the walkways between the buildings were lined with plants.

Odd and interesting little statues graced many of the walkway garden beds.

as did a number of ceramic tiled date signs. Each of these represent a significant date in the school's history, all of which are listed on a wall near the entrance.

The large rear playground provided both open and sheltered areas.

just beyond which the school veggie patch was flourishing.

This is another instance in which my photos do not do justice to what we had found. The Lake King primary school is utterly charming in all aspects, well designed and meticulously maintained with gardens which would do the most fastidious of home owners proud. Well done Lake King!

By now, having walked a good two kilometres of so to this side of town, it was high time to repair back to the van and make our way further north. We were off to Hyden, or to be more precise, the famed Wave Rock. The adventure continues.