Sandstone to Lake Mason with Amanda and Mike

Exploring the Murchison sandstone

& lake mason

By Amanda Burton

So long as it hasn’t been raining, Murchison is a great place to explore. It’s criss-crossed with those red dirt tracks we so love, leading to a multitude of remote and fascinating locations. But be warned, these very same tracks turn to sludge with the slightest show of rain. So before the weatherman (or lady) can finish saying “possible chance of showers…” they are closed off. As a traveller, this can leave you stranded for several days, waiting for them to dry out and re-open (or facing substantial penalties in the form of a fine calculated ‘per wheel’ should you ignore the closures).

But the weather gods were smiling on us this trip as we headed for Sandstone (which is actually accessible via the bitumen). I hadn’t given this stop much thought other than as a kick-off point where we were to meet up with friends for the start of our adventure, but there was quite a bit to do and see around the town which made it well worth dedicating a day to in itself. The Shire has put together some great brochures outlining a heritage trail to follow, both within the actual town as well as the surrounding area. But by the time we had all arrived the only trail we needed to find was the one to the pub, which was an easy stroll from the caravan park. The grandly named Sandstone National Hotel was everything a good country pub should be; friendly staff, quirky decoration scheme, cold drinks and simple filling meals. All boxes ticked, we were further spoilt with warm showers in the spotless amenities at the caravan park before bed. The water was a little hard (taking a bit more effort to get a good lather up with the soap) but not unmanageable. The water is also safe for drinking, though some may find it a little unpalatable (see break-away). Next morning we headed off to explore the Sandstone Heritage Trail. Around the townsite there are lovely old stone and corrugated tin buildings as well some old car bodies and machinery. Keep an eye out for a few quirky touches like the shoe-adorned street signs.

The Heritage Museum and Visitor Centre was well worth a look with a treasure trove of old memorabilia and photos from days gone by. We then headed further afield to the town surrounds on the smoothly graded gravel tracks. Each site was clearly signposted with some information placards to supplement the Trail brochure. The Old Brewery was our first stop (like they didn’t get enough last night!) but this one is now a dry affair. Built in 1907 it is a large cavern and tunnels in a breakaway which, through use of water from a nearby well and some Irish ingenuity, was turned into a brewery that provided apparently quite cold beer (all relative I guess) to the miners. With a three year monopoly before the railroad from Mt Magnet opened up to bring in competition, there was certainly

opportunity for Mr Kearney to make his fortune. The only customer when we visited was a shy baby owl nesting in a crevice in the roof of the cave. Plenty of quirky The next attraction was of a more naturethings to see, based kind – London Bridge - as the name including this suggests, a bridge of rock. Formed through rainbow coloured different rates of erosion of the hard and windmill. soft rock of the basalt ridge, in my opinion it’s right up there with Kalbarri’s famous ‘window’. Like the song about its more famous cousin in the UK, this bridge is also falling down so you can no longer climb on it. In days gone by this was the place to go for a picnic and there are pictures of a horse and buggy crossing the bridge. Of course, public safety liability wasn’t such an issue in those times, so nowadays it is well worth a look, but don’t touch. The nearby former State Battery is a history buff’s dream. One of only a few remaining installations, it was in operation between 1908 and 1982. As well as the Battery there are other buildings, stonework and relics around it to explore. The loop back to town

No chance of getting lost. The heritage trail is well sign posted.

London Bridge, the place to go for a picnic in days gone by.

passes Contradiction Well. The fact it was sunk by hand to a depth of 100m in itself makes it worthy of a look, and it has been renovated to give an idea of how it would have functioned. Passing the rainbow-coloured windmill, back in town we splurged on lunch at the Black Range Tearooms. Though we seemed to have caught the proprietor on a bit of a grumpy day, her homemade quiche with fresh herbs from the garden forgave many sins. On the way out of town we stopped for a look at the old the Public Cemetery however there wasn’t an awful lot left to see. We were back on the thankfully dry, dirt tracks and heading for Lake Mason Homestead. This is a former pastoral station 56km north-east of Sandstone which is now a proposed conservation park. Camping is allowed around the station homestead, though it is stated that no facilities are provided. Once set up, we whiled away many hours wandering around stickybeaking. You can explore inside the old homestead which is still in reasonable nick and marvel at the wide wooden floorboards and pressed tin walls. There is a large shearing shed, as well as a few other out-buildings and relics. There was also plenty of local wildlife to admire, including a rather fat looking racehorse goanna who swaggered through camp and a flock of pink and greys who raucously joined us for a drink. During our exploration a great find was the functioning ‘ablutions’ block. Though the décor probably prevented it from achieving adequate status to be touted as actual facilities for the campground, with a donkey hot water system and running water it ticked the most important boxes. So for those of us brave enough to share with the locals, all of whom had either more or less legs than we did, the luxury of a hot shower was there for the taking. The next day our ultimate destination was to end up just past Wiluna, ready to start ‘the real trip’ – tackling the Gunbarrel Highway. This is definitely one of those

The homestead at Lake Mason is still in good nick.

Well One on the Canning Stock Route was a dry affair.

bucket list destinations, but on the way there we decided to put just a little mark next to another bucket-lister, the Canning Stock Route. Now I know the CSR is up near the top of most people’s wish lists, but I have to confess that it doesn’t even make it on to mine. The very thought of all those endless sand dunes has me reaching for the Kwells and the Valium. I love the thought of the isolation and the epic-ness of the journey, but slugging over all those sand dunes, never knowing what might be coming up at you on the other side, just doesn’t do it for me. This puts the Simpson desert into the same category for me. I’ve visited Mount Dare on one side and I’ve climbed Big Red on the other, but I’m more than happy to just skip those hundreds of sickening sand dunes in between. In a similar vein, we decided to take a peek at Well One of the CSR. No sand dune negotiation required, it’s only a few kilometres out of Wiluna. That said we still managed some dramas along the way. One plus for travelling in a convoy is that we noticed that someone was dropping water. A stop and check revealed that a water sensor on one of the camper trailer tanks had come loose. Some quick track-side repairs managed to get it plugged (lesson

Excerpt from Hema’s WA State map.

Accommodation Info

Sandstone Caravan Park

Officially called the Alice Atkinson Caravan Park, this is a 40 site park, no bookings required. $35/night powered site, $25 non-powered. Clean ablutions, washing machines, dryers, BBQ area, picnic tables. www.sandstone.wa.gov.au/accommodation.aspx

Lake Mason Homestead

Once a cattle station, Lake Mason is a 149,557ha reserve situated 50km north of Sandstone. No camping fees. BYO everything www.parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/lake-mason-homestead

learnt – it’s important to build up a good stock of champagne corks so you have the right sized one for just such emergencies – luckily us ladies had been right on to that one) with more permanent silicone based repairs and a refill of the tank planned for that night. Catastrophe averted, we continued on out to Well One. From the stories I’ve heard this is quite a substantial well, as they go on the CSR. For me it made a nice place for a lunch stop, but that was it. It must, however, have inspired some of the boys. They put their heads together and as we speak, they have left the ladies (and the camper trailers) behind and are doing the boys’ own thing, in 4WD and swag, along the CSR. But that was still to come. Before that we had the Gunbarrel Highway to tackle, glamping it with our super-campers in tow. Fantastic or folly – was yet to be seen. Stay tuned.

All hands on deck to try and plug the water leak.

Water quality at Sandstone

Sandstone is one of the WA towns that has been granted an exemption from compliance with the Department of Health’s guidelines with respect to nitrate levels in the water. The water supplied is “harmless to adults and children over the age of 3 months of age. Carers of infants younger than three months should …. (use) alternative water sources for the preparation of bottle feeds”. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines recommend that nitrate levels between 50-100mg/L are a health consideration for infants less than three months, although levels up to 100mg/L can be safely consumed by adults. Sandstone averages around 55mg/L. Sandstone’s water is also described as ‘hard’, an issue as it can cause scale to form on hot water pipes and fittings as well as making working up a lather in the shower a challenge. It is also above the recommended levels for ‘good palatability’ with respect to total dissolved solids, but there doesn’t seem to any health effects directly attributable to this, just taste. And yes, I know I just walked right into the joke about just needing to drink beer instead!