Hall's Creek

Sun 6^th July 

It was only a short drive into Hall’s Creek and we booked into the caravan park so we could get some washing done. Our bedding was full of red dust and so were most of our clothes. Camping out for three days with limited water takes its toll.  After lunch we went for a drive to see some of the nearby sites. Caroline Pool which had been talked up, was just a pool of water amongst rocks. To get to it was definitely not a job for a 2WD, nevertheless we made it, managed to turn around and get up the steep exit hill with soft sand at the bottom and water erosion holes in it. Our next stop was to be a stone hut which was the last stop to rest the horses before Old Hall’s Creek on the journey from Wyndham through Turkey Creek and Mabel Downs in the old days. There was a turn-off which was sign posted as being 14km away. Well we drove on a dirt road, then a dirt track, then a rocky track, then a very narrow rocky track; all the time getting rougher and rougher until we figured we wouldn’t get much further without completely wrecking the car. We never did see a second sign or the hut for that matter. We realised that we had been travelling on the Canning Stock Route. After negotiating the track back to the main track our next stop was Old Hall’s Creek. All that remained were the street signs, some chimneys and signage showing what was what. The old post office which was made of mud brick had some bits of wall still standing.  A roof has been constructed over it to preserve it from the elements. In 1948 an airfield was built and the town gradually moved closer to it, 15 km to the west. The old town was abandoned in 1954.

Palm Springs, 45 km out of town was described as an oasis, complete with palm trees, a fresh water spring and an abundance of wildlife, so we continued on towards that. The road wasn’t good but the view was extraordinary, with rocky walls of many different shades of red going right to the horizon. We travelled through many dry floodways and occasionally saw pools of water in some of the many creeks we drove beside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George said, “I bet there will be two palm trees and a small pool.”  He wasn’t far wrong, there were some reeds too. A ranger was there with his kids who were swimming in the pool and it did look like fun. The trip back to Hall’s Creek was horrific. The road was rocky and corrugated as we knew from the trip out, but we didn’t count on the setting sun being right in our eyes and completely blocking any view of the road. Luckily the few cars we encountered coming the other way could see us and we mostly met them on straight stretches. The dust just hovered in the still air.

Mon 7^th July

We had a quiet day in Hall’s Creek. Mick had a swim in the salt water pool and came back nearly paralysed with cold. George took the opportunity to do a bit of minor maintenance on his van and Jan cleaned the inside from top to bottom. I did some embroidery.