Tag: free camping in the Wheatbelt

Datjoin Rock

Datjoin Rock

Datjoin Rock and Well Reserve, 18km east of Beacon in North East Wheatbelt is a natural attraction, a popular picnic and free camping spot. It is home to some interesting rock formations which are quite picturesque. During the months of spring the reserve is full of beautiful wildflowers. At the time we visited, there were mostly everlastings. Orchids do grow there too, but they finished blooming earlier, and we missed them by a couple of weeks or so (we visited this place end of September). Datjoin Rock is part of Wheatbelt Way self-drive.

Carpets of everlastings (above left), Brunonia australis Native Cornflower (above middle), Waitzia acuminata orange immortelle (above right).

Camping at Datjoin Rock reserve

Camping at Datjoin Rock reserve

Camping is allowed at the Datjoin Rock Reserve, near the well. There are no facilities, so you would need to be self-sufficient and take all rubbish with you. As with most Wheatbelt places, cooler months are the best for camping. During the months of April and September you can have camp fire there.

Location

Driving through Datjoin Rock reserve

To get to Datjoin Rock reserve, travel from Beacon for 18km eastward on Burakin/Wialki road. There is a narrow track entrance on the left. This track is suitable for for 2WDs but it is too narrow for caravans. There is another entrance to the actual rock 2km further eastwards on Clark Road, on the left, at the top of the rise. This second area is a narrow 4WD track only. We found the main Datjoin Rock and well reserve to be picturesque enough. So, if you get lost looking for the second entrance to the actual rock, you won’t miss much, as the Rock reserve has everything you need, including camping area.

Mollerin Rock

Sunrise over Mollerin Rock

Mollerin Rock is a free camping and picnic area, 50km north of Koorda in North East Wheatbelt. It’s one of the attractions along Wheatbelt Way self-drive.

Mollerin Rock camp

Facilities are basic and include a long drop toilet with a tap for washing hands, 1 gazebo with a picnic table. There is plenty of space to accommodate various types of vehicles and set ups. The place is easily accessible to 2WD. The campground is at the base of Mollerin Rock, which is quite low in height and easy to walk on and around.

The views are wonderful from the top, especially at sunset. The best thing about Mollerin Rock is campfire at night during cooler months (between April and September) and wildflowers, mostly everlastings, during early spring.

Everlastings at Mollerin Rock

We stayed at Mollerin Rock campground at the end of September. The wildflowers were past their prime time and many finished already but we still enjoyed the campfire and starry nights.

Attractions nearby:

Koorda Rose

Koorda is roughly 50km south of Mollerin Rock.

I planned a trip to Koorda to see the unique to the Wheatbelt region Koorda Rose (Darwinia purpurea). It is a very pretty bright red flowering plant, common in Koorda. It is found in abundance in Koorda Native Flora reserve, 15km north-east of town, on the Mulji Road.

Very pretty bright red flowering plant. Koorda Rose (Darwinia purpurea) growing not far away from Mollerin Rock

Koorda Native Flora reserve also offers a free picnic and camping ground. The area is relatively big and open and suitable for all kinds of set ups and vehicles. There is a picnic table with shade, campfire ring and toilet. While we didn’t stay there, it looked like a nice camping spot for cooler months.

Koorda Motor and Military Museum

Another place we (our sons, in particular) enjoyed visiting was Koorda Motor and Military Museum. Although it is small and is open by appointment, it does have a few interesting things on display and is worth a visit.

Boys at Koorda Motor and Military Museum, 50km south of Mollerin Rock

Redcliffe

We love natural attractions and always visit them whenever we have a chance as we travel. Redcliffe was one such attraction. The uniqueness and attractiveness of this place comes from the contrast between the white salt lakes and the red granite outcrops. Redcliffe is located 5km off Koorda, at the end of Rifle Range road.

Salt lake at Redcliffe, near Koorda, south of Mollerin Rock

Moningarin Tank

Roughly half way between Koorda and Mollerin Rock, Moningarin Tank is a picturesque place to visit. Lots of wildflowers are blooming there during the spring.

Calytrix depressa (above left), Dianella revoluta (above middle), Dodonea inequifolia (above right).

Podolepis canescens (above left), Rhodanthe manglesii (above middle), Schoenia cassiniana (above right).

Carpets of everlastings (above left), Verticordia chrysanthella (above middle), Waitzia acuminata orange immortelle (above right).

Baandee Lake

Free camping at Baandee Lake

Baandee Lake is a beautiful salt lake in the Central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It is 25km east of Kellerberrin on Ski Lake road. This is a popular place for water skiing when there is enough water in the lake. It is also a pleasant free camping area. There are flushing toilets, cold water shower and non-drinking water for washing hands available. In cooler months you can enjoy camp fires in the fire rings provided. We stayed at Baandee Lake in early November. The weather was favourable – not too hot during the day time yet and cooling at night. There was still water in the lake although not enough for water ski activities. With plenty of space for camping along the shore of the lake to choose from, we found a nice spot with gorgeous view which we enjoyed during our 1 night stay there. We were the only ones, although a few cars visited during the day.

Fantastic views and scenery at Baandee Lake

The best thing for us camping at Baandee Lake were the awesome views of the ever changing sky.

Stormy clouds and rainbow over Baandee Lake

So, we witnessed the intensely strong red sunset.

Red sunset over Baandee Lake
Vehicle camping near Baandee Lake

Many satelites (and maybe a comet?) across the sky full of stars but also some clouds.

Aurora passed by leaving a bit of a colour in the sky too. 🙂

Pretty cool sunrise

Sunrise over Baandee Lake

Some dramatic clouds in the morning just after the sunrise.

Dramatic looking clouds over Baandee Lake

and beautiful reflections of the clouds in the lake.

Clouds reflected in Baandee Lake

Baandee Lake is in South Doodlakine, Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It is about 3 hour drive east from Perth.

Marshall Rock

View from the top of Marshall Rock near Bencubbin

Marshall Rock in Northeastern Wheatbelt is part of the Wheatbelt Way Drive Trail and a popular leisure spot. It is located 280km from Perth and 7km to the nearest town Bencubbin. The rock itself is quite small and easy to climb. You can also drive up to the top (no caravans). From the top you can enjoy a 360-degree view of the surrounding fields, including nearby Lake McDermott.

Marshall Rock campground

Marshall Rock campground is nestled between Marshall Rock and Gardner Hill. There are all the basic facilities there that a traveller would need, which include waterless toilet, non-drinking water, bins, a couple of picnic tables and fire- pits.

Marshall Rock campground

The campground is free and easily accessible, suitable for all types of vehicles and set up. And yes, you can bring your fury friend there too. Our neighbour had 12 of them 😊.

Aerial view of Marshall Rock campground

Photography and astrophotography at Marshall Rock

Marshall Rock is an easy and short hike, so it became my daily habit during our 3 day stay there. Every time the same rock and surrounding area looked differently. You can always find a new angle to look at the same thing 😊

Marshall Rock

Marshall Rock is a great place for astrophotography.

Nearby attractions

Lake McDermott

Lake McDermott is a large salt lake, near Marshall Rock. Like many other salt lakes in that area, it is often dry. When it is full, it promises to be spectacular. During our recent visit there, it turned out to be impossible to come closer to it, to take a picture of the beautiful reflections in the water cast by the surrounding bushland. We ended up with boots full of mud which took a while to clean up. The lake, however, has excellent picnic facilities and walks around, and is a nice place to spend time.

Lake McDermott near Marshall Rock

Pergandes Sheep Yards

Another attraction nearby is Pergandes Sheep Yards. This is a short trip back in time, to 1910, when Pergandes family was the first to settle in the Mt Marshall district. Today visitors can see remains of an original homestead and sheep yards constructed entirely from nearby rock. Information boards describe life of early settlers and how they contributed to the development of the area. Well worth a visit.

Waddouring Dam

Also part of the Wheatbelt Way drive trail is Waddouring Dam. Built in 1929 to provide water to the nearby town Bencubbin, it is now used for recreation purposes. Waddouring Dam is a great picnic and camping spot.

There are two camping areas there. The camp closer to the water edge has a waterless toilet, non-drinking water and a picnic table. This camping area is small but there is another larger camping area further away from the dam (closer to the entrance). The camping areas are free to use. They also have fire pits. While the water in the dam seems clear enough, swimming is not recommended but you can safely kayak and paddle. We didn’t stay at Waddouring Dam but enjoyed visiting it and talking to those people who camped there.

Elachbutting rock

Elachbutting Rock is one of the more popular rocks in Eastern Wheatbelt. It is located 70 km northeast of Mukinbudin, (the nearest town). While not as big as Wave Rock, it is still quite big and has features similar to Wave Rock.

While it looks like Wave Rock, it is not.

The name Elachbutting means “big thing standing” for its sheer size, making it a prominent landmark with sweeping views from the top.

Campground

There is a large picnic and free camping area (suitable for at least 50-60 vehicles) with toilet and picnic tables.

The view of the camping area from Elachbutting Rock

Not far away from the camping area, there is an old well established by early settlers to provide them with drinking water (which is not drinkable now).

The gravel track around the rock is 6km long (which shows how big the rock is) with the camp area on one side and the wave rock formations on the other side. Nearby is Monty’s Pass, a 30m tunnel, caused by a rockslide.

Monty’s Pass

Next to Monty’s Pass is King’s Cave. While the word Cave might be an exaggeration, as it looks more like a hollow, King’s Cave is said to be acoustic, providing good echoes. In any case, it is a fun place to visit, especially for kids.

King’s Cave at Elachbutting Rock

Flora and fauna

Elachbutting Rock is surrounded by Elachbutting Nature reserve, which means it is home to many birds and wildflowers.

Brunonia australis Native Cornflower
Fringed lily Thysanotus manglesianus
Grey Shrikethrush
Halgania species
Lobelia winfridae
Lots of galahs
Maireana Carnosa
Santalum Acuminatum
Solanum Sisymbriifolium
Western Yellow Robin
Flora and fauna at Elachbutting Reserve

Elachbutting Rock 4WDriving and climbing

We climbed onto Elachbutting Rock and we drove onto it (part of it using a 4WD only track). The views from the top of the rock give you a perspective of the vastness of the land, and you can marvel at the patterns and the colours of nature, the shapes and the lines that form a sophisticated and beautiful puzzle.

From the top of Elachbutting Rock

Kids found their own entertainment on top of the rock – walking on stones inside a small puddle.

A puddle on the rock

The Elachbutting granite outcrop (or part of it) provides an interesting background when taking pictures of a night sky, with millions of stars rising up above horizon.

Night sky at Elachbutting Rock

Brown Lake and Eaglestone Rock

Lake Brown near Eaglestone Rock in the Wheatbelt
Lake Brown near Eaglestone Rock

Salt lakes are another natural wonder in the Wheatbelt. When there is a lot of rainfall, the salt lakes become fully alive with many of lying dormant seeds and eggs waking up to the right conditions. In dryer seasons, many salt lakes dry up and harden so much that you can walk on their surface. There is so much salt in them, that the dry salt resembles ice and for someone who has never seen ice, it is a real delight. Lake Brown is one such place of wonder. Kids had a lot of fun walking on the salty crust and playing with it. While I was busy photographing beautiful landscape.

Atriplex holocarpa growing near Lake Brown and Eaglestone Rock in the Wheatbelt
Atriplex holocarpa
Two children at Lake Brown near Eaglestone Rock in the Wheatbelt
Lake Brown

Lake Brown and Eaglestone Rock overlooking it are located 20km north east of Nungarin in the Wheatbelt region of WA and are accessed via Lake Brown South Road. We did not camp there, as we only stopped to check out this place and saw a few caravans and vans there. It did look like a fantastic spot for exploration, as well as camping, especially in the cooler months.  This place will be our next adventure in the near future!

Eaglestone Rock near Lake Brown in the Wheatbelt
Eaglestone Rock and salty Lake Brown in the Wheatbelt

Beringbooding Rock

A vehicle and caravan parked in front of Beringbooding Rock in the Wheatbelt

Beringbooding Rock, 65km north east of Mukinbudin in the Eastern Wheatbelt is an interesting place to visit. It is known for having the largest rock water catchment tank in Australia. Built in 1937, the water tank holds over two million gallons of water. There is a low wall around the perimeter of mostly flat rock that catches rain water and directs it to the tank.

People walking on top of Beringbooding Rock in the Wheatbelt
The largest water catchment tank in Australia

Apart from this water tank, there are other interesting things to see along 2.3km circuit route around and over the rock. I found the sight of an enormous balancing boulder very fascinating.

Balancing Boulder at Beringbooding Rock
Balancing Boulder at Beringbooding Rock

While I was busy taking pictures of the boulder, our kids spent time near the tall cairn. The youngest, Ilusha said that everyone who passed by, put a small rock to add to this tower. Logical thinking!

Cairn

Among other attractions, there are some smaller rocky outcrops, a cave, a gnamma hole (natural water hole) and beautiful views of the surrounding country from the top of the rock. The walk over the rock is relatively easy. Shire of Mukinbudin has also provided picnic and free camping facilities with tables and flushing (!) toilet at the base of the rock.  

The views from Beringbooding Rock

Billiburning Rock

Billiburning Rock was our favourite out of the 4 rocks in Wheatbelt area that we visited during our 9 day holiday through the Wildflower Country and Wheatbelt. Being 35km north of Beacon (the closest town), it is a bit out of the way and thus less popular than other rocks. We were happy to have a lot of space for ourselves with fantastic views.

Camping

The view of the campground from Billiburning Rock

Billiburning Reserve has 3 camping sites, located at the base of the Billiburning Rock. The first one (Gecko Grounds) is an open space, suitable for large vans and caravans. To get to the second (Echidna Expanse) and third ones (Kangaroo Corner), you would need to drive around the rock, crossing a small section of the rock (10 meter section).

Driving to our camping spot

Each of the other two sites are rather small, enough for 4-5 campers each, offering the views of the rock on the left and the views of the bush with abundant wildflowers on the right. There is a drop toilet and a water tank next to it with non-drinking water between sites 2 and 3.

We stopped at Echindna Expanse site (number 2) which we shared with another camper for the first night and had it all to ourselves for the second night. The place being so serene, pristine and inviting that we did stay 2 nights there.

Enjoying our time at Billiburning Rock during the day and night

We climbed over the rock to take the pictures of the sunrise.

Sunrise viewed from Billiburning Rock

Then we climbed it again during the day. Later we marvelled at the way the rock looked when the setting sun was casting its last rays onto it, making the colours of the rock look warm and orange. When the sun set, the colours turned cold and blue.

Billiburning Rock at sunset

Flora and fauna

Billiburning Reserve is home to many wildflowers.

Arthropodium dyeri
Brunonia australis Native Cornflower
Orange immortelle Waitzia acuminata
Eremophila
Maireana georgei
Schoenia cassiniana
Podolepsis aristata
Rhynchium wasp and Mulla Mulla
Ptilotus gaudichaudii

It is a great spot to observe wildlife.

Australian ringneck
Black headed monitor

And of course, no camping experience is complete without a campfire under the stars!

Millions of stars and the Milky Way is what you see in the outback at night.