Mt Magnet, Yalgoo, Coalseam NP

The ground at Jundoo Dam was impenetrable to the shovel, so it was decided to breakfast at Mt Magnet with the closest facility, an hour away. The highly rated Gems Cafe was shut till next week, and the only place open for breakfast was at the petrol station and truck stop, Swagman. We shared a Big Breakfast, and big it was. That and the delicious hot coffee set us up for the day, and we did not have lunch.

We did the Tourist Drive of Mt Magnet which took through the geographical and historical sights . After The Granites, a breakaway rock formation sacred to the Aboriginals, we went onto Lenonville. I told Grace that it was a tribute to John Lennon, and she sang "Yesterday" or some insect song all the way there. She was not impressed when we approached a small stone platform with piles of rubble in the distance. Lenonville was an old gold miners town, featuring it's own train station, 5 hotels, a bank and 2000 residents in the turn of the 20th century, when gold was found. Like many of these towns, it died as quickly as it sprung with more tales of heartache and loss than success and riches. There was a solitary grave of an unnamed mother and child who died during the typhoid epidemic of 1902.

Yalgoo is a tiny town with one of the first buildings of Monsignor Hawke's. It was a convent with a school attached. The convent building has been restored but the school is in ruins. Had magnificent views from the lookout.

We planned to ask the Visitors Information Centres at Yalgoo and Mullewa if they knew of any free campsites not on wikicamps. However, Yalgoo did not have a Visitors Information Centres, and the one at Mullewa was shut due to unforeseen circumstances. It was 3.30pm when we got to Mullewa, and the youths of all ages were arriving at the park in all sorts of ways; bicycles with 2 or 3 on a bicycle, skateboards and scooters with kids running behind and jostling, and so much laughter. Not an adult in sight. Such a contrast to childhood in the suburbs of Perth. We proceeded to Miners Campground at Coalseam National Park. It's quiet here, with only 3 other caravans in this park of about 25 campsites. And, there's a toilet. Luxury.Read more