There are so many things to do in WA and this festival has been on our radar for a while. We couldn’t do it in 2016 as it clashed with our now infamous trip to the Kulin bush races so we kept it in mind for this year. Turned out to be a great idea as the camping area at Wellington Dam has opened up and so we headed there on Friday night to secure a spot. There are more than 50 so we didn’t think it would be hard. When we arrived we basically had our pick and secured one that suited us. They all have tables, firepits and are within a short hop, skip and jump to the loo and the dam. Some are waterfront but you’d have to get up early to secure one of those and then you would have people walking through, past and around you all the time. The sites further in are closer to the bmx/mtb track too. A very attractive addition for folk with littlies or teens. The Piper was sorry he didn’t bring his bike.
Despite a rainy first evening we had a nice dinner and settled in for a squeezy night in the camper. For some reason The Piper decided to crash on the lounge. Shame he’s just a wee bit too big for it now and clunked and crashed around all night as he turned and flipped in his sleep. We woke to a day that could go either way, weather wise. Overnight the rain washed everything clean but it threatened to turn a good day bad. Fortunately it held off and although it was cool and cloudy it was dry for almost all of the day. We had a stroll around the camping area and checked out the amenities before driving into Dardenup for the Bull and Barrel festival.
Along with many many more cars, people, dogs and bulls we parked in field for a donation to the local school and headed off to explore the stalls, events and displays. I peaked early with h spending and secured a tin dragonfly for the deck and a cute tin turtle that houses a mossie coil, some homemade tomato relish and a candle for The Drummer. The we spent the rest of the day looking at everything else. The Piper loved the artistic ability of Bro Can Art, and coughed up $10 for a picture we’ve now framed and hung in his room. The nanny goat race was all over in a flash and the dog agility was a great spectacle and funny too. The Piper secured the coveted show bag and we had lunch from the food vans. Just like other country shows there were the more unusual things to see, in this case the model car and train display.
The finale of the show is the lighting of the bull but for some reason the festival ends around 5 and the bull isn’t ignited for a couple of hours after that. We made the call to head back to the camp site rather than wait for the big fire so I can’t give you any info on that but I can say that the rising moon was a great spectacle in the dark of the campsite, made more enjoyable with a glass or two of wine. We eventually got our own fire going and enjoyed sitting around it. Our night culminated in the announcement that my great niece had made her much anticipated arrival into the world (in the early hours of Sunday morning in Sydney). With the time difference between Perth and Sydney we were among the first to know – everyone else was asleep in their beds! Welcome to the world bubba.
Sunday dawned dry and we enjoyed our breaky before heading off to pay our fees at he kiosk at the dam as we missed the caretakers on their rounds the day before. Apparently most people don’t do this. How cheap is that! It cost us $20 per night and we had everything you could possibly want. I have to say I just don’t get it when people baulk at that. Pay up folks. It’s your national park anyway! The rest of our day was spent geocaching, sussing out future camp spots and cruising home. We agreed that a stay at Honeymoon Pool is on the cards in the future. Happy dayz, we have that to look forward to!
The Solo Avocado 