August 30th to September 1st 2025
In a quest to spot a few stars in the sky and a few wildflowers on the ground we headed to Toapin Weir for a couple of lovely nights over the end of winter / beginning of spring. Ah spring! So great to see you!
As usual, we set off after work on Friday, arriving at the campsite in time for a fire to be built, started and blazing just as gin o’clock started. We chose a campsite at the far end of the space, away from the only other people there at the time we arrived. The space is a big paddock, and we managed to park up next to a lone, limb dropping tree. There is a flushing loo at the adjacent day use area and potable water. Almost glamping.
Friday night dinner (nacho inspired jaffles) and drinks by a fire is a million star experience we can’t get enough of. It’s a quick change from the pressure of work to the complete relaxation of camping. Is there a high stakes conference on at work next week? I’ve already forgotten all about it.
After a good sleep, we were up for a lovely breakfast in the sun. With coffee on board we headed up the road to Cunderdin for a wander around the amazing museum at pump house number 3. The pump houses supported the movement of fresh water 600kms from Perth to Kalgoorlie. The museum displays parts of the remaining pump as well as a chimney. Both are enthralling and relatively easy to understand, although they represent infrastructure that was state of the art at the time. The museum also displays history and information from the area. I loved the dining carriage of the train, but didn’t love the shaking house from Meckering! It frightened me on more than one occasion! We spent a good hour in the beautifully presented museum and left with a bit more knowledge of the region.
Time for a coffee from JCs cafe, at the top of the Cunderdin Hill, overlooking the countryside and the waving everlastings. This time we were the only people there, able to enjoy the serenity before we jumped in the car and headed up the road to Tammin.
We managed to find Hunts Well, but not before getting a wee bit lost and ending up on someone’s property. The well is underwhelming but the rock shared a few different orchids with us, including our first little leek for the season.
Not much further down the road there is a lookout with some fading information about the change to farming practices and conservation in the area. Not too much further in from the lookout we found Gairdner Reserve. Although there weren’t as many wildflowers or orchids as we would have liked, we enjoyed a lovely walk looking for the few we found. Another couple of weeks, and a bit more rain and the bounty should be greater for those lucky enough to get the chance to wander the area.
Our last stop of the day today was at the old police station. We arrived just after some kind volunteers had finished their annual caretaking of the site, to find that it was ready for our inspection! The site is stuck in a time warp, with a low roof line, wide eaves, dirt floors and creaky doors. It’s easy to imagine the local constabulary living and working from this old building back in the day. After a lovely wander around we headed along to the nearby sheep dip, before making a beeline for some fire wood and then back to Dan.
Arriving home so late in the afternoon meant there wasn’t much time between our afternoon maple syrup damper and our pizza dinner, all cooked superbly in the camp oven. Our damper recipe came from a random Facebook post I saved a couple of years ago and it came out perfectly! It pairs very nicely with a Kiev Mule (alcoholic ginger beer with vodka).
Our pizza base also comes from a Facebook post, and use Greek yogurt. Game changer! We plagiarised some pizza toppings choices from our favourite pizzeria at home, choosing a “Mediterranea” and an “Italian”. Exceptional and a great way to end a lovely day exploring another part of Western Australia’s best kept secret, The Wheatbelt.
The thing I love most about these sites is the freedom to be here as long as you like. No 10am checkout to contend with. Because of that we were able to spend the morning dawdling all over the rocks that surround the weir before we headed to the top in search of the view and the orchids. We weren’t disappointed by either, finding enough to keep us happy.
We did eventually pack up Dan and head over to Quairading Nature Reserve. It’s a lovely discreet place to pull in and enjoy a wander. We found some beautiful Jack in the Box orchids, but there wasn’t much else out yet. Never mind, it was still a lovely and new-to-us spot to have a late lunch of bacon and egg wraps before heading home for the week that will be.
We are very lucky to have such amazing places on our doorstep. That is never lost on us. A short weekend out here very often feels as rejuvenating as a holiday.
The Solo Avocado 