Stirling Ranges

There was no TV in the Stirling Range Retreat,  but ample entertainment was provided watching people arrive and set up their camp alongside the fence line, just opposite my cabin. In particular, a couple in a Toyota 4WD had a magnificent awning stretching out from the side of their vehicle. They tried valiantly to fix canvas side walls to it and had even brought a stepladder to assist with this. They were struggling for ages. At 6.45 pm, night was falling, a cold wind was blowing and rain was threatening. Was this the first night out with their rig? I was grateful for my cosy little cabin, I can tell you! Meanwhile, other younger couples had put up their tiny tents and swags in no time, and had taken themselves off to the Campers’ Kitchen to cook their dinner. I dined on a curried beef pie, purchased earlier in Ravensthorpe and warmed up in the microwave, with a tin of sweet corn and two glasses of red wine! No hassle after a 400 km drive. I was in bed by 8.00 pm and lay awake listening to a tremendously heavy shower of rain that must have been bad news for all those under canvas.

My little cabin was ideal!

Bluff Knoll

I was up at 5.00 am and off by 6.00 to climb the mountain (or half of it, anyway!)  I first climbed it in 1990 when I had just arrived in Australia, and again about 15 years later with the Nats. No need to kill myself doing it a third time! It is 1095 m high (656 m from the car park). When I left base camp it was only 11 degrees, and reputed to be 7 degrees at the summit. As I set off climbing, a young couple was coming down. They said they had just missed the sunrise. 

I sat down on a rock to eat a banana and was surprised to see that I suddenly had phone reception. There had been none down below at the camping site and no wi fi either. It was very disconcerting to be cut off. (“You only need Telstra when you need it.”) No checking the temperature or reading blogs when you wake up!

I sent a message to my nearest and dearest and then turned back, looking forward to a second breakfast and another hour in bed, resting my legs. Coming down is always the hardest on the knees. My hip replacement protested too. There are many steps to negotiate; but I lived to tell the tale!

“Drumsticks” are prolific on the lower slopes.

This young man was carrying an enormous load of what looked like military gear. He said he was in training.

There were more wildflowers than I expected, so late in the season.

Artwork depicting the mega diversity in the area.

Me and the rock!

This camping site has the added attraction of a swimming pool; the afternoon was warm enough for a quick dip, but the water was extremely salty: it was like floating in the Dead Sea.

Gnocchi in mushroom sauce for dinner, with a little beetroot relish  and a bottle of Margaret River Cleanskin.

My cabin (number 33) had a window looking out towards Mt Trio and a magnificent sunset. Everyone emerged with their cameras to get the best shot, rather like being at Cable Beach in Broome. The young man in the tiny green tent nearest to me started flying a drone, so I asked him if he could let me have some of his shots. He gave them to me via Air Drop and they were brilliant. He flies helicopters so he knows what he is doing.

Sunset over Mt Trio.

Drone shot showing my cabin with Bluff Knoll in the background.

For more, see this Instagram account: @johnjphillips82

John also made a video using some of the other footage he shot over the weekend which you might enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-doHyVnWtyE

Thanks, John!