Canning Stock Route Day 4 - Well 3 to Well 6 (Pierre Spring)

Camping in swags certainly makes departing camp really easy. Best of all, Leah is just loving it. At night she comes up and asks to go to her swag! Any of you that have children will know that is a most unusual trait for a 2 ½ yr old, and certainly isn't the case at home. No idea how long this novelty will last, but no complaints from us for the time being. But early to bed means early to rise and by 8.15am we were off and feeling great - it had not rained overnight and the morning was still and slightly cloudy. There were many red roos in this area and the track was mostly flat on a sandy surface with scattered gibbers. We followed the winding track through trees and creek beds, past a couple of station wells, passed a salt lake and onto Kennedy Creek.

This section of track has been realigned by Cunyu Station to bypass a notoriously boggy section. Cunyu is a private leaseholder and much of the rest of the CSR is unclaimed crown land. Cunyu is just a small station, operated by a husband and wife team. Tourists travelling the Canning during the peak winter months conflict with Cunyu's mustering operations and this has caused the station many problems in the past when travellers have become bogged and stranded requiring help which has interrupted their mustering. So Cunyu decided it was best for all if the original track was realigned for the benefit of both travellers and their operations and since this track passes through their property they have exercised their right to impose some regulations on the use of their track. Strictly NO trailers are allowed between Well 2a and 4a - the only option is to take the alternative routes via Granite Peak or Glenayle stations and enter/exit the CSR at either Well 5 or Well 9 respectively.



We had another navigational error along this section of track - mostly due to the fact that I was relying on finding landmarks mentioned in the Gard's book The Canning Stock Route - A travellers guide. I had forgotten it was many years old now and that this realigned track meant that I should have ignored sections of trip notes and just trusted the track. After a few kilometres driving around in the scrub and finding station bores on the other side of Kennedy Creek I realised the problem and again, 4a is found dead ahead on the newly aligned track. What we had done was pick up the old track. It was the final straw for us and we agreed to trust our instruments and maps and ignore the trip note sections in the very outdated guide book, however the historical information was still relevant.








The turnoff to Well 5 is marked and beyond the site is the signed track to Granite Peak Station. This is a private track and a $20 fee is required if you wish to use it. Chris and Graeme needed to take this easy exit off the stock route to head out to the graded shire road that would take them down to the Gunbarrel Highway and the quickest way for them to reach Geraldton in time for meetings on Tuesday. We continued on solo from here towards Well 6 - an absolutely excellent location and certainly worth a few days stop. For dinner we prepared the camp oven and cooked a whole scotch fillet of beef wrapped in strips of prosciutto and baked with whole fresh tomatoes and potatoes! (Prosciutto is a very thin cut of cured pork similar to copra or salami and available in thin vacuum sealed packets with at least 2 months use-by date from supermarkets - store in fridge and used within 4 days of opening). Left over roast can be wrapped in foil and stored in the fridge for up to a week. Use for sandwiches, or cut into chunks and mix with apple, sultanas, mayo and lemon juice to make tasty fulfilling salads.

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