Spring 2026 4WD Trip–Day Three

Another cold and windy night.  However we did get some shelter from the trees.  We woke to a grey and blustery dawn.  It was my turn to cook breakfast and as I’m a very lazy cook we had bacon & egg jaffles cook on the fire.  No plates, cutlery or dishes.

By 7:30am were were back on the road.  It would be a long day as we needed to drive 370km on remote and unsealed roads.  The plan was to head east on the northern edge of the central wheatbelt and then turn north through the western goldfields region to reach Mt Elvire Homestead on the shore of Lake Barlee.

It must have been remote as we only saw one vehicle all day.  At midday we stopped for lunch eating two of Jan’s home made meat pies which we reheated in the trailer 12V oven

The recent spring rains has resulted in the desert becoming a riot of colour as the wildflowers briefly bloom.

Mount Elvire Homestead is part of the abandoned Mount Elvire Station.  The homestead is located up a 37km track from the ‘main’ shire road.  It was first established as a cattle station before new owners tried running sheep.  Both failed and the lease was returned to the State Government in 1981.  It’s now a remote Department of Conservation Park.

Looking around the homestead one gets the impression it must have been a hard life 

Main building

The homestead kitchen

Dining Room

Bedroom

Lounge

Station Hands Accommodation

The House of the Lords

We decided against staying the the homestead.  The was no firewood and the site was very exposed

There were some ‘Breakaways’ west of the homestead which we though might provide more shelter and some wood for our evening fire

 

It was to be another cold and windy night

Spring 2026 4WD Trip–Day Two

After a restless night at the Mollerin Rock Campsite.  Consequentially we woke early and cooked bacon & eggs for breakfast before continuing our journey east along the northern edge of the central wheatbelt.  Part of the route took us beside the rural railway line that terminates at Bonnie Rock where there as a grain terminal.  The small township of Bonnie Rock has all but been abandoned.  There are two origins of the name.  One source claims the name of the town originated from a rock formation that is situated close to the town, that was named by a sandalwood cutter from Scotland.  The second source states it was originally named "Bunny Rock" by sandalwood cutters who camped near a local water catchment and shot the district's first rabbits; it later evolved into Bonnie Rock.

Shortly after midday we reached Elachbutting Nature Reserve and were surprised to find a number of caravans in what is a slightly remote location.  The rock has two distinguishing features.  The first is a wave wall, similar to the one at Hyden and the second is ‘Monty’s Cave’ which is a short tunnel created when part of the rockface broke away.

 

We continued on to our evening campsite at Lake Baladjie.  The is a popular location and if you camp in the vicinity of the sole toilet the area is picked clean of firewood.  We elected to drive further on around the rock to find a more remote and sheltered spot with plenty of firewood.  It was Daniel’s turn to cook the evening meal.

Spring 2026 4WD Trip

Day One

Our youngest son is visiting and we decided to make a 2200km 4WD trip around a portion of West Australia as a reconnaissance for a potential club trip next year.

 

On the first day we drove 300km to a free campsite at Mollerin Rock.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t kind and we experienced cold and windy conditions with some drizzle.   That night I attempted to cook roast lamb in the camp oven.  I’m not much of a cook and wasn’t expecting a success.  Fortunately (for me) Daniel has inherited his mother’s culinary skills and was able to take over much of the task.

 

I had moderate success boiling the water.

We had a spectacular sunset.

But it was a late dinner as the lamb roast was very large and took ages too cook.   In the end we resorted to preliminary cooking the veggies in a separate pot and only adding them to the oven t the very end.

The rooftop tent got buffeted around by the wind during the night which disrupted our sleep,

Another project close to completion and You Tube

Let’s start with You Tube.   If you watch You Tube and are getting tired of the Ads (which appear to be more frequent and longer) there is an alternative if you are using an Android device.   Several weeks ago I installed ‘Smart Tube’.  It’s a program that skips all the Ads when watching You Tube.  Actually you load and watch Smart Tube which gets the video from You Tube, identifies the Ads and skips them.

 

The boat DIY navigation system and autopilot for our eldest grandson’s yacht is almost completed.   The hardware is finish with only a couple of software bugs  to resolve.

I’ve found a source for some ENC charts.  Another task is to confirm there is audio from the jack.

Environmental Sensor

I’ve been thinking about the grandson’s boat navigation system I’m making for him.  Particularly the location of the environmental sensor.  It measures Temperature, Humidity and Barometric Pressure.  Mounting it in the case inside the boat cabin isn’t going to produce accurate temperature and humidity readings.  It needs to be outside.  But that will expose the sensor saltwater.   I need to think of a mounting bracket that enables the sensor to accurately measure data whilst being protected.

Having worked out a potential design I started thinking about how to make the mount.   My thought was to use various sizes of pvc waterpipe. 

Whilst cycling last Monday I called in to see my brother where he proudly showed me his new 3D Printer which he was in the process of learning how to use.  

I immediately realised I'd found someone who could potentially make the mount.  

On my return home I sat at the pc and drew the mount using Google SketchUp.   His 3D Printer doesn't recognise the SketchUp file format (skp).  However I found an online conversion program which changed the file format to STL which is recognised.  Then I email him the file.

After further research I realised standard printer filament degrades in sunlight. But ABS filament has a longer life.   The local electronics store had a reel of ABS filament for $24 and my brother printed the mount yesterday.  He delivered the finished produce today.

The sensor will be secured inside the inner tube (right arrow) with the connector cable exiting through the base.  I’ll drill a series of small holes around the circumference of the cap (left arrow) will will equalise the exterior and interior atmosphere whilst preventing water from accessing the sensor.

The mount is approximately 120mm high on a base 60x60mm.  For two reasons it will need to be mounted as close as possible out of direct sunlight.   1.  Sunlight will heat it giving distorted measurement.  2.  Sunlight will eventually degrade the plastic.

I will drill a tiny hole in the base to allow condensation to exit.

Jan’s now saying “I suppose you want to buy a 3D Printer?”

Bumper & Case

The case for the yacht navigation system has been completed. 

 

Although access to the inside of the case is via the removable base I haven’t screwed down the Top Panel.  I’m waiting until I’m satisfied with the system software.  Currently that is a problem.  I’ve resolved two software issues.  The weather sensor is now transmitting data and the Gauge Dashboard is no longer frozen in the middle of the screen.   However the autopilot has stopped working.

The old brain is being given a rest and my attention has turned to the damaged rear bumper on the 4WD.  I don’t have a workshop manual for the vehicle which resulted in removal taking a considerable amount of time.  I discovered grunting and swearing helped!

Eventually I managed to remove it and see the extent of the damage

Late last year I visited several local panel beaters to obtain quotes.  The price ranged from $1600 - 2000+.  Rather than give money to someone else, I opted to complete the repairs myself and purchased a plastic welding gun from AliExpress ($43).

Using our hot air gun I softened the plastic around the cracked and damaged areas then pressed everything back into shape.  Next I used the welding gun to melt staples into the cracks in the plastic effectively sewing them back together. 

The metal ends of the staples were removed using an angle grinder. 

The welding gun has a flat blade attachment which I used to melt (weld) plastic cable ties into the small gaps between the edges of the stapled cracks.

The damaged areas were then sand and filled with body filler before a second sanding back to smooth.

The next step was to take the bumper outside and spray paint it with primer.

 

This has revealed some imperfection in the area I’ve repaired which will require more body filler and sanding before a second coat of primer. Then I can move on to the coloured topcoat and final clearcoat.

Trip and the Purchases

Too much time has elapsed since the last blog post.  It’s not that we have been incredibly busy.  Rather, not much has happened.   The soaring cost of fuel has meant only one trip with the trailer and that was a trial to test the latest modifications.

 

It was 200km to Kwoylin in the centre of the southern wheatbelt.  In 1908 the State government was requested to designate a township at the site which would be beside the proposed Quairading to Nunagin railway line.  The town was gazetted in 1913, which coincided with the opening of the railway.  The following year the Kwolyin's State Hotel was constructed.  Many rural hotels had the name ‘State’ in them as they were owned by the government.  Apparently this was done as a means of enforcing the State liquor laws and capturing the revenue.

In 916 the residents of the nearest town of Shackleton opted to pay to connect to the Goldfields Water Scheme.  The residents of Kwoylin refused and that was the start of the demise of the town.   Businesses gradually moved to Shackleton.  It appears that by the 1930’s the State Hotel was the only significant building left in the town.  This resulted in the unusual situation of Shackleton being the town and the nearest hotel in Kwoylin.  That lasted until 1992 when the hotel was destroyed by a fire.

Kwoylin is now a campsite with toilets and a basic kitchen maintained by the Shire of Bruce Rock.

The rea has returned to natural vegetation apart from a small cemetery.

Although looking at the size and age of those interned in the graves I suspect they might be ashes

On the morning of the 25th of April I drove 50km to Bruce Rock where they were holding an ANZAC Day Service.

It was a little disconcerting to see some of the Vietnam War veterans using mobility scooters and walking frames.  Others were shuffling along.   These were men my age!

On the way back to the campsite I took a short detour to visit Shackleton.  The town’s (it’s very small) major claim to fame is the bank which is 3 metres by 4 metres and is the smallest bank in Australia.

Meanwhile Jan has been shopping.   She has decided to dehydrate surplus fruit and vegetables from her garden.   The Lemon tree has been picked bare with the fruit dehydrated and then ground to powder.  Today it was the Lime tree.

Jan has also decided to dehydrate vegetables which I can take on my outback trips.

The other purchase was a pasta maker.  Apparently you add flour and water of make various types of pasta.  Some of which will them be dehydrated

I need to get on a complete the grandson’s boat navigation system and the rear bumper on the 4WD needs to be repaired after someone backed into the Isuzu when it was parked and unattended.

Some thoughts on war in the Gulf

Trump doesn’t appear to able to articulate any strategic goals; apart from opening the Strait of Hormuz, and that is an afterthought from his earlier attack on Iran.

NATO is a defence treaty. A member country has to be attacked for NATO to become involved. When NATO becomes involved, then NATO takes command.

Commanding and coordinating a multinational operation using Tweets doesn’t work.

Trump has previously abandoned allies and even indicated he would attack a NATO member over Greenland. He is completely untrustworthy.

The operation is failing. A principle of military doctrine is “You don’t reinforce failure. You reinforce success!”

When George Bush Jnr was considering invading Iraq the American Secretary of State, Coln Powell told him. “You break it… You own it!”

Mermaid and more odd jobs

Earlier in the week we had a mermaid in our backyard.  I’m usually not up early enough to see one.  Fortunately they don’t make much of a mess and are actually quite friendly, but shy, when approached.  Mostly seen on hot days!

And now to some more mundane subjects

The damned rotary lawn mower has been doing a very bad job of throwing cut grass into the catcher.  The grass piles up at the front of the catcher which results in it having to be removed and cleared.  Initially I thought we would need a new mower.  This one is nine years old and I started researching battery powered lawn mowers.  Then I decided to examine the blades.  The mower has four and they were all sharp.  So nothing was stopping the blades cutting the grass.

However they did look worn

Upon carefully examining one of the blades I identified the rear of the blade was badly worn.  Originally there was a vertical lip on the back of the blade and it was mostly gone.  It wasn’t easy finding replacement blades at a price I was prepared to pay.   eBay was my friend.  After fitting the new blades the mower is far more successful in ejecting grass cutting into the catcher.   Then I read the blades should be replaced annually.   I won’t be doing that but now I know what to do next time the problem reoccurs.

There is a large tree on the neighbours side of the corner where their property joins ours.  It’s been growing over our boundary fence and shading the electrical and water solar panels on the workshop shed roof.  This is affecting the swimming pool water heater system.

I’m now to old (and sensible) to climb a tall ladder to prune the branches on our side of the boundary.   A pole saw is required and none of my relatives own one.  There is only one tree to prune so I didn’t want an expensive saw.   The price of hiring a saw for the day was almost the same as purchasing a cheap battery powered saw.  In the end I bought an Ozito 3 metres battery powered pole saw without the battery.  Having standardised my battery power tools on DeWalt I didn’t want to pay more money for an orphan Ozito battery.  AliExpress came to my rescue with an adapter plate costing around $6.  Much cheaper than the Ozito battery.  The adapter fits between the Ozito pole saw and a DeWalt battery.  

It works and I’ve given the tree an initial haircut.

Loose Ends

The controller cable on the ebike linking the controller and the display had started to concern me.  There is a considerable amount of tension on it which suggested something might cause it to fail; probably at the joint. 

I found an extension cable from an online seller

Which solved the potential problem

Next problem was the head torch.  I bought one online for $6.  The specifications stated it was powerful.  And it was!

Unfortunately it only took 30 seconds before the light started to dim.  Looking at it I suspect the battery was a single Li-ion 3.7V 18650 cell.  After dismantling the torch my assumption proved correct.  A single 18650 cell with no plastic shield.  It would be hard to look much cheaper.  Using the iMax battery condition I tested the cell which revealed it had a capacity of 13mAh.   A good 18650 cell has a capacity of 2400 – 3500mAh.  Obviously the one from the torch was a cheap dud.

    

Rummaging through my boxes of ‘stuff’ I found a spare cell which I soldered and fitted to the torch before reassembly.

Now I have a head torch which illuminates for more than 30 seconds.