Wyndham: Top Town in the West

There was abundant advice from the regular 5 o’clock attendees to skip Wyndham altogether, “nothing to see here—-move right along!”
First impressions when you do arrive could indicate the evening imbibers might be right. The last frontier looks very down-at-heel; the new police station is outstanding among a motley bunch of temporary iron buildings, many abandoned; except for the Rusty Tin Shed cafe which is quite as the name implies. But the lunches were extraordinary. Brilliant quiche and salad and Rusty (or Mr Shed the chef) cooks up a mean Rusty Burger.
Being parched in the 37 degree midday sun I went across the road to the pub to buy a couple of tinnies to go with lunch.The lady publican invited me behind the bar and into her kitchen to select the coldest Carlton mids from her own fridge. Appears the bar refrigeration hasn’t worked for years!

But the road to Wyndham is 200 plus kilometres of arguably Australia’s most spectacular mountain ranges; all the ever changing hues of Namatjira paintings, kite birds lazily circling on the thermal currents, trees and grasses covering the full spectrum of green tonings, a rock wallaby or two, but it is the backdrop of the ranges that exude strangely attractive shapes around every corner.

And in the late afternoon we visited Wyndham’s lookout, giving a high altitude overview of the spectacular country you earlier traversed. The highest point of the Bastion Ranges (330m) affords you a bird-eye view over the vast Cambridge Gulf including the Durack, Pentecost, King, Forrest and Ord Rivers. Appropriately named the 5 rivers lookout it’s a wonder to behold, with a sunset thrown in for free.

click on or touch the pictures below to enlarge

Yellow flowers are prolific in this area, on small barren trees void of leaves but with gracious butter-cup like flowers
Yellow flowers are prolific in this area, on small barren trees void of leaves but with gracious butter-cup like flowers
And with the sting of the sun.
And with the setting of the sun.
View towards. The five rivers
View towards. The five rivers
Toward Cambridge Gulf
Toward Cambridge Gulf
Daytime attempt at capturing the type of ranges we drove thru to get to Wyndham.
Daytime attempt at capturing the type of ranges we drove thru to get to Wyndham.

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Along the road, courtesy of someone else's blog
Along the road, courtesy of someone else’s blog
Evidence of the last frontier, or perhaps the remnant of the first frontier.
Evidence of the last frontier, or perhaps the remnant of the first frontier.

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