Day 46: Kundip - Stirling Range National Park (Mount Trio)

We spent the night at the rest area very well. Some guests arrived late and left early. But overall, there was little activity at the rest area and on the adjacent road.

We have breakfast and we will leave around 10 o'clock. Today we want to go to the Stirling Range National Park. Mountains and hiking are on the agenda. The weather gets better as the day goes on. We are happy about the sunshine that we missed in the last two days. What is this? In front of us is a VW bus with a license plate from Styria. This is not the first Austrian vehicle that crosses our path. In Cervantes we met people from Linz who are traveling with their camper. We want to refuel at the Amelup Roadhouse (about 10 kilometers before the national park), but unfortunately it is closed. So we have to turn back. Luckily not the full 50 km to the next marked gas station. After 25 km we discover a self-service gas station at a 'warehouse'. Around 2 pm we arrive at the Stirling Range Retreat campground. We book a place and then continue to Mount Trio.

It starts shortly after 3 pm. Samuel and Maxima master the entire ascent to the summit on their own. Mount Trio is 856 m high and the hike is 3.5 km long. The trail is steep (Class 4) and there are some rock steps to overcome. Maxima is particularly brave. Some steps are almost half of her body length. During the hike and especially at the summit, you have a great view. That compensates for the effort of the ascent. We take a short break (it's very windy and therefore cool) and have a snack. Then we go back down. We carry all the kids downhill. Michi carries Maxima and Samuel, and I carry Elija and the backpack. Because of the steepness, we were a little worried, but everything was manageable. After about 3 hours we are back at the parking lot with our Maui.

We are all pretty exhausted from our hiking tour. At the campground we have sliced meat with noodles and then quickly off to bed.

10/27/2018

Accommodation: Stirling Range Retreat / Amelup (1 night, 46 AUD, simple sandy spot, pitches with electricity are quite small)

Weather: cloudy in the morning, sunny later, 22 degrees

304 kilometers today, total 7,754 km