Photo: Mt Augustus
Cabin and motel accommodation and camping. Most meals, entry fees to the Landor Races and national parks, tours and twin share accommodation are included in the fare. A single supplement is available on application. Sleeping bag required.
In early October every year, the Eastern Gascoyne Racing Club runs a traditional station bush race meeting at Landor Station. The race originated in the early 1920s when one stockman said to another, 'I bet my horse runs faster than yours'. Thus the tradition of the Landor Races began and has been held every year since.
More than 1000 people attend this event, which goes over two days and includes racing, a gymkhana and a ball. As there is no accommodation for visitors on this working pastoral station, we join the other race-goers in camping out. As well as the Landor Races, this tour also takes us through the Gascoyne and Murchison regions of Western Australia, including Mt Augustus and the Kennedy Range.
If you would like to learn more about the Landor Race Meeting before we go, you might like to read P.R. Heydon's book, They're Racing at Landor, which was published by Hesperian Press in Perth in 1992.
| Day 1: Perth - Meekatharra | On departing Perth, we travel to New Norcia for morning tea and then on to Paynes Find for lunch. After lunch we drive through Mt Magnet and Cue and, as this is wildflower country and if we are lucky, we might see wildflowers still in bloom. Our motel accommodation is in Meekatharra where we stop for the night. (Morning tea is not included in the fare.) | |
| Day 2: Meekatharra - Landor Race Track | This morning we leave Meekatharra - and the bitumen road - and hit the red dirt. On the way to Landor station, we visit Mt Gould Police Station. Built in 1890, it was the first police station in the Murchison. Its primary function was to house local Aborigines who were accused of killing stock. The building has been recently restored and is a reminder of a disturbing part of Western Australian history. After arriving at the Landor Race Track we set up camp. (Entry to the races is included in the fare. Lunch on days 2 and 3 not included.) | |
| Days 3 and 4: Landor Race Track | Here we spend two wonderful and exciting days being involved in country race traditions and the spirit of the outback. On a smaller scale but by no means less thrilling, the Landor Races are Western Australia's answer to the Birdsville Races. | |
| Day 5: Landor Race Track - Mt Augustus | Leaving the racetrack and two thrilling days of racing, we make our way to Mt Augustus where we set up camp and just relax. There is time for a swim in the Lyons River (for those who wish), and a drive around Mt Augustus, or Burringurrah as it is known by the local Wadjari Aboriginal people. Mt Augustus is one of the most spectacular monoliths in the world; it is 717 m high, 1,105 m above sea level, 8 km long and covers an area of 4,795 ha. It is twice the size of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and said to be the biggest rock in the world. It is surrounded by a stony, red sandplain of arid scrubland, dominated by wattles, cassias and eremophilas. In September, this vegetation is complemented by numerous wildflowers. | |
| Day 6: Mt Augustus - Carnarvon | Today we are on the road to Carnarvon via the Kennedy Range and Gascoyne Junction. After setting up camp, we have a tour of the town and visit the one mile jetty and Pelican Point. | |
| Day 7: Carnarvon - Kalbarri | Leaving Carnarvon, we travel the Brand Highway to the Overlander Roadhouse where we have morning tea and then on to the Kalbarri National Park and the beautiful Murchison River gorges. We spend our last night together at our accommodation in Kalbarri. (Tonight is concert night.) |  HMAS Sydney Memorial. Photo: Anne Atkinson |
| Day 8: Kalbarri - Perth | Today we visit more places of interest as we travel back to Perth. The first is the Lynton Convict Ruins in the tiny fishing village of Port Gregory just north of Geraldton. Built in the 1860s by convicts, the ruins are on the banks of a pink lake and surrounded by white sand dunes. Our second visit is to the HMAS Sydney Memorial in Geraldton where we also stop for lunch. After lunch, we continue on down the Brand Highway to Perth, stopping in Cateby for a short break. (Morning tea and lunch not included.) | |
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