Wilbinga Cleanup
They say that some things were simply “meant to be”; as early as last Wednesday I accepted my fate and knew I would have the trip report.
This was in no small part due to the fact that certain other members of the group had schemed and manipulated the starting arrangements such that this would occur. I will not name the names of the culprits; all I suggest is that you review the attached photograph, if you eliminate my vehicle and that of our new member, “figjam”, then you have a, oops, 100% chance of identifying them. [Mental note to self – another reason to admit new members early – passing on the trip report].
Well I was “thrilled” to wake up at 530am in readiness for this trip, that said I felt no pain as I was proud to participate in cleaning the very tracks that we take so much enjoyment in using, and was sure that a nice day out and about under the sun would be fun…….then I opened the blinds and looked out of the window……..when did winter return?
The upside – the run up the Kwinana and Mitchell Freeway in howling wind and rain pretty much cleaned off the mud I am still to clean off after the Brunswick Adventure.
As the DEC was involved, there was some paperwork required before we could get started; a very cold group huddled under a roadside shelter somewhere between here and there to complete the paperwork.
Our team for the day was bravely led by Flying Badger boldly supported by Figjam, SPN WRC, DX Grunt and Grover. Honourable mention to Seaview, who attended the day with the broader group of attendees.
Now….I would like to propose Rule 8: “Don’t tow a trailer”. Not even I have the requisite sized pineapples to seriously propose this, given the vast number of you who take pleasure in towing things behind your vehicle. That said; towing a box trailer is an insidious disease that usually leads to full blown symptoms later in life – towing caravans. There can be no joy in towing anything – and if you do – throw out the reverse gear – you ought never to use it. The day posed one or two challenges manipulating trailers in reverse gear. Frankly speaking, if the nearest point at which I could du a u-turn was Geraldton – I was going for a drive.
On a very serious note – just what sort of individuals do we live with here in Perth – the amount of litter (generally beer bottles / cans) was staggering. Even if we stopped on a track to adjust a tie-down strap, it became immediately obvious that there were at least 10 bottles/cans within sight (even if we did not see them as we were driving). It is a very sad state of affairs when a society treats its own play areas with such utter disdain. This is not to mention the other wholesale rubbish we extracted.
But as to the flow of events: we were there before the other clubs (secretly planning to be finished first and at the lunch trough first!). We boldly headed north (I think) and for sometime were somewhat surprised by the lack of litter (we managed to pick a clean track in). We then tried to clean the beach – bad idea – 200km/h winds, rain etc. – worse of all you could spend a week removing glass and debris from the beach and barely scratch the surface.
Soon enough we were cruising the tracks collecting litter, those items deserving special mention:
- more tyres than you can imagine (some harbouring giant redbacks),
- beds / mattresses / sofas? Really? What are people thinking,
- the doors of a Datsun 180B, given the family connection we treated this with respect when removing it to a final resting place,
- bottles, bottles, bottles and bottles,
- lawnmowers – go figure,
Which left our happy team looking like this:
Notice we found a use for the newly released Toyota Slumber King Pro Camper Trailer.
Despite adopting the 200m rule whilst towing this load back to the dump point, we were subjected to the usual load of abuse from passing motorists. As far as I can tell none of them felt it necessary to report to the authorities the sighting of 3 cars loaded with rubbish entering Wilbinga with the visible intent to dump!
The DEC free lunch…….the reward. Pleasantly surprised to find steak as opposed to sausage. Unfortunately our zealous efforts with the rubbish ensured we arrived last, with little food remaining.
Tired, sand blasted, and proud to have worked on the tracks we use, we returned to base camp. Aired-up and returned to our Sunday afternoon’s. A big thankyou to Flying Badger for leading and SPN WRC for acting as TEC, TG (trailer guide) and guide home. A big thank you to everyone who attended.
Now for a little light-hearted fun:
A poll to establish “what is the preferred beer of a Wilbinga hoon”? Having picked-up after them all day I have a fair idea. Although I am not sure each of my trip colleagues will have the same answer. Anyway, answer will be revealed tomorrow…….
