We had to set our alarm for the first time this trip. We needed to be on the road early to meet the other club members at a park down the highway, as we were driving down to Busselton for the night. We had the alarm set for 6, but it was still dark so didn’t get up til 6.30am. We somehow packed up all we needed and were driving out just before 8am. We didn’t exactly know where we were meeting everyone, but we ended up finding them in park off the Forrest Highway, just after Mandurah. We were on the road once everyone was there and headed towards the Dardanup Heritage Park. It took another hour to get there, but it was worth the drive. They had sheds full of old tractors, trucks and things like antique telephones and watches. They also had replica houses made up from a Mill Settlement. We jumped straight on the tractor trailer and were having a quick tour of the park. The guide, Hugh, told us that the park was an idea by a man named Mr Brooks in 1998. He wanted somewhere to display all of his belongings. Unfortunately he passed away a few years later, but between his family and friends they formed a Dads Army and made this Park into the place it is now. Each shed is immaculate and so clean. We watched an old bulldozer get started. It was the biggest kind of dozer in Australia and was imported to help with the Snowy River Scheme. It was pretty loud, and amazing to see it still went; even the blade was able to move up and down. Neil got chatting to the man who started it and also fired up a McCormick’s tractor. Not long later, we ran into Hugh again who gave us, well Neil, a personalised tour of some of the sheds. Unfortunetly the car club were ready to go, so we had to cut the tour short. Neil could’ve stayed there for a few days to look around. They even had a military museum with a tank inside. It’s a credit the people who run the park as it is very well set out.
We were on the road just after 2pm and headed to Busselton to book into a cabin for the night. We got 2 houses between us all. We went into town for dinner, and finally settled into the Albie Hotel in the main street. It was a nice hotel and the meals were beautiful.
We were then off to the Drive-Ins, to watch thee Eric Bana movie – Love the Beast. The drive-ins had opened specifically for the car club. It was pretty cool to see all the old cars lined up next to the speakers. We had already seen the movie, but enjoyed watching it again. Even William enjoyed watching it, only falling asleep as the credits were rolling. It was a lovely night out.