GREAT SOUTHERN LAND!
Welcome to another example of the Great Southern Land we live in!
PLEASE READ ALL THE INFO REGARDING THE CACHES AND THE DIRECTIONS BEFORE ATTEMPTING THESE CACHES!
We have decided to place a series of caches around the gorgeous Mt. Helena/ Aurora Ranges for all you 4WD/camping enthusiasts out there to showcase another beautiful scenic camping area that many folks may not have been to before!
DEFINITELY 4WD ONLY!
We have been here on many occasions and every time we are amazed by the beauty of this area! The same trees seem to have so many different colours…. Depending on their state of shedding and the light and angle you look at them! The tree trunks vary between green, gold, white, yellow, pink, red, brown…. even silver! You might find you want to stop and take photos all the time! We have been here so many times and still find ourselves coming home with 100+ photos to go through when we get home!
THE CACHES!
We have created a power-trail of 101 caches around the Mt.Helena/ Aurora Range to highlight the great 4WDing/camping experience. It starts at Barrel Down!.... a great cache already provided by TuffJ80 and continues around through to the peak, then back round to the other side!
You cannot do a complete circuit via car around the Range as the road near the peak has sensibly been closed for many years! We have numbered the caches so that at the turnoff you head round to the top but pass the campsite on your way as it is suggested you take 2 days to do this! If you brought a camper trailer leave it at the camping area! Continue on past the campsite to reach the peak!
You definitely need a 4WD, possibly high clearance, further along and you will get to a ‘Track Closed’ sign which leads back down to the other caches!
At this point, you may want to either walk or 4WD to the top….. we did both and both are achievable, depending on your fitness and 4WDing confidence!
The caches leading down will hook up with the caches coming from the turnoff point before heading to camp so you can leave them for tomorrow!
No. 40 is a Multi - you may want to leave this one as a fun one to do if you are staying in the Camping Area as it involves walking. There is a trackable left in here.
No. 59 is at the peak, there is a trackable in this one as well as a FTF wooden coin.
CACHES – IMPORTANT!
We have tried to place the caches in spots that you can safely pull over, hopefully not on a bend, with room for other cars to pass. Be mindful that you may not see another car out here but PLEASE PARK SAFELY as there are still plenty of 4WDS and Quads that do frequent the area! We tried to make them all easy and quick to find but try to leave them as found! All will be pre-form tubes excepting the final-Multi, the Letterbox and the Peak! PLEASE BYO PEN!!! No sign, no log!
INTERNET, CAMPING AND FACILITIES!
You will mostly lose internet somewhere between Southern Cross and Koolyanobbing minesite so you will need to download all the caches before-hand. There are NO facilities in the campground (toilets, water, bins etc) so you will have to ensure you factor this in! As always, leave no trace! You will be able to get a camper trailer in to the campsite but I wouldn’t recommend anything bigger than that!
DIRECTIONS!
Perth to Southern Cross is approx. 4 hours via Great Eastern Highway. We get to Southern Cross and fuel up (we also fuel up a couple of jerry cans to allow for further exploring!), then we go left onto Polaris Rd then right onto Phoenix Rd which becomes Koolyanobbing Southern Cross Rd. This takes about 30 mins to get to Koolyanobbing! Be mindful again that you will lose internet shortly after here!
When you get to Koolyanobbing Minesite shortly after the STOP sign, you will have to stop at the Security Checkpoint! Continue approx. 1km past the workers village, then turn sharp right before K Pit, After approx. 1km you will come to a Stop sign at a haul road, cross the haul road and then almost immediately take the track on the left towards Mt. Dimer and Helena and Aurora Ranges.
From here on it is fairly straightforward, stay on the dirt road and don’t go on the ‘NO ENTRY’ roads. There are some stop signs crossing the haul pack roads and definitely STOP as you may be surprised by a truck coming through! Can’t go wrong, keep heading towards the Ranges!
I have added a of link of a useful brochure with a map and directions
Bungalbin Brochure | Helena and Aurora Range (helenaaurorarange.com.au)
Maps & Location | Helena and Aurora Range (helenaaurorarange.com.au)
We use offline maps and MudMaps which are also helpful
Happy caching! 😊
