6th November 2022
Stirling Range Retreat - Kattaning
A relatively short drive from the Stirling Range to Kattaning. We diverted via Cranbrook to see the Pink Lake. It's just a lake beside the road outside Cranbrook and is un-signposted; you just need to keep a lookout for it. Not particularly spectacular, but one could discern a pink hue to the edge of the lake. The pink colour is caused by algae and our guess is that the pinkness is more intense at high summer when the algae might be at its peak.
Another cheese sandwich for lunch, accompanied by an apple bought from the Bluff Knoll Cafe. Lunch was enjoyed at one end of Kattaning in a cul-de-sac close to a 'country club' that had a golf course, tennis courts, etc. Our lunch spot was also next to a school and church. It was here we discovered that we must have left some of Leah's cutlery at Stirling Range Retreat as a result of cooking at the camp kitchen during the power cut! Off to Woolworths (luckily the only shop that appeared to be open - it was Sunday) to buy a replacement 16 place set of cutlery. A bargain at $16.
The Premier Mill Hotel in Katanning was converted from an almost derelict flour mill, opening in 2018. We were welcomed and shown to our room with a short tour and description of the mill. The room was tasteful and its fittings high quality; quite a contrast with the Stirling Range Retreat. One idiosyncratic feature of the hotel was that each floor had a 'guest pantry' with decent coffee making facilities, i.e. proper ground coffee with French Presses, kettle, fruit, etc. (and a library). I liked this idea, but understand it had a mixed reception from other guests who didn't like having to leave their rooms to use these facilities.
A walk through the town in the afternoon, but being Sunday everything was shut. Australian towns, like Katanning, have an American wild west feeling to them, with canopies over the pavement to shade from the sun, or shelter from the rain! We found a park at the end of town with a couple of small lakes and had an enjoyable wander round despite the threat of rain.
We had dinner in the hotel.