Wyndham - to say it is the poor cousin of the East Kimberley region is an understatement.
Withering with a population of only about 1000 people, Wyndham is less than a shadow of its former self.
In the late 1880s Wyndham was booming with three hotels and two taverns, stores, a bootmakers, a butcher, Billiard room and soda water factory. At times there were up to fifteen vessels sitting at the port waiting to be off-loaded or on-boarded.
Now? It's a ghost town for three hundred and sixty-three days of the year. Over one weekend each year the population swells to a few thousand as punters revel in the Wyndham Cup.
Cup aside, the town is dead.
In the relatively short time I have known of Wyndham, I too have seen it rise and fall. I first visited the place in the mid 90's and I was staggered by that 'children of the corn' feel! I went there only in the hope of seeing a monster saltwater crocodile lingering near the old abattoir down by the port.
I left disappointed, in more ways than one.
In the late naughties the town got a massive boost. 40 iron ore trucks, and half a dozen others filled with nickel and zinc from mines to the south, were rolling down the main drag toward the port 24/7 and 365!
Property prices went ballistic, and it looked like the town was to finally come out from under its rock. Then mineral prices tanked, a couple of the mines shut down and those that continued did so with significantly downgraded production.
Suddenly the main street of Wyndham looked, again, like it had suffered the wrath of a zombie apocalypse.
Only recently they demolished the pub. There is not even an ATM from which you can withdraw cash - I'm not making this up.
Having digested all of that I bet you are thinking "This town has NO redeeming features". Well, I'm pleased to say you'd be wrong!
Wyndham, I have a dream and that dream is made of bitumen, boulders, talus and scree.
Every single time I go to Wyndham (and I go often - three times at least this year), I make a point of heading up to the Five Rivers Lookout. It's perched atop the Bastion Ranges.
Trust me when I say this is a "must do" destination. But for me it is not the destination that gets me frothing. It is all about the drive up! The second I start the ascent I imagine what it would be like to do that hill climb on a Supermotard.
Stay with me.......
They'd take off from the District Hospital, which is hopefully not where any of them will end up.
The ascent starts with a series of the most insane switch backs that have a camber on them more positive than Ghandi.
As the switch backs fade in the tyre smoke, the road opens out to more than 3km of twist and turns, with drop offs that would make your eyes water and cause your insurance broker to have a conniption fit!
Could you imagine an annual event that comprised a show and shine in the main street, followed by an "around the houses" (ala Roof of Africa prologue) style race around the wharf, followed by a Time Trial and hill climb sprint?
It would be beyond mental.
Now, I concede that Supermoto alone would not an event make. So, now imagine mixing it up with some hard enduro and trials.
The Hard Enduriacs would tackle the Bastions across the western face from the base to the carpark up the top. The ladies and gents of Trials would take on the North face from the port, straight up the guts!
To rock type is layered or banded iron giving riders immense grip and sharp step-ups to negotiate
A race from the bottom to the top - three disciplines going toe to toe to reach the top first. Or, better still, a challenge to the riders to see if there is one ballistic pilot that could podium across all three disciplines.
Can you imagine the likes of Wade Ibrahim and Neil Price going HE, then SM then Trials in one weekend?
Add a bit of Hard Wired entertainment in the main street when the sun dips below the horizon and we have "two-smoke party central" set against the most monumental of back drops; our monsoonal north.
If it's not enough to turn Wyndham on its ear, then we could move the masses to the other side of Kununurra at Lake Argyle, where the same event could be replicated the following weekend.
A fully licensed bar and restaurant, an infinity pool overlooking Lake Argyle to cool off the injuries, and massive caravan park to accommodate the travelling circus, Argyle has everything the roadshow would need for an incredible weekend of two wheeled insanity.
All we need now is an event organizer willing to make it happen!
Anyone know anyone?
Merry Christmas ----:-< <3 >-:----
Stay safe, stay upright - Go well!
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