Martup Pool - a tale of deception

I don't know how many times we've driven past the sign Martup Pool on the trip to and from Perth, and we've never had the inkling to stop. Despite the word pool in the name. There couldn't possibly be a real pool there amongst the straggly grey trees - could there?? Surrounded by paddocks, sprouting crops and lambing ewes. In the middle of this country known for dryness??  

The farm dams are rarely full. The worn out creeks are usually dry with an occasional excuse for a pool glimpsed amid the saltbush and unhappy trees. Shallow and brown and generally unappealing, a far cry from how the country once must have looked.  I usually play a game of trying to glimpse any water at all, while whizzing past.

However on this latest trip to Perth I succumbed to curiosity and had lunch there. What a surprise. There creek was a winter creek babbling and winding between the greeny-grey sheoaks. Grass grew like bright green blankets tossed over the ground. This was pretty enough for a lunch spot and I would have been happy just with that.

But the track left the parking area and disappeared to the north between the trees. So I followed it with curiosity, through an enormous pool puddle over the road. Fun splashing through that! I caught glimpses of a real pool through the trees.

Eventually the track stopped at another parking area beside what could only be described as a billabong. Paperbark lined, wide and deep, and beautiful. According to the signage there it is permanent water and certainly looks to be still fresh. A.m.a.z.i.n.g. That is a ten year deception. It just goes to show that we sometimes have to let go of our Australian perceptions of what a pool is (usually pretty empty of water) and allow the dictionary meaning in ( a small and rather deep body of usually fresh water). Although this pool was BIG - hundreds of metres long.

 Now I realize there are a few other spots along this road that may hold similar surprises in store. I will be checking them out. I have been, and will be into the foreseeable future, making regular trips to Perth to help Dad with his writing. That is a project in itself - I'm just taking care of the technological side of things. So I will have plenty of opportunities to investigate ...