This blog is for my friends around the world who ask ne what it is like where I come from, what the camping is like and the stuff I like to do in summer. A place I like and go quite often is Wellington Dam. It is about 30km from Collie in the south west. Collie is a mining town, they mine coal, but we are far enough away to not be bothered and close enough if we want supplies. Wellington Dam was originally built to supply drinking water for Bunbury, Busselton and the surrounding area. It was later used for irrigation for the dairy farming area aroung Harvey. Over the years it has become very salty, salinity is a huge problem in WA, but the land managers have been working with the farmers in the catchment and the quality of the water is improving. The main reason for going there is to catch marron. They are a fresh water crustacean, the bigest in the world, and very tasty. You need a licence to catch them and there is a season to protect the stock. Also in the area you can fish for trout and red fin perch. I have an old 4 wheel drive to get down the rough track into our spot. I also have a small caravan that is set up with gas fridge and a 12 volt solar panel for lights. With this system I am self sufficient and can stay in the bush almost indefinately.I carry a canoe on the roof of the 4by. There are 2 designated camping spots at Potters Gorge, and Honeymoon Pool but I prefer to camp in a more remote location along the dam. This weekend we had perfect weather, temps in the mid 30's with mins around 20 and light winds. This latest trip was out of season for maron so the photos might be old ones and I didnt catch any fish so again old pics. 7/02/09 I took my canoe out again this morning. I went to the Swan river which flows through the city and was about 5km from the city when I went crabbing. The weather wasnt the best, it was very windy so hard to steer the canoe but I got lunch. I only got one crab that was size but it was enough for my lunch. Hopefully the photos will speak for themselves.