Digging in the Great Southern
Sand and granite on the coast; gravel and clay inland. Reliable rain, drainage and tree work.
Albany, Denmark, Mount Barker, Kojonup and Katanning share the most reliable rainfall in Western Australia, cool summers and a landscape of granite, karri and gravel. Lifestyle blocks around Albany and Denmark are typically a few acres of bush or pasture with a long driveway, a shed and a lot of trees.
What the ground does
On the coast the ground is sand, peaty flats and granite, with boulders in footings and rock close to the surface on the hills. Around Mount Barker and the Porongurups it is gravel loam over clay with granite outcrops. Inland through Kojonup and Katanning it is sandy loam and clay with salt-affected valley floors where drainage and contour work are constant.
Typical jobs
Drainage before winter, driveways and culverts, tree clearing and firewood, footings around granite, firebreaks for the City of Albany and surrounding shires, and farm water on the inland properties.
Machines and attachments that suit
The R18 PRO and R22 PRO have the weight for gravel and granite and still tow to a bush block. A cab on the R32 PRO is worth having in an Albany winter. A rotating grapple for logs, a breaker for granite and a wide mud bucket for drains cover the excavator side; an RS06 with a log splitter and wood chipper handles the firewood.
Delivery
Albany is around 4.5 hours from Perth by road. Most Great Southern machines go by freight to Albany, Mount Barker or Katanning or straight to the farm gate.