Saturday 17.9.2011: We drove down the cliff top road with wildflowers here and there , visited Port Gregory and then out to Northampton and back into the wheat country which looks great, then to Geraldton where we stayed at the Sunset Van Park on the northern side of Geraldton. We set ourselves up and discovered Geoff and Nancy were almost opposite us, so we had a chat but the weather had turned cold and windy, so we retreated inside our vans.
 |
| Wheat fields near Geraldton |
Sunday 18.9.2011: Woke to rain and went to church, the service was very much like ours and we knew the hymns they sang, had morning tea and met a few people, then went for a drive around Geraldton, saw James and Mel’s old house and the HMAS Sydney Memorial then did some grocery shopping.
 |
| Waiting for the sailors who never returned |
 |
| Geraldton from the memorial |
Monday 19.9.2011: Drove out East to Mullewa about 110 kilometers to see the supposedly spectacular displays of wildflowers, asked at the Information Centre about the wreath wild flowers and were told they were another 30 kilometers out at Pindar and another 9.5 kilometers up a corrugated dirt road until we saw them, so we drove on out following our instructions and found the wreath flowers along the side of the road, as well as a lot of others wildflowers. We couldn’t find anything that looked like the displays shown in the glossy tourist brochures. We then drove back to Mullewa and down to Coalseam National Park where we stayed at the Miners Camp Ground, it was lovely and quiet and there were lots of birds.
 |
| Wreath Flowers |
 |
| Coalseam camp spot |
Tuesday 20.9.2011: 8 degrees - 24 degrees - sunny. We decided to stay another night at Coalseam National Park, so we went for a walk along the river to see the wildflowers, the walk took us about two hours but we both felt better for a good walk. We rested in the afternoon and read a book.
Wedneday 21.9.2011: 10 degrees - 22 degrees - misty and cloudy. Drove back to Geraldton along the road called the Walkaway Road and saw lots of yellow wildflowers along the sides of the road, some wattle and lots of others. Checked into the Belair Gardens Van Park near the lighthouse, did the washing and after about an hour we had to run to get the clothes in as it started to rain, so we went to do the shopping, pick up our mail which Katrina had sent to the Geraldton PO and cope with the wet washing later.
Thursday 22.9.2011: 13 - 23 degrees - windy /sunny . Katrina’s birthday, so we woke at 6 am to be able to wish her a happy birthday before she left for work in Sydney . Left Belair Gardens at Geraldton driving south on the Brand Highway, the landscape is sand hill along the beach side and grazing land and windswept trees, their appearance shows how much wind comes over the sand hill. We came to Greenough which is an historic village owned by the national trust, where we heard the Devonshire tea was very nice, so we stopped to check out the scones and the village, we enjoyed both, its good to see they are preserving things the pioneers needed to cope with in their daily living. The village is used for weddings and is a picturesque spot. A good example here of what the wind strength can be when most of the treed have a marked lean due to the south west winds.
We drove on to Dongara which is a seaside fishing village on one side of the river and Port Denison on the other. Went for a walk on the jetty and while admiring the view Di was bombed by a rather large bird sitting on a light pole above us - not impressed.
We decided to stay just out of town at the 24 hour rest area where we met two other couples and had a lovely happy hour with them. One couple we will look up again at the rally in Kalgoorlie.
Friday 23.9.2011: 13 degrees - 25 degrees - sunny/windy. Drove down the coast on the Brand Highway and then taking the Indian Ocean Drive, called in at the seaside fishing villages of Leeman and Greenhead, then drove out to Lesueur National Park where we had about 30 kilometers of dirt road until we arrived at the National Park which was all bitumen surface, we drove the 18 kilometers around looking at the wildflowers, then took the 2 ½ kilometer walk checking out the great diversity of wildflowers, the flowers are all very different, some very small others grow flat on the ground and others are little bushes, there is an amazing variety, you need to spent the time walking to actually see them, There are also a lot of flies everywhere.
Left Lesueur National Park and hit more dirt road, drove out to the Indian Ocean Drive and up to Sandy Cape Recreational Park, we found a nice flat spot and Lloyd went for a walk over the sand hill to the beach and saw a sea lion cruising along the waters edge seeking his dinner. The beach is a nice little sandy cove with a small headland and a reef out from the shore, making the beach a safe place for children to swim.
Saturday 24.9,2011: 14 degrees - 25 degrees - sunny/windy. Went for a walk along the beach behind the large limestone rocks to the cliff track and walked out on the boardwalk to the point and enjoyed the scenery and even saw a sea lion swooping in and out of the sea grass clusters in the clear turquoise water, it was beautiful until a group of children came and their noise frightened the sea lion off.
We left Sandy Cape and drove down the Indian Ocean Drive to Jurien Bay , where we parked near the jetty and playground, the wind had come up and there were people everywhere, coming and going, mostly young families. The large caravan park is close by the main beach and jetty, it looks a lovely little holiday spot.
Drove on down to Cervantes where we booked in for three nights in the Pinnacles Van Park.
Sunday 25.9.2011: 18 degrees - 25 degrees. Sunny/windy. Drove out to the Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre which is a beautifully designed building with large walkways and a large car park. After reading about the pinnacles, we decided to walk the 1 ½ kilometers following the guide posts past a lot of the pinnacles which are limestone with other bits and pieces in them, they sort of look like worn down termite nests sitting among the shifting sands. On one of the larger pinnacles we saw a galah sitting in a bit of a dip watching us, obviously nesting, she walked up to the top so we could get a better picture of her. Once again the flies were everywhere our fly nets came in handy. There is a track for cars to drive through the Pinnacles Desert but the bus was too big and heavy to use it. One gets a better look and feel for the place by walking through it.
Drove back to Cervantes, calling in to Lake Thetis which is a small saline lake (one and a half times saltier than the ocean) 1.25 kilometers inland from the Indian Ocean, 3 kilometers south east of Cervantes, it is believed the lake became isolated from the sea about 4800 years ago when sea levels dropped and coastal dunes formed around the lake.
The lake is one of only a few places in the world with living marine stromatolites, or “living fossils”. The microbes that build stromatolites are a species of cyanobacteria and are similar to those found in 3500 million year old rocks, which are the earliest record of life on Earth. The lake’s stromatolites that look like rocky lumps have been dated to about 3370 years old. Stromatolites communities grow as the thin layer of bacteria on their surface desposit calcium, cementing sediment into bulbous structures. These structures are believed to have produced the oxygen in our atmosphere enabling air breathing animals and other life forms such as humans to exist on earth.
The coast from Exmouth down to here seems to have a series of reefs, shallows and islands ranging from just off the beach to kilometers off shore. No wonder there were so many ships wrecked on the WA coast.
Monday 26.9.2011: 20 degrees - 24 degrees. Rain/ wind/cloud/sun. Rest day to catch up on the blog.
