Geraldton/ Dongara WA 24/09/12 to 26/09/12

We set of early on our next leg of the trip as we had to be in Geraldton, 160 km further south, by 9.00am. Our caravan has to be at the Geraldton Coromal dealer so that we can get our hot water system, that cracked as we drove over the corrugated road into Eighty Mile Beach, repaired. We arrived on time, unhitched the van and left it with them as we went into town to have a look around.

Geraldton is a major town of this area and has a fairly large and busy harbour. There were lots of ships either in the dock or waiting further out in the harbour to either load or unload. We spent our time there looking at the HMAS Sydney II monument, having morning tea in a cafe overlooking the water and visiting the local museum.

Once the van was ready we hooked up again and headed off to our next stop, the twin towns of Dongara/Port Denison. Not long after we arrived and set up it started to rain so that was it for the day as we retired to the van to keep warm and dry and watch another "Harry Potter" movie. We had borrowed the full set from the McSorleys and were getting through them, but not fast enough for the boys who wanted to watch the next as soon as one finished.

Cold and slightly wet the next day and we decided to have a look around the area. First stop was the port where we watched a crayfish boat dock and unload its catch - 183 kg of crayfish which is priced at around $40 per kilo. From there had a look around the main street of town, which is an interesting area with streets lines with huge Moreton Bay Figs. Also had a drink at the Priory Hotel, which is a big old hotel and attached boarding house that used to be a nun priory. No one around while we were there but we were told it is a very popular spot on weekends and is also very popular for special events, weddings in particular.

The caravan park we stayed on was right on the water's edge. Usually this is a good thing but the weather was fairly wild with large seas and strong winds so we didn't really get to enjoy the best the area has to offer. It seems the big seas are a fairly common thing here as the caravan park has a large rock wall built in front of it which looks like it is there to try and stop further beach erosion. If it wasn't there I am guessing that half the caravan park would be gone by now.

HMAS Sydney II memorial at Geraldton

Boys overlooking Geraldton harbour

The leaning trees south of Geraldton. These trees sometimes grow parallel to the ground due to the  strong winds around this area

Overlooking our caravan park at Dongara/Port Denison. Note the huge rock wall  to stop  further  erosion of the beach

Dongara/Port Denison monument to its cray fishing industry

Kalbarri WA 20/09/12 to 24/09/12

Driving into Kalbarri was like driving down somebodies very long landscaped driveway - beautiful trees and wild flowers on either side. Here we caught up with the McSorleys', Darren, Rachael and Ryan. Tanya is presently in Sydney catching up with friends. It was great for the boys to catch up with friends, especially Jacob as he and Ryan were great mates at school before Ryan left on their around Australia trip in 2010. Once we had set up it was time for a drink and we didn't see the kids again until the bbq dinner was ready. Had a great night with quite a few laughs as Darren filled us in on their travels and we passed on some of our stories.

Next day all seven of us headed out the the Kalbarri National Park to check out the gorges and take a look at "Natures Window". This is a rock formation where the centre has been worn away to leave a big hole (a window). You have to get your picture taken here and we all complied. We all did the eight km walk down into, along and then back up out of the gorge. Hard going but well worth it as you walked along the river bed and then up along rock ledges a few metres high. Kids had fun but were worn out by the end. We had lunch here, checked out another gorge, but only from the look out, and then headed back home. Again the kids were gone and spent the rest of the day on and around the jumping pillow. Darren and I listened to the footy semi while having a few beers and Vicki took the opportunity to have some "Vic time" watching a movie in the caravan all by herself (probably while eating a packet of Tim Tams).

Next day the McSorleys departed. They are moving on to Lancelin and we will catch up with them again there in around a week. Very windy day and we spent most of it in and around the park. Ventured out down the road in the afternoon to take the boys, and a few of their new mates, to the local skate park.

Following day weather had improved some so we headed out to check out the cliff coastline south of town. The coastline here is absolutely spectacular. First stop was Jakes Point to watch the huge waves that were coming through and check out the form of the local surfers. Waves were around 8-9 feet and big left handed break. Some pretty impressive surfers in action. We saw one bloke come in with half a board - probably going to get another out of the car and get back in. Surf only for the very capable and there were more locals in the car park than in the water; and I don't blame them. From there we ventured a further 8-10 km down the road, driving in every so often to check out Red Bluff, Mushroom Rock, Pott Alley, Eagle Gorge, Shellhouse Grandstand, Island Rock and Natural Bridge. Pretty amazing coastline with sheer cliff faces and wild ocean crashing against them.

A bit of an unexpected surprise for us was the competitors in the Australasian Rally stopping overnight in Kalbarri. The Australian Rally is a huge event with competitors coming from all over Australia and overseas to race through the West Australian outback on motor bikes, quad bikes, 4wd's and specially prepared buggies. It's fully professional with huge support crews for the competitors. They set up overnight at the local aussie rules ground which was just across the road from our caravan park. The boys and I wandered over and strolled around checking out all the rigs. The boys had a few photos taken in and around various vehicles and got some posters and some signatures from competitors.

This is how the more affluent travel the country. Full size bus with boat on top towing a Landcruiser

The Brennan and McSorley kids catching up

Nate planking in Kalbarri National Park

Jacob and Ryan

The Brennans at "Natures Window"

Everybody at ......

And the boys at ......

Kalbarri Gorge

Jakes Point going off

After watching it a while I just had to get in and have a crack myself

One of the "amateurs" snapping a board

Me again. Need to have a word with my camera crew

Coastline north of Kalbarri

Preparing the Pajero ready for the next stage of the Australasian  Rally

Some of the bikes in the rally

Carnarvon WA 18/09/12 to 20/09/12

As we packed up at Quobba Station we had a brief shower of rain - the first rain we have seen since SA some 3 months ago. It was a short drive into Carnarvon and we were set up well before lunch time. We then did a big shop as we were near the first decent grocery store (ie Woolies) for some time. That afternoon we headed out to see the farming area around the town. Carnarvon is a huge fruit and vegetable growing area. This is for a number of reasons, good water supply from the local river, good soil and good weather with little variance in the weather all year around. Day time is nearly always around 24 degrees, regardless of the season. We bought a little fruit and veg from local stalls set up beside the road.

Carnarvon is also a fishing town and we ventured out to the port to buy some fresh seafood for tomorrow night's dinner; green prawns and some fish straight off the boat.

On our second day there we did an organised tour of one of the local fruit growing orchards, "Bumbaks". Very informative one hour. We found out that the local river, the Gascoyne, is an upside down river in that the water lays in the sand bed below the surface and is retained in there by a lower layer of clay some 18 metres further down. They pump the water for the farms out of the sand. It's the usual story with farming, harder and harder to make it profitable. Some years ago there were around 120 plantations in the area. Now there is only 28 ."Bumbaks" have had to diversify to survive. They have done this by running the tours and by setting up a shop where they can use all the surplus product they grow in some fashion. When they sell direct to the markets, they can only move the product that has no imperfections. Now they can use this fruit in other things they produce themselves such as smoothies, ice creams, jams and drinks. To confirm that they know what they are doing we sampled some of these after the tour.

We also ventured out to the One Mile Jetty and walked out to the end. This is now not actually a one mile walk as the last couple of hundred metres has been closed off due to damage. A beautiful old jetty but it needs a lot of work done on it to save it. There is an old train that also takes you out along the jetty, but we chose to walk. You could see lots of mangroves off to the side and fish hanging around underneath. Not surprisingly it's known as a good fishing spot and a few fishermen were out having a go. Back on land we visited the local museum and, among other things, watched a doco on the HMAS Sydney II which was torpedoed by a German ship off the coastline during WW II. All 645 crew on board were killed and there appears to be some controversy as to why there were no survivors.

That night we again caught up with Simon, Fiona and the boys who had checked in to our park and actually camped right beside us. The boys had fun catching up and all watched a video while us adults enjoyed a few quiet drinks. We won't see then again from here as we are traveling in different directions, so we all said our good-byes next morning.

Front yard of a local house. I am guessing they have very few break ins.

Boys inspecting banana tree at "Bumbaks"

Boys and Vicki checking out ice creams and smoothies at "Bumbaks"

Driving across the local river

Heading out along One Mile Jetty

The train ("The Coffee Pot") that also runs out along the jetty