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.
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| HMAS Sydney II memorial at Geraldton |
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| Boys overlooking Geraldton harbour |
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| The leaning trees south of Geraldton. These trees sometimes grow parallel to the ground due to the strong winds around this area |
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| Overlooking our caravan park at Dongara/Port Denison. Note the huge rock wall to stop further erosion of the beach |
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| Dongara/Port Denison monument to its cray fishing industry |
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