Geraldton - Jurien Bay

After leaving Kalbarri we travelled through semi arid countryside once again, until lush green rolling hills appeared with paddocks of wheat and grazing cattle emerged as we approached the town of Northampton. We arrived in the big town of Geraldton to be greeted with gusty winds and intermittent downpours of rain. Time to pack the beach gear away. When we first arrived we initially had our awning out, but after talking with other caravaner's in the park we decided to pack it away, as at least four other caravans had lost their awnings and incurred damage in the gusty conditions the day before, better to be safe than sorry.

On our first afternoon in Geraldton we thought we would visit the HMAS Sydney Memorial, upon pulling into the car park a tour volunteer approached us to became part of a group for a photo shoot for the next Coral Coast magazine. So we were lucky enough to hear the extremely moving story of how the Ship was sunk and the 645 crew were lost as the tours are usually held each morning. It is a beautifully designed memorial, a silver dome of 645 seagulls to represent each of the lost Sydney sailors, the wall of remembrance shows photo's of the ship and the names of all the crew.
The next day we made our way to the Geraldton Museum where we again enjoyed another good presentation this one on the Batavia Shipwreck and the hardship faced by the survivors. They also covered the discovery and the raising of the wreck, with many artifacts on display. We have now had new tyres fitted to the Pajero, so we are feeling much safer on the wet roads we are experiencing. Later that afternoon we went for a drive out to Ellendale Pool, a picturesque bbq and camping spot, would be a lovely place on a nice warm sunny day.

Yesterday we left Geraldton to travel the relatively short distance of 200klms to Jurien Bay. Jurien Bay is a lovely little seaside town with the caravan park right beside the beach which also exposes us to the gusty conditions of WA. WA stands for, Windy Always! We thought we would use this stop as a base for a visit to the Pinnacles in the Nambung National Park, these are amazing natural limestone structures that were left exposed after coastal winds removed the surrounding sand. It was quiet a unique experience to view these structures in a desert like environment.

The rain squalls have gone but we are now enduring 43klm/h winds gusting up to 57klm/h hoping it eases up soon.

HMAS Sydney Memorial

Wall of Remembrance 

Propeller depicting a dead ship 

Sub used for researching crayfish

Wintery view of Geraldton 

Ellendale Pool

Jetty Jurien Bay

Storm approaching Jurien Bay

Pinnacles

Kalbarri

Can't believe that we will be waiting to board the Spirit in 5 weeks, the last 15 weeks have flown. We have travelled so far, seen and done so much that we sometime have to go back to our photo's and blog, just to refresh our poor old memories of where we have been, what a great time we have had.

Leaving Shark Bay we stopped to have a look at Shell Beach which is approx 50 kilometres from Denham the beach is made up entirely of billions of tiny cockle shells which are about 8 metres deep and stretching for over 120 kilometres. The shells were once used to build walls of buildings in the area some of these buildings we saw when we were in Denham.

We have spent this last week here at Kalbarri and what a lovely picturesque spot it is situated on the mouth of the Murchison River, we are leaving tomorrow and we would loved to have stayed longer. We have also been lucky to have had the company of Carlene & Rex also Maree and Brian but the happy hours and the walks via the Bakery and the occasional morning coffee along with long lunches at the other eateries around the town, have not been so good for our waist lines. Maree and Brian have since left us and are now down in Perth. We will leave Carlene and Rex tomorrow who will be staying on here at Kalbarri for a few more days.

On our walks along the foreshore we usually end up sitting at the lookout at Chinamans Rock where we are able to watch the whales as they come in close to the shoreline. A couple of days ago we hired a double kayak and paddled to the mouth of the Murchison River, it was very pleasant in the bay as it is protected by Oyster Reef, a very hazardous reef that as the boats leave the river mouth they head straight out towards the reef and then turn parallel to the beach for about 40 metres before heading out into the Indian Ocean, quiet a maneuver.

Yesterday we went out to the Kalbarri National Park where we were able to view the Murchison Gorge unfortunately the road to the Z Bend & Natures's Window was closed due to upgrading of the road, had heard it was in very poor condition so they are now sealing it and only allowing tour buses through until it is completed.  In the afternoon we went south of Kalbarri to view the coastal cliffs and beaches very stunning scenery along the cliffs, with plenty of access roads and paths giving you great vantage points.

Today we awoke to an overcast sky and a drop in the temperature, it was not long after that we heard the rumble of thunder and now we are experiencing our first rain since Coober Pedy back in May. It is a good thing that we have the Pajero booked in for new rear tyres at Geraldton as we expect the weather to deteriorate as we go further south. We did not expect to have to replace the tyres as we had new tyres fitted before we left home, but they are now illegal  have only done 15 thousand kilometers, hot roads and towing the van have taken a toll.

Shell Beach Shark Bay

Carlene,Rex, Maree and Brian enjoying a long lunch!

Mouth of the Murchison River

Kalbarri from the lookout

Kalbarri

Murchison Gorge

Rugged coastline (Pot Alley)