Monday 8 August
We had a very lazy start to the day
which left me loads of time for photos and diary. We arrived at the
Anglican Cathedral at 10 ish and had a short service and talk by the
bishop. The highlight was almost an hour singing in the choir loft
with the organist. Apparently the acoustics from the choir stalls is
fantastic for those below.
At noon Graham came to meet me, and
Carol and Gill joined us. We four went to the Dome cafe (a WA chain)
for a delicious lunch on the waterfront. We then bade farewell to
Carol who wanted to see the museum.
Graham then took Gill and I to look at
two fabric shops. One was quite ordinary and the other was closed on
Mondays so no luck buying fabric.
Graham then drove us down to the port
area past the huge grain silos and ore storage facilities. He
explained what each area was for and how it all worked. While there a
Skewa landed on a pole by the water.
We then got onto talking about wind
generation so Graham drove us out to a huge windfarm (about 120
turbines) just south east of Geraldton. It was quite awesome to see
the size and extent of it all.
We had a bit of a drive looking for a
solar farm but gave up and instead drove north again stopping to walk
into the scrub and find wildflowers.
On then to Ellendale Pool. This is a
beautiful picnic area with not many people around.
On the way out we found more
wildflowers and then Gill saw an echidna. So again we stopped for
more photos.
We then joined the road into Geraldton
from the east and to top off our wonderful afternoon we had a clear,
beautiful double rainbow.
It was interesting to see the variety
of crops and sheep again and to talk to Graham about various farming
practices in the area. Back to the motel for a coffee before bidding
Graham farewell and going down for dinner.
Tuesday 9 August – Gill's Birthday
This morning we left Geraldton and
headed south through Dongara and on through farmland and scrub. We
saw a large flock of emus and lots of wildflowers of course. These
included Banksia, cycads, xanthorhoea and many others.
Morning tea was at a park in Eneabba.
We then drove west towards Leeman
through magnificent wildflower country with no opportunity to stop
but once we hit the Indian Ocean Drive we struck sand dune scrub
again with very occasional glimpses to the ocean.
We had about an hour at The Pinnacles
and really could have had more time. It is a really amazing place
with great displays at the visitor centre. The walk is fabulous
giving a variety of views and vistas.
Our lunch stop was at the Cerventes Bay
Tavern.
On our way south again we passed the
fields of Xanthorhoea I remembered from the last time I came through
with Jeanette and Graham. Thousands of them! I saw a few kangaroos
grazing amongst sheep and cattle.
A comfort stop at Guilderton which
could have been a beautiful spot had it not been rainy and windy. We
all returned to the bus very quickly.
As we left Guilderton we saw a
beautiful rainbow again.
Then we hit the city – the first in
26 days. The traffic was awful, the traffic lights kept changing to
red as we approached them, it was raining, it was dark and it was
peak hour in an unfamiliar city!
Eventually we found our destination and
collapsed into our room to get ready for dinner. I rang Jeanette to
organise tomorrow and went down for a great buffet.
Once back in our room it was our
homework to fill in our Census forms ready to hand in tomorrow.
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