After leaving Karratha we headed for Carnarvon, HUGE distances to drive between these places! Carnarvon is a fishing and produce town, and was a chance to post home the Christmas parcels, re-stock the fridge, and clean our putridly dirty car. Both Carnarvon and Geraldton (more on this below) have huge connections with HMAS Sydney, which sunk off the coast between these two towns over 67 years ago, after engaging in battle with the German raider Kormoran. All 645 Australians aboard the Sydney were lost, whilst most of the German sailors were saved. The wreck of the Sydney was only found in March last year and the display in the Geraldton museum, relaying both the loss of the Sydney and her eventual location, was really interesting. The photo above is of Carnarvon's memorial to the lost sailors, an avenue of trees (which are battling to survive in the harsh conditions prevalent along this coastline), and a plaque with each sailor's name on it.
Just out of Carnarvon are the Quobba blowholes. We spent over two hours here just watching the blowholes, and the monstrous waves crashing onto the rocky coastline. It was great, not fenced off or commercialised like Kiama, just this natural area where you could park your car, walk over the rocks, and get as close (if you were crazy) as you wanted to. We chose to watch from a respectable distance! Fall in that water and you aren't ever coming out!
Fancy an instant shower? We had a ball, because it was windy as well!
Who's a happy boy then?
How's this for rugged coastline, just awesome.
No, the caravan hasn't deteriorated that much since we've been away, ha ha. Just the way some people live! 
And so on to Monkey Mia. As I said earlier, vast distances between towns coming down the West Coast. The photo above gives you an idea of the barren land that just goes on and on and on for hours. At times we got excited just seeing a hill! Whooppee!! And then of course you get passed by one of these, coming or going they are really scarey! We don't get to pass them, of course! They're going just a tad faster than we are.
Monkey Mia is 160 ks off the main road, and we found it a huge disappointment, wished we hadn't bothered driving in. It certainly wasn't what we expected, hugely sanitised ......"walk into the water", "now walk out of the water". We were even told that sunblock on our bodies could upset the dolphins!!! A few people in the crowd got to feed a dolphin with express instructions not to touch the dolphin, it was all just so controlled. Public litigation has sadly wrecked so many of these encounters with nature.
At least we got a couple of half decent photos.
And on to Geraldton, a very pretty place. We were in a Caravan Park right on the beach, and had a wonderful week. But talk about windy! Geraldton is the windsurfing capital of Australia and we knew why. It just blew and blew, though according to the locals it was nothing! 'You should be here when it's REALLY windy!!" Pictured below is Geraldton's memorial to HMAS Sydney, a stunning construction on the highest hill of Geraldton, so the view is just breathtaking.
Warren reading names on the Wall of Remembrance, and below, dwarfed by the monument of the ship's bow.
Under the dome, which is made up of 645 stainless steel birds, is this wonderful wreath laying area, you can see the ocean in the background. There was a huge memorial ceremony held here when the Sydney was located, as families of the sailors killed were finally able to know what had happened to their loved ones.
After a relaxing week in Geraldton we moved on to Jurien Bay for a couple of nights, a great base to visit the Pinnacles, pictured below. After miles and miles of white sand, here are these hundreds and hundreds of yellow rocks just rising out of the yellow sandy ground. We went into the Display Centre to see why they are there, but after reading all the blurb, they aren't really sure either
Greatly eroded by wind, sand and time, some of the formations are just fascinating.
And so on to Perth. We had a wonderful three weeks in Perth, Christmas and New Year passed so quickly. The caravan park has this huge pool, beside a huge spa, so we were in it every day. And did I mention Perth's beaches, just glorious! Torquoise water, white sand, and huge waves ...........waves which dump one's husband onto his elbow, resulting in a trip to the Doctor, Xrays, etc, etc.......and two weeks later it's still sore, but slowly getting better. So of course we had to stay in Perth another week (oh damn!) and just paddle when we went to the beach. We are now in Bunbury, a further 200 kms south. Couple of weeks here, then we head for Albany, and it's Australia Day weekend, so then that will be January gone. The end is in sight, and we don't want to see it! It's school holidays and there are kids everywhere! Getting in and out of the caravan park is like running the gauntlet - bikes, scooters - one just drives very slowly.
Warren reading names on the Wall of Remembrance, and below, dwarfed by the monument of the ship's bow.
Under the dome, which is made up of 645 stainless steel birds, is this wonderful wreath laying area, you can see the ocean in the background. There was a huge memorial ceremony held here when the Sydney was located, as families of the sailors killed were finally able to know what had happened to their loved ones.
After a relaxing week in Geraldton we moved on to Jurien Bay for a couple of nights, a great base to visit the Pinnacles, pictured below. After miles and miles of white sand, here are these hundreds and hundreds of yellow rocks just rising out of the yellow sandy ground. We went into the Display Centre to see why they are there, but after reading all the blurb, they aren't really sure either
Greatly eroded by wind, sand and time, some of the formations are just fascinating.
And so on to Perth. We had a wonderful three weeks in Perth, Christmas and New Year passed so quickly. The caravan park has this huge pool, beside a huge spa, so we were in it every day. And did I mention Perth's beaches, just glorious! Torquoise water, white sand, and huge waves ...........waves which dump one's husband onto his elbow, resulting in a trip to the Doctor, Xrays, etc, etc.......and two weeks later it's still sore, but slowly getting better. So of course we had to stay in Perth another week (oh damn!) and just paddle when we went to the beach. We are now in Bunbury, a further 200 kms south. Couple of weeks here, then we head for Albany, and it's Australia Day weekend, so then that will be January gone. The end is in sight, and we don't want to see it! It's school holidays and there are kids everywhere! Getting in and out of the caravan park is like running the gauntlet - bikes, scooters - one just drives very slowly.all good fun and we are having a lovely time thankyou.
Talk to you soon........
