Today was an extraordinary day. We had four seasons in one day and we also drove through some very scenic country. We left Port Gregory around 8am because we wanted to get to Geraldton early enough to do a little shopping before we started making our eastwards journey towards Mount Magnet. We were told that the drive between Port Gregory and Geraldton was eye pleasing and indeed it was. If we didn't realise it before, we certainly do now. We are in the grain belt of Western Australia.
The first town we pass through is Northampton that was established in 1864. It is a beautiful town with lots of old stone buildings. We would have stopped and had a wander through the town if the weather was kinder but the wind was gusting strongly and it was just sixteen degrees. There are massive silos on the southern side of the town that almost seem out of place in this pretty little town.
Our journey into Geraldton is just 100km from Port Gregory and the paddocks are filled with the wonderful golden colour of canola. We have a limited knowledge of grain crops but we can pick out oats, barley and the white flower of a lupin crop. We spot different breeds of sheep in the passing paddocks, some merino just off shears, and also cross breed fat lambs. It really is diverse country.
Driving into Geraldton we are struck at how much bigger the town is than we expected. We can see the grain export terminal in the distance and there are many ships at sea that are waiting to be loaded. The town is well laid out with easy access for our car and van. We have picked out a very central RV park to stop at so that we can walk around the town centre and Esplanade. I have to say that Western Australia is extremely RV friendly. Where we have stopped there are eight spaces for RV's to stay for up to twenty-four hours and there is even a dump point! This is not the first place where we have come across these designated areas. They are right across WA.
We have a couple of jobs to do in Geraldton, the first being to buy Philip a bike! He is looking for something to do in the afternoon while I sit down and write my blog, that usually takes more than an hour, and this is the perfect solution. We found the bike shop very easily and he is now the proud owner of a GIANT Talon Mountain Bike. While we wait for them to service the bike we wander across the road to a coffee shop. I am not a big coffee drinker and only usually have a black coffee each morning before I get out of bed. I find that the coffee they serve in coffee shops is too milky for my taste so I am always hesitant at ordering a flat white even though I always insist on double shot. But THIS coffee shop served the best coffee I have ever ordered and my only regret was that I didn't order a mug of it! We should have known by the number of customers inside the shop that it was going to be a locals favourite with a well deserved reputation.
After we had picked up Philips bike and then loaded it in the car we decided to walk the two kilometres to Coles and K-Mart. The sky was looking very ominous but we decided to chance it. It was still very windy but the walk along the esplanade was lovely. I am so impressed the way councils enhance their waterfronts so that it becomes a family friendly place to be. You see this right across Australia.
It didn't take us long to reach the shopping centre but as we approached we could see lots of people milling about outside the building and then a fire engine with lights and sirens appeared. Just our luck that there was a fire alarm set off just before we arrived. We stood around for about twenty minutes before the firies announced it to be a false alarm.
By the time we had finished our shopping the sky had really darkened. I asked Philip whether we should find a cab but he insisted that the weather would hold off. Wrong call. We had not walked more than one block before the sky opened up. Fortunately for us we were under an awning that gave us a small degree of protection from the very heavy rain. The only thing to do was to wait it out and is typical in these type of coastal rain patterns, they pass over very quickly, as this one did.
We said goodbye to Geraldton and have now turned the vehicle in an easterly direction towards Mount Magnet. The road is a steady uphill journey and when I look at the altitude just before we stop for lunch, we are sitting on 350 metres above sea level. That's probably the highest we have been since we left Litchfield National Park!
The country east of Geraldton is truly beautiful. There are crops as far as the eye can see and we are not talking hundred acre paddocks here, we are talking thousand acre paddocks. Every square inch of available land is under crop. It is an amazing site and I am very impressed. However Philip has warned me that the country starts changing dramatically as we near Mount Magnet.
We have stopped for the night at a little roadside place called Pindar. Around ten kilometres from here is the place where tomorrow we will hopefully be able to find the wreath flower. It is quite an amazing wildflower and fingers crossed I will have photos of it for you in tomorrows post.
Just before I sign off I want to mention last nights Fish N Chips that we bought from the Port Gregory General Store. We were told that people drive from Kalbarri to buy fish n chips here so it is quite the recommendation. There is no choosing what type of fish you want. The fish you get is what they catch on the day and today it just happened to be red emperor! This gigantic serve cost us just $24 and was by far and away the best fish n chips I have ever eaten! Delicious!
No comments:
Post a Comment