Waiting in Geraldton to see what cyclone Quang will do.

Well I didn’t need to worry about the rain as it didn’t rain overnight.  I did however wake up to the most beautiful colours in the cloud, so I jumped out of bed and headed back up to the lookout with the camera to try and capture the beauty.  I should have taken a chair just so I could sit down and take it all in.  More than anything, just enjoy the peace and quiet at the start of the day before the kids woke up.

Not that I needed to worry as a good night sleep seemed to be all that they needed.  Jason was keen to stay another day but I wasn’t convinced.  I was still worried that the rain could come over heavier in the afternoon and just wanted to get out whilst we could. This was made worse by the news the low off the coast up north had now turned into a cyclone and was heading towards land, though expected to be a low again before making landfall.  In hindsight Jason was more than right and I am sure we would have been fine for another day.  Maybe I was also scared from the day before and felt we needed a change.

Statue of a big lobster (as we drove past).

A cool old building.

Trees pretty much nearly growing horizontal.

So whilst I started school with Hamish, Jason packed up the outside of the van and we hit the road.  I think I felt a sense of relief once we hit the road, though I don’t know why.  I mean we were heading more north and towards the cyclone, but still hundreds of kilometres from where it was expected to make landfall.  I guess I knew that even a low can bring lots of rain and flooded roads.  I just hope it doesn’t impact our travel plans too much and we still get to see some of the beautiful spots up that way.  At least the drive was an easy one and there was heaps to look at and keep us amused.  Also the normal chit chat over the UHF radio.

Picking a caravan park was easy as we just went with the one that Ian and Gwen were staying in.  The ladies were very lovely and gave us a nice big site and it was even better as it was so easy to reverse into as Jason just had to go around the corner and then come straight back.  Set up was easy and already we felt like today was maybe going to be better.  That was probably too early to make the call.

Our awesome site with a big lawn patch out the side.

Looking at it from another angle.

I took the kids down for a play at the playground and jumping pillow whilst Jason made coffee.  After that we just got some washing done and then enjoyed some lunch and going over to say hello to Ian and Gwen.  One way to ruin their lovely peaceful spot as I think the kids were ready to move in with them.  The flies were a bit bad which were bothering them both, so at least we are getting good use out of their fly veils.  Eventually we headed out for a drive to visit the information centre to see what there is to do in the area.  Jason even stopped in and grabbed some bait and tips of where to fish in the area.

So back at the van I did a bit more school with Hamish whilst Jason made us a cup of tea and started to get the fishing rods ready.  This is where our luck ended for the day as Kayla proceeded to spill Jason’s tea all over her.  Luckily it wasn’t that hot so it didn’t burn her but it was still a shock.  Just as we calmed her down Hamish was playing with the fishing rod and got her on the nose with the hook.  So naturally she was quite upset again, but then Hamish felt awful and was upset too as he didn’t mean to hurt Kayla.  Eventually we got them both calmed down and happy again and I distracted Kayla with a dvd about dogs whilst Jason and Hamish snuck off to go fishing.  I think we will be getting some cork or something for the fishing rod hooks when they are not in use.

The boys came home empty handed but seemed to have had a good time trying their luck.  Hamish then met some other kids in the park and they had a little play.  They are another family from Queensland who are on a three month trip.  From here it was shower, dinner and bed.  Then we got to read up on what there is to do and try and make some plans.

Our second day in Geraldton saw us being really lazy and not getting out and doing much at all.  Jason went with Ian and Gwen to a free guided tour of the HMAS Sydney II memorial whilst I took the kids out to get Jason a birthday present, print some photos and get some food needed for dinner.  Jason really loved the free tour of the memorial.  The HMAS Sydney II was sunk off the WA coastline by a German ship that was camouflaged and had flown a Dutch flag.  All 645 men lost their lives and it took them 67 years to find the shipwreck off the WA coastline.  The memorial itself has a lot of symbolism with the seagulls in the dome representing every man that lost his life, a statue of a lady waiting for a beloved family member to return from sea and a bow of the ship.  It was amazing to hear that the statue of the lady faced the exact direction of the shipwreck, even though she was placed there before the shipwreck had been found.

Ian, Gwen and Jason.

Lady looking out for the men.

A seagull for each man who lost his life.

Represents the front of the ship.

If you look closely that is the WA coastline and the seagull wing is where the wreck was found.

Once Jason was home we decided we would go out for lunch, but that proved to be a little harder than we thought as we wanted somewhere family friendly, affordable and with a view.  In the end that proved impossible so we just went with affordable and enjoyed lunch at a little café on the main street.  If more towns had a café like the one in Busselton they would make a huge amount of business. 

To be honest I can’t even really remember what we did in the afternoon.  I know we did a little bit of school and then bought a replacement scooter for Hamish as his old one was breaking and actually cutting his foot.  When we were returning from our outing we recognised another van in the caravan park as a family I was following on Facebook.  I had never met them but went around and introduced myself and had a quick chat.  It is awesome how many families are out on the road travelling around.  It is really rare for us to go a fortnight without seeing at least another one, and in this park alone there are at least four that we have met.

 As we had invited Ian and Gwen over for a roast dinner Jason wanted to be back early to get it on.  He had so much riding on this and wanted it to turn out perfectly.  I must admit it was the best roast he had done ever in the Webber.  The crackle and meat were perfect and I managed to get all the vegies cooked in the oven.  So a huge success and dessert was the tip of the ice-burg, yummy apple crumble with custard and ice cream.

Kayla crashed that night on the floor near the fridge.  I must admit I was so happy to see her asleep as she had been quite grumpy for most of the afternoon and had chucked a huge tantrum when Ian and Gwen came over for dinner.  Eventually we just let her go and shut the door to the caravan.  So we moved her into bed and got Hamish to go to bed, yay!  Then we had to work out if we were going to stay another night or not.  In the end we thought we would stick to the original plan of three nights. 

Gwen had informed us that they had booked into Broome in early June as that is before the peak time and the staircase to the moon can be seen then.  Silly me didn’t realise that obviously it needs to be a full moon to see it!  Makes perfect sense now and it is something we would love to see.  So this means we need to move a little faster to make it to Broome in time.  Only four weeks to cover over 2000km, but again that isn’t hard up this end apparently as there are some great spots but big drives in between.  I mean in a week since we left Perth we will have done over 600km so it is definitely possible and we did up a rough itinery to make sure we weren’t being unrealistic. 

The cyclone was staying up north and not coming south so we knew we were safe to continue onto Kalbarri and stay there for a few days to check out the natural wonders and let the low depression pass by.

The next day we really wanted to drive out to the Ellandale Pool which is actually a free camp.  So we got up, knocked over some school, made lunch and hit the road.  It was a really beautiful drive out there with green rolling hills and nice views.  We even passed another wind farm and then made our way down to the pools.  The cliffs along the back of the water make for a spectacular view, but the warning signs paint a different picture.  The water, once it reaches above a certain temperature contains some fatal meningitis.  So they don’t recommend swimming, falling in, fishing or pretty much getting any of the water really on you. 

Cliff over the other side of the river.

This kind of ruins it.

Petty place though.

That wasn’t the only thing - the flies were there to greet you and were extremely friendly.  It is a shame really as it would have been a great spot to sit back and enjoy the view but we just had a bit of morning tea, did some school and played on their little playground before the flies just became too much and we left.  A great spot to come and visit when the flies are not so thick.  On the way home we stopped at one of the trees blowing sideways before making our way back into town and seeing a few of the local attractions like the rubik cube toilet blocks and local lighthouse.

The kids having a swing at the Ellandale Pools.

Wind farm.

Jason showing just how big the blades are.

This farmer has a lot of hay.

Poor tree didn't stand a chance against the winds.

Kayla chucked another beautiful massive tantrum when we got home because she didn’t get to pat a dog near the lighthouse.  She was just lying on the ground screaming so of course Jason did what every good Dad does and filmed it to bring it out at her 21^st.  The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the caravan park and then I looked after the kids whilst Jason went out and did the food shopping.  Jason did take Kayla out for a drive as she was overtired, so that allowed Hamish and I to do another school lesson followed by a treat from the caravan park shop.  I think that was as much for me as for Hamish.

The nearby lighthouse.

The local public toilets.

Jason trying to demonstrate the beach shower.
 

After dinner we went over to a fellow travelling family’s caravan to have a few drinks and swap stories.  The kids were so excited to hang out with their new friends for longer and us adults had a great time too.  Even seeing inside another van is always interesting to see how it is different to your own.  Eventually though we had to take the kids home to bed as we are moving on and needed a good night sleep so we could get away on time the next day.