Day 50 – Geraldton to Perth

This morning before we left Geraldton we called in at the HMAS Sydney Memorial set up on a hill in the centre of the city. This amazing memorial commemorates the lives of the 645 sailors that were lost when the HMAS Sydney was sunk by a German ship in November 1941. You may be able to make out the 645 seagulls on the domed sculpture – one for each life lost. For over 60 years experts searched for the final resting place of the ship and its sailors, and it was only recently in 2008 that it was found, and a special commemorative service was able to be held. The water sculpture lists the exact latitude and longitude of the site. The ‘waiting woman’ sculpture is also especially poignant, depicting a grieving woman, forever waiting for news of her sailor menfolk.

After saying goodbye to Geraldton, we headed south along the coast road to Dongara, before heading away from the coast for a while via the tiny town of Eneabba – this route is known for its spectacular wildflowers, and we were not disappointed. The delightful display of banksias, grevillias, white plumed smokebushes, kangaroo paw, orchids and the red Hairy Lechenaultia were stunning. We kept having to stop the car and take a walk beside the road to view everything properly.

 

We then headed back to the coast past Lake Indoon to Leeman, then right down the coast to Perth.

We stopped for lunch at picturesque Jurien Bay, a very pretty little bay, with a lovely kids park and café on the foreshore. We went for a walk along the foreshore, and enjoyed reading about the special family snorkelling area that the townspeople have created by making and dispersing 70 huge concrete balls (with holes) along the sea floor amongst the old jetty piers. This created a haven for the reef fish that inhabit these waters. Must come back in the warmer weather – it’s a pleasant 21 degrees today.

 

About 25km south of Cervantes we headed into the Nambung National Park ($12 fee) to visit the famous Pinnacles Desert Discovery Park.  Rising mysteriously from the dune sands are thousands of limestone pillars of up to 4m tall. Some are jagged edged, others smooth topped, and they vary in color from a light sandy brown to darker shades, to pink. Last time we visited (12 years ago) there was nothing here, and you could just drive yourself around them, this time you need to pay a fee, and there is a large Interpretive Centre and gift shop. We chose to unhitch the van, and drive the 4km one way loop which gave us a good view of everything.  There were lots of people here, but I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised given that it was the weekend, and they are only 200km north of Perth.

We then resumed the trip south, travelling on the coast road (avoiding the many trucks on the main highway), and finally arrived at our caravan park in Karrinyup Waters, Gwellup at about 5pm. After settling ourselves in beside the large lake, we whipped up tea (tuna mornay tonight) and now look forward to staying in the same place for the next 5 nights.