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Published: September 2nd 2008
Northampton
Wildflowers at side of roadArrived in Geraldton nice and early and went straight to Information Centre. Found out where Bureau of Meteorology is and booked into the caravan park. Set up and drove out to the BOM - right next to the airport. The tour was really interesting, and as we were the only ones, it was very relaxed. Got to see the old instruments as well as the new. They check one against the other regularly. Alex and Kate seemed to enjoy themselves. In fact Alex wants to go back for another tour. Watching the weather balloon being launched was fun and we then went inside to watch the computer track it and receive the information back. The information is fed to a secure site on the internet and is interpreted by weather forecasters in Perth.
Went to the HMAS Sydney II memorial. It was very sad to think of the lives lost. The sculptors thought long and hard about the memorial. There are 645 cut out birds that form the dome. This is because whilst the Last Post was playing at the dedication of the memorial a large flock of silver gulls flew over in formation. 645 is the number of men
who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney II.
Went to KFC for a treat and tried the wireless internet on my computer. No luck. The manager their suggested I go to the library and use the free internet there. So we did. Got all our emails and answered them. Alex & Kate did some jigsaws while they were waiting and because they were quiet they were allowed to go to the playground down the road. Caught up with Noel & Helen for a cuppa. They just arrived in Geraldton and were staying behind the roadhouse (free). It is okay for them, they can lock themselves in their motorhome - we have the kids’ safety to think about.
We got heavy rain overnight, so delaying leaving to as late as possible to help dry out the canvas and swags.
Got supplies and fuel and drove South to Dongara/Port Denison. Nice little towns that have united into one. Through Leeman to Jurien Bay. Some very nice (and expensive) houses on the beach here, and the marina had a couple of rather large boats in dry dock. Arrived at Cervantes and camped at Tuarts Reserve, a free camp/rest area off
the main road. A lot of other people had been to the Pinnacles that day and were moving on. The caravan parks in the area had complained to the Council about the “free” camp and the Council had locked one of the toilets and cemented in the fireplace. We all managed with the one toilet and still lit a fire.
The Pinnacles are amazing, fascinating and eerie all at the same time. The road is sealed into the Pinnacles and then you (if you have a small vehicle) can drive around a sand track amongst the pinnacles. There are thousands of all different shapes, sizes and heights. Some look like totem people almost with facial features.
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