To Broome and Back!: Day 89. Kalbarri to Geraldton. 08/08/2015

More rain overnight but it was fine this morning only quite cool, so we donned wind cheaters and after breakfast we had a drive along the coast and down to a couple of viewing spots along the way where we saw some beautiful views of the beaches. We were very disappointed that we could not stay another day, so on our return to camp, with the awning now dry, we left Kalbarri and began our journey to Geraldton. Again we drove through coastal vegetation and wildflowers until we came upon the wheat growing areas. They are all very lush, and with the ocean also visible at some times, it made for a very lovely drive. We passed some huge areas of salt lakes that had a very strange purplish hue to them, something we had not seen before. After we crossed the Hutt River we stopped to view a Heritage precinct that is known as the Port Gregory Convict Hiring Depot at Lynton. It was established in 1853 and only was used until 1856. The convicts (Ticket-of-Leave men), were particularly needed to construct a road linking the Geraldine Mine, a mine that produced lead, to the coast. Many of the convicts had been chosen because of their mining and construction skills. The buildings now are in ruins but the site was signed with details of each building as they were in 1853.

The storm clouds were gathering again at this point so we hastily returned to the car to continue our drive into Geraldton.

After setting up camp at the Big4 we went driving to acquaint ourselves with the city of Geraldton. It is a very large city with a population of over 40,000, well set out and with some very interesting heritage buildings that we will check out tomorrow. The foreshore is very attractive, the city centre reminded us of Adelaide. We drove out to the wharf area and it is huge with very large grain silos, train sidings etc. all close by to aid the exportation of the many grain products that Geraldton is storing. We drove by the local surf beach and there were a number of wind surfers enjoying the blustery conditions. A little further along we saw the Point Moore Lighthouse that is the tallest steel lighthouse in Australia and is painted red and white stripes so you can’t exactly miss it.

We then called in to see Sue and Neil who are also now in Geraldton but staying at another caravan park. After coffee and a chat we returned to our park to watch some football, have dinner then an early night.