Trevor & Jonathans Cruise & Trip to the Far East and Australia 2016

Day 69 - Sunday July 17th 2016 - Cervantes to Geraldton, Western Australia

So it was our first morning waking up on site and to be honest we had not had the best night sleep. It was nothing to do with the van though or the space (well ok it was to do with the van but only because it has a metal roof). The rain is what kept us awake, crashing down onto the roof of the van but by morning it had stopped. We just had to face the wet grass and puddle filled roads of the campsite.

The campsite we were staying on was called The Pinnacles Holiday Park and it was just off the beach. It was undergoing major redevelopment, the diggers were in and ripping the place apart so we were positioned on a grass stand for the night (not ideal when it’s raining) and it all felt very tired. The shower block is what you would call functional, probably built in the 60’s based on the tiling choice but to be fair the showers were warm and it was certainly not overcrowded. We had breakfast (cereal with longlife milk) and hit the road.

Our first stop was at the entrance to the campsite itself and the beachside café. We ordered two take away coffees and went for a short walk along the beach to take in a bit of the small town. The Beach was beautiful, covered in perfectly white sand, unfortunately this was then covered with a thick layer of seaweed that gave off quite a smell but at least we were able to walk down here at all after all the rain yesterday.

We walked along the coastline for about fifteen minutes before realising that there really is not that much going on here in Cervantes so we jumped back in the van, headed off to the petrol station to fill up before going back on ourselves.

Yes, we headed back on the road form where we had come last night and back in the direction of Perth to revisit the Pinnacles National Park.

As we said yesterday, we had been here before with Jonathans sister Janee in December 2015 but it did not feel right to travel up this way and not pop in for another quick look. They were only 12 km back down the road so it was not a major detour so away we went.

The rain was still intermittent but it was more not raining than raining. The Pinnacles had closed the loop road around the stones so unlike last time where we got to drive around the vast area this time it was on foot. As we had been here before and taken many photographs it really didn’t matter too much, we took a few photos, marvelled about how odd it all is and jumped back in the van to pastures new.

The pinnacles themselves are like towering thin rocks that protrude out of the sand. They kind of look like termite mounds as they are so thin and pointy. They are basically part of the rock that has not been buried by the sand and the whole area stretched for as far as the eye can see. Think Stone Henge without the top bits and you’re getting close (ok forget the grass and the Wiltshire field and think sand and you’re getting even closer!!).

We were back on the Indian Ocean Drive this time heading for Geraldton, one of the bigger towns on the coast of W.A.

Of course we were not just going to drive straight there and our first new stop, never ever been there before was the town of Dongara. Now we’re calling it a town but to be honest we’re not sure it is, but by WA standards along this stretch of coastline it probably is a town.

The drive to get here had taken us up through the Namburg National Park where bushes seem to endlessly grow put of sand. The whole of the coastline and well as far as you can see is white sand and then its covered in low bushes or various different greens to the point where it almost looks like countryside.

The Namburg National Park leads onto Beekeepers Nature reserve which is more of a wetland area, still the same bushes and sand but with waterways and lakes every now and again.

The roads here really are some of the straightest in the world and they just keep going and going. It does not make for the most interesting of drives and it’s only the landscape that saves you. The drive today was not a long one, just over four hours which by Australian standards is quite small so by lunch time we had reached Dongara. As we said he town is quite smallish, a hotel a hardware shop, a few cafes and a garage. It was Sunday so maybe that’s why it felt even smaller than it actually is as everything was closed.

We drove down to the beach and it was very much just like the beach we had walked on this morning on Cervantes, white sand with that layer of seaweed again.

At first we thought that we might not be in Dongara at all as on the map it looked like it was quite a sizable town so we actually left the beach and drove back into the town only to confirm that we where were we thought and drove back to the beach to have lunch.

We parked right in front of a pathway looking at the sea eating our cheese and ham sandwiches. It was a bit blowy from the coastal wind but this was one of those great campervan moments where you can just park up, make some food and just enjoy the view, it was not the best view in the world but being able to just be here is what made it special and the sandwich was not bad either.

We made it into Geraldton by three o’clock in the afternoon (after Jonathan being breathalysed by the police on the way into town) and as we drove through the town to the campsite that was right on the edge of the town again right by another white sandy beach we realised that once again despite this being a much bigger place and actually feeling like a relatively big town everything appeared shut.

We found the campsite first time (the van has an extra-large tablet size tom tom sat nav in it). This was a much better site than where we had stayed last night. We were given a double concrete stand just opposite the loos (always a bonus).

Our first job was a quick fifteen minute walk up the road to the IGA supermarket to buy some drinking mineral water (somehow we had forgotten to buy any) and some meat for dinner to make a spaghetti bolognese and stock up on a few things we had used already.

We should have taken the van as walking back with 24 bottles of water is never easy but we coped.

When we got back we packed everything up again and drove back into what looked like a closed up town. It was still only around four in the afternoon so the last thing that we wanted to do was just sit here in the van right through until the evening and even if everything was closed at least we would have an opinion on the town so off we went to see what it had to offer.

We parked up right outside the police station, seemed like a good idea especially when we have to go everywhere with all our stuff and the suitcases are easily visible if you are looking for an opportunity so the police station gave us that extra edge of added security.

Geraldton really was a town of two faces. The area we were parked in was the new side with new ocean front apartment and a fantastic seaside walk that had been recently developed the length of the city. We walked around the new area first, it’s quite small but comes complete with a half empty marina and a single solitary coffee shop that was actually rather cool, it had been built inside an old shipping container and had a roof put on it.

There were also some of the most random public convenience complex we have ever seen, made to look like tilted rubic cubes. As we said the promenade had really had some money spent on it of late, maybe having something to do with the fact that the town was now a cruise port? It’s just a shame that the cement works or whatever the huge factory is that dominates the vista out to see is so prominent. It completely destroys the view out from a town that is obviously trying to reimagine itself and as we walked around other parts of the town there were lots of notices about redevelopment and works going on.

The town was seriously closed for business though, we walked the high street and the only thing that was open was a pub, everything, every café, restaurant, everything was shut.

Feeling a little surprised that everything was closed (there is a real business opportunity here for someone) we headed out of the town centre and up to the city’s cathedral that’s again was currently undergoing works and landscaping. The cathedral had a very impressive dome, not St Pauls like but never the less impressive. After that it was back down to the promenade to take in the fresh air and just rejoice in the fact that we seemed to have left the rain behind.

As we walked the prom low and behold we found a café that was actually open, heavens above!! We were straight in the re for a slab of chocolate mud pie cake each and a drink…ahh jut what we needed!

Unfortunately, that rich chocolate cake was as bad for you as a cake can be, let guess at in excess of 2000 calories on its own subsequently we were stuffed and heavy from it and full of guilt. We headed back to the van and the campsite to plug back in and hope that the feeling of being stuffed would pass.

Back at the van Jonathan thought that we might as well use the time wisely and headed off to the laundry to get up to date with the stuff that we had not washed at Joes. The advantage here was that there were dryers so we could now wash the heavier stuff knowing that it would actually dry!

It seemed to take an age to wash and dry the clothes with the only advantage being that we ended up not having to pay to use the dryer as it seemed to run for so long on a $2 fee that the lady who was using it before me got all her stuff dry and then it did all of ours as well.

We never did get hungry, that chocolate cake had done us in, instead we opened up the cheese and had a few crackers with a plastic beaker full of red wine and wrote up some more blogs.

It was lightly raining on and off all evening but was no way near as bad as last night. We turned the light out ridiculously early in the van, must have been around 22:00. Whatever the time it was early but when you’re in the middle of nowhere with no space to do anything what else can you do?

It had been a great day though, the van despite its size is great fun and its already become home. The bed went up much easier than it had last night and didn’t feel anywhere near as much of a krypton factor puzzle thankfully. The bed is cosy and warm and to be honest we think it adds to the experience….I’m sure in years to come we will talk about this trip starting with the line “do you remember when we drove up western Australia in that little van………”

That’s what memories are only now we are making them!