Leaving the Coast

We decided to leave the coast, we were both "over it" and decided to head inland and see some of the beautiful sheep/wheat/canola farms.  Lush green hills, some bright yellow with canola, massive gums and, of course, wildflowers.  Some we hadnt seen before and, of course, Rick is :"over them" as well.   He loves to see them on the roadsides and in the fields, but wont detour on any road that is signposted "wildflowers". If we pull into a small town and ask at the Info Centre "what can we see", its almost always "The Wildflowers".  We have visited a few of the smaller towns inland, just doing a walk around the town or a bit of a heritage tour.   Its been nice to just stroll, talk to the locals and just relax..  One night, we parked up in the carpark of a big wind farm.  Naturally it blew a gale and we huddled down, heater on and played UNO most of the night.     We seem to be getting either days of warm sunshine or wind and showers.   Sad to say I actually put socks on my feet the other day, what a miserable feeling that was.    Our next "must do" was the town of New Norcia.  The only Monastic town in Australia.   This town was founded by the Spanish Benedictine Monks in 1840.   They arrived here and with the help of aboriginal and local people built a self sufficient, christian village with the intention of teaching the aboriginal people both agricultural and educational skills.    Bishop Rosendo Salvado was the monk in charge.    It progressed from that intention to then becoming an educational facility for the rural children of WA, a girls school, a boys school and a convent were added.    The monks were self sufficient, having thousands of acres of land. Orchards, vegetable gardens, vineyards, flour mills, olive groves etc.    They bought out craftsmen from Spain in the 1800-1900s to help them build the monastery, churches, schools etc.   All the bricks in all the buildings were made by the monks onsite.    There are over 65 buildings in this monastic town.   We did a tour of some of them.   The Monastery is private, but we did see the Monastery chapel where the monks are called to prayer 6 times per day.   People are welcome to join them for prayer or to spend one on one time if necessary.   Mass is also celebrated here on Sundays.   You can tour the art gallery, museum, St Gertrudes girls school, St. Ildephonsus Boys school, the Old Convent, the cemetary, the flour mill, the education centre, the bakery, the olive workshop.  There is also a hotel on the grounds.  This was once a hostel for the parents of boarding school kids but is now a licensed hotel.  On tap is the monks special brew ABBY ALE.  Rick said it was a very good drop.  They also have their own wines, which you can taste.  The Shiraz was excellent according to Rick. Hotel  accommodation is available and in the guest house of the monastery.   There is also a roadhouse and post office, owned by the monks, a small caravan park behind the roadhouse and an oval across the road  if you just want to camp up without facilities.

One of the stations of the cross in the catholic church with an aussie touch.

The schools themselves closed in the early 90s and now they are used as educational camps etc.   The monastery guesthouses are available for anyone who would like to just "retreat" and rejuvenate.   The monks have the motto PAX which means peace.   Its a very beautiful town to visit, the museum and art gallery alone are fascinating, let alone the buildings which are stunning.   We stayed overnight on the oval and visited both days.   A must not be missed experience.   So many photos of the interiors were taken, but simply cannot show them all.

Port Denison/Dongara

We have been following the coast all the way down South.  This little place was a 2 day stopover.   Not much here as with most of these seaside towns.  A nice heritage walk,  very little in the way of actual swimming beach, its most well known for its Lobster fishing.  The  "Larry the Lobster" statue greets you at the entrance to the town. Nov. to June is the season and there must be a lot of wealthy fishermen here, cos some of the houses were massive.    Our day of arrival was beautiful, these are the views from our spot in the Park.   We stupidly decided to clean the inside of the bus on this gorgeous day.     It was full of red dust, sand, gravel you name it .  Hasnt had a good clean since we left home.  We even bought a vac!!!!!!.    Of course, the next day was sightseeing day and the weather turned to sh--t overnight.  We were lashed with wind and rain and the promise of more gale force winds and hail.   Thankfully they didnt arrive.    We managed a walk and took some photos of the view back to the caravan park.  You can see the cabins in the park, right on the water.   The erosion is so bad that a rock wall is being built all along this beachfront to try to protect it.

The storm is coming

Dont know what they are, they just looked cute all lined up waiting for that fish.

You can see the sand swirling around these formations

From here we ventured all the way down  the coast visiting Cliff Head, Coolimba, Leeman, Green Head, Jurien Bay (lovely) and Cervantes.  We had either sunshine or wind and rain as we drove down this coastline.   None of these places excited us.  A trip to the Nambung National Park was our highlight.    The photos above are of "The Pinnacles", crazy looking limestone formations in the middle of what you would describe as a sandy dessert.   They are weird and wonderful, sitting amongst the sand dunes, the sea in the background.   In some cases you could see the sand and the wind swirling in their midst causing erosion etc. You can just drive the 4km sand track thru the park, getting out wherever it takes your fancy to get up close and personal.  The colors in many were all different, some views off into the distance looked just like hundreds of tombstones in a cemetary.   There must 1,000s of these formations in this little park.  Well worth a visit.

The wildflower trail - only 3 pics!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our camp spot at Ellendale Pool, similar cliffs to Geike Gorge at Fitzroy Crossing way way back.  This was on the way to the wildflowers.

We left Geraldton and headed inland thru the wheatbelt to see the wildflowers.  Had my heart set on seeing the fields of white & pink daisies thru Morawa and the wreath flowers of Pindar.   The wildflowers are a huge part of the tourist season of WA.   Sadly the daisies had come and gone, but the wreath flowers were around.  They only grow in one little kilometre stretch of dirt, usually where the ground has been disturbed, people come from everywhere to see them.   Mud maps handed out at the info centres, ribbons tied to posts and trees to mark their start and finish.

I dont think thats a smile on his face.   He was on the road as we saw the wildflowers and I got up close & personal.

From the bus window as we drove along

on the sides of the road, in the newly graded dirt.

Prob. not exciting for you, especially JUZ!!!!!!! but they look just like a wreath from a florists.

Glad I saw them, the rest of the drive in a loop from Geraldton thru Mullewa, Canna, Morowa and Miningew back to the coast at Port Denison, provided huge fields of either wheat or wildflowers.  We are so blessed to be here at this time.    Had a great camp spot at Canna, nothing there, just grain silos, but 3km off the road the Lutheran Church has setup an overnight camp.  Power, rainwater,toilets & shower for a $5 donation to the church.     We are now heading back to the Coast.

Greenough

The catholic church & presbytery

Greenough is approx 20km down the coast from Geraldton.  This little historical village is National Trust.  There are 11 buildings here, all complete, in original condition and in fantastic shape.  The village was thriving in the 1800s due to the rich agricultural land.  Drought etc. soon decimated the town and it then declined.   Apparently until 1978 this whole village was used by one family.  It was then given over to the National Trust.

The Anglican Church

Inside the anglican church

The nuns bedroom, one big nun must have used the end bed, very saggy.

The convent used by the Dominican sisters from 1898

Inside the church - totally original

The school

The prison, court house, police station

Nanson

 We found a great little museum just out of Geraldton.  Open only 2 half days per week, run by volunteers, all of whom were born in the area.  The best museum I have ever been into it as far as my intersts are concerned.  The museum has a picture catalogue of everything they have which you use as you wander around, most of the stuff is in perfect condition, photos on the walls are from the 1800s onwards, lots of the volunteers ancestors up on the wall - that kind of place. Everything from trucks & machinery to fashion and furniture.   All donated by locals so the volunteers know the history behind all of that on display.   This town is in the heart of the wheat growing district so the farms have a treasure trove of historical items.

The photos are a small part of the things Rick loved.  SADLY no old cars were there.   Apparently word is there are a couple of blokes who have sheds full of cars & stuff in the district.  The volunteers provide free tea/coffee/biscuits so we sat down and had a long chat with them.  A really enjoyable visit.   They are renovating an old stone cottage on the premises, have built new toilets and gazebo and are hoping to entice some "grey nomads" to camp up for free in their caravans with power & water supplied, or use the cottage, in exchange for some volunteer work for the two half days they open.   Seems like a sweet deal to me.

Everything is in pristine condition including the sheds that house the collections.

Geraldton

We left Kalbari, which we loved and headed to Geraldton.   I think this city is the 4th or 5th largest in WA.  On the way we diverted to Port Gregory to see the Pink Lake.  Nothing special here, pop. 36, the beach was great but the lake looked nothing like the "hot pink" of the tourist brochures.  When we got to Geraldton we found a great  campspot 17kms out of town.   Toilets, shower, BBQ, undercover tables & chairs, dump point, $5 per nt. Stayed 3 nights. At least 20 caravans there, some had been there a week, so each day we felt comfortable leaving the bus behind and taking off in the car and looking around.

Rick liked the place, I wasnt fussed, couldnt see that there was that much to see or do, the foreshore developments, marina, museum and art gallery were all pretty new and looked attractive.   Fascinated by this cathedral, designed by Monsignor John Hawes and built in 1916.    The inside walls are all striped in orange and greys (original) nothing like any sort of catholic church I have ever seen before.   You can do a heritage trail of all the churches he designed in the surrounding districts.  18 in all, some churches, convents, priests houses etc.   All "out there" in design.

This is the memorial to the HMAS Sydney that disappeared without trace during WW2.  650 men were lost.   Its quite a lovely site, high on a hill, overlooking the ocean.   The lady represents a loving wife, waiting for her husband to return from the sea.   On a sunny day its quite a beautiful..

The foreshore of Geraldton. It stretches along the front of what you call the CBD, lots of nice green grass, swimming beaches, further down from here a childrens playground and waterpark. I must admit, I didnt take any real photos of the place, just wasnt into.

Kalbarri

 We spent some time camped up on the banks of the Murchison River.   It was a lovely spot, but fly heaven.    The camp spot said "24 hr. stopping"  but some people had been there for a week.    At least 20 other vehicles here.     The Murchison River runs thru the Kalbarri National Park and the drive into the town goes thru the Park.  The Park surrounds the town, river gorges on one side and coastal cliffs on the other.    The weather has been good, but we had rain two days ago.  It was the first we have experienced since we left home in May.  Still warm enough for summer clothes, thank goodness.   The Nat. Park was one of the best we have seen.  Some of the roads were dirt, others bitumen.    All the gorge lookouts and places of interest were easily accessible, no billy goat climbs over rocks etc.    The coastal cliffs of the Nat. Park were the same, easily accessible, plenty of parking and short walks to lookouts.     The town itself is very nice, and we were very impressed.    Lots of accommodation places here (44) plus 3 caravan parks.    Restaurants, cafes and pubs all looked busy.  Im guessing at least 80% of the population were travellers.   It would be a very popular town in school holidays etc.   They start on Oct 1 and apparently the coastal caravan parks all the way down to Perth are all booked out.  The wildflower season is also a big drawcard here.    Could easily spend a week or two here.

The coastal cliffs are as nice or if not nicer than the famous Great Ocean Road in our opinion.     This was the day we had rain, so the views arent quite as "bright" as they should have been.

The surfers beach, it was raining and the waves were impressive.