after re-arranging hair appointments, packing bags, sorting out food and making a dash to the shops at the weekend to buy a new camera - (more on that later) we drove 300kms north, to Geraldton to house sit for friends. We arrived at 3.15pm and were greeted with, "You're early, a whole day early!"
Oh S***!
Totally my fault.
But as we're house sitting for friends it's all okay, we get to spend another 24 hours together.
Now back to the camera - we both trekked out to the area of bush where I'd planted some shrubs to provide feed for the endangered Carnabys Black Cockatoos. We were going to take photos to send to the organisation that provided the plants and is coordinating the project. All set but all we could see in the screen was black with a small diagonal line of light, looking at the front of the camera we realised that the lens cover was not opening. Nothing we tried worked, and there was no way I was going on holiday without a camera, so I checked out a few online prices and decided that a trip to Officeworks was required.
I now have a Nikon Coolpix L29. Having got a new camera we got braver with our attempts to remedy the problem with the old one, Michael just cut the cover off. (which is what I'd suggested but it seemed a bit too radical). It still works beautifully just doesn't have a cover over the lens.
Now we are in Geraldton, we have our instructions on what goes where in the house, how to feed the worm farm, and what day the rubbish is collected. After a couple of great days with friends we waved them goodbye and they drove off leaving us alone to enjoy the Batavia Coast.
We spent time finding the important shops - IGA Supermarkets and Bunnings hardware.
The IGA stores are independent grocery stores, they are completely different to each other. In Geraldton some stores charge more (much more) than others and the advertised 'specials' seem to be "more like guidelines really, not a code" to quote Pirates of the Caribbean.
I indulged Michael and we walked up and down every aisle in Bunnings. Very different to metropolitan stores, a different range of goods. We didn't buy anything but had a great time.
On the way home we made a quick stop at an Op shop, 3 more books to add to our reading matter.
The next day we 'let the day air' before driving to the suburb of Bluff Point to see one of Father Hawes buildings in town.We are great fans of Father Hawes and have visited most of his buildings in WA, just a couple to see here in Geraldton and one in Carnarvon and we'll have done the lot. Some churches we have still not been lucky enough to view inside but that doesn't detract from their beauty. Here in Geraldton we still had to visit Nazareth House, The Hermitage (unfortunately not open to the public, it's fenced off for restoration) and The church of St Lawrence. The Cathedral is obviously the largest of his work, the church at Mullewa is perhaps the most dramatic and we love the little Chapel at the Cemetery for it's simplicity.
Nazareth House is now a private nursing home/aged care facility, but we parked in the car park for a quick look. The original building can be seen between the modern facility. They have done a good job of blending styles. Then we drove just a little further along Chapman Road to see the church of St Lawrence.
There were two churches marked on our map, but we didn't know which was which, just that the Anglican and Catholic were almost opposite each other. The first one we came to was the Anglican church of St George. (actually built to complement the Father Hawes church across the road), a very attractive church. They run a little 'cottage' Op shop, which was open - usual story - 5 books this time, total cost $5.
Then we crossed the road to St Lawrence's school (it's school holidays so nice and quiet). The church in the middle of the school buildings was an ugly 1970s brick but tucked behind it was a sweet, little stone chapel, built in 1936. Some of the building was demolished to build the ugly 70s church but at least some of it is still standing and in use but what a pity about the sterile surroundings. It makes St George's look even better.
We took drive through town, past the port buildings and down around the point of the harbour past the old lighthouse (1897) before heading back to our 'home'.
The next day was the last day of the school holidays and we decided to go to to the WA Museum - Geraldton, which as well as being a good museum is currently hosting a Da Vinci Machines special exhibition.
Our reasoning for visiting now being that it may have a lot of families as it's school holidays, but next week it'll probably have large school parties.
We arrived just after 10am (have to let the day air) and were proved right, it was nice and quiet.
There were only a couple of families at the Da Vinci exhibition- an interesting but slightly disappointing show. Lots of 'models' of the inventions, all beautifully made but you couldn't get a real 'feel' for things as they were rather blandly displayed and there was no scale to help the total visualisation.
Maybe some of the original drawings didn't show dimensions, and as some were never actually built I suppose it doesn't really matter.
There were the usual stupid errors on the information cards too - everywhere we go we find an error, a simple spelling mistake or totally absurd grammar, don't people proof read anymore?
(Better double check this post).
There were a few paintings on show - including The Last Supper.
and of course, The Mona Lisa -
actually, there were a couple of Mona Lisas on show!
They show the 'before(lt) and after(rt)' cleaning, with the colours a lot brighter and vibrant after. Apparently the path is red because it was still unfinished, Da Vinci kept making changes to the painting and the path was still in 'undercoat'.
After the Da Vinci circuit we went on to explore the rest of the Museum.
A room dedicated to HMAS Sydney which disappeared off the coast of Geraldton in 1941 and was finally found in waters off Steep Point, near Shark Bay in 2008.
I've cheated a little here and have copied some info from web sites for info on the exhibits, if you want to skip the history lesson feel free.
On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy with an impressive record of war service, was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. The loss of the Sydney with its full war complement of 645 remains Australia’s worst naval disaster. The Kormoran was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 were rescued. The fate of the Sydney remains one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries with not even the location of the wrecks established until 2008.
(courtesy of National Archives web page)
There was another room dedicated to Shipwrecks, including the Batavia. The Batavia left Holland in October 1628 on her maiden voyage. On June 4th 1629 she struck a reef in the Abrolhos Islands and sank.
Survivors managed to reach a nearby island, later known as "Batavia's Graveyard". The ship's Commander Francisco Pelsaert landed on a nearby, smaller island. Finding themselves stranded on barren and virtually waterless islands, Pelsaert set sail in a long boat to fetch help. He took with him the skipper, Jacobsz, and 35 others. A second boat carrying 10 others followed. Unable to find water on the mainland they set sail for Batavia, more than 900 nautical miles away along a largely unknown coast.
During the voyage Undermerchant Jeronimus Cornelisz had conspired with other officers to mutiny and seize the ship for its cargo and the purpose of piracy, but the vessel sank before his plans could be realised. He formed a select band of men and devised a new mutiny plan.
Those who might oppose the mutineers were sent to surrounding islands and instructed to find water. A reign of terror ensued as Cornelisz's men began murdering those remaining, beginning with the sick and the injured. Eventually, as numbers dwindled and bloodlust took hold, wholesale slaughter took place with little secrecy. Survivors sent to the other islands were hunted down and killed if they hadn't already succumbed to thirst or hunger.
The men Cornelisz had sent to perish on Wallabi Island unexpectedly found water. Led by a mercenary soldier, Wiebbe Hayes, they learned of the murders when one man managed to escape and swam across to join Hayes. After fighting off two attacks by the mutineers, Hayes raised the alarm with Pelsaert when he returned from Batavia in a rescue ship.
The mutineers were tried on the island for the murder of over 120 people. Interrogated and tortured for 10 days until they signed their confessions, seven were hanged. Two of the youngest mutineers, Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye, were sentenced to be marooned on the Australian mainland, where they became the first known European residents of Australia. No further contact with them was ever recorded.
In June 1963, the Batavia was discovered relatively intact when lobster fisherman, Dave Johnson, showed two Geraldton divers, Max and Graeme Cramer, bronze cannons and anchors in the waters off Morning Reef.
Two ruined huts found on West Wallabi Island, thought to have been built by Wiebbe Hayes and his soldiers, are believed to be the oldest structures built by Europeans on the Australian continent.
(taken from Australian National Heritage Website).
A cannon from Batavia at the entrance to the Shipwrecks Gallery.
The original stone portico intended for Batavia Castle. Discovered located aft of the Batavian's partial stern section.
Map showing some of the wrecks off the West Australian coast. More are to be found to the north and the south. (The Gilt Dragon, being off the coast at Guilderton).
We then wandered around the rest of the general exhibits,in the Mid West Gallery, a very good display with lots of information and detail about the local area.
Without the Special Exhibition the entry to the museum is 'gold coin donation'. It's well worth a visit for the Sydney and Shipwreck Galleries alone.
As we left the museum we couldn't resist just one more visit to the Mona Lisa- upfront and personal.
We went home for lunch and then went out to visit other friends who live in the 'northern suburbs' of Geraldton. We had afternoon tea with them, arranging to return next week and have lunch together.
The evening was quite warm, no need to put the heater on, and the next morning was bright and sunny - one reason to spend winter in Geraldton.
Next day we drove into town to check out the Farmers Market, held every Saturday morning in Maitland Park. Sorry to say it was quite a poor affair, only about 6 stalls, 3 selling coffee and the others selling expensive vegetables or pickles.
As we were in that part of town we went to Queens IGA, behind Stirling Shopping Centre, opposite the Cathedral. This was better, more like a metro IGA. A large bakery section, a good deli section and not overpriced. This will be our 'local' whilst in town.
We drove down to the Railway Markets but just did a 'drive by', once again very few stalls and nothing caught our eye. We took a slow drive home cruising through the coastal suburbs of Beresford, Bluff Point and Sunset Beach. The beaches are really lovely with plenty of parking and picnic spots.
We had lunch at home and then sat outside reading but by 3.00pm the weather forecast was proved right and the clouds rolled in off the ocean, followed by wind and rain. The thunder storms gathered around 4.00pm. As we're still in Western Australia I'm ever mindful of possible power outages in storms so I spent a few minutes looking for candles and torches. By the time I'd found them the storm had passed but the wind and rain stayed with us.
The next day was dull and overcast, perfect for a lazy day at home. (The kind of day that teenagers have and working folks dream about - doing nothing.) The weather forecast is for a few days of this weather but I hope that being 400kms north of Perth we'll fare better.
The next day, I was right, the sun is shining again. There's a cool wind blowing but it's looking good.
We explored more of the suburbs of Geraldton and found some really lovely beach side areas.
We visited every op shop and shopping centre.
Then we drove up through the Chapman Valley to Northampton for lunch.
Lunch was a very nice pea and ham soup with a toasted cheese sandwich (the day's special). But with a 25 minute wait once we'd ordered, it wasn't what you call 'fast food', but it was very tasty and we do not have to worry about time.
When we got back to Geraldton we went to the Visitor Information Centre and booked a treat for ourselves- a trip to the Abrolhos Islands. We fly over the whole area, spot a few wrecks and then land on East Wallabi Island for an island tour and afternoon tea. Splendid.
That afternoon we went to the Cathedral. We have visited a couple of times before but now we were going to have an official tour. There were about 6 of us on the tour and we got a delightful insight into the church today as well as the history of the building. Our guide was rightly proud of the Cathedral and showed us a photograph of the laying of the foundation stone,with her grandfather standing in the crowd of workers laying the stones.
A lot of the artifacts in the crypt had been packed away by the bishop (perhaps over zealously) in anticipation of the building being closed for restoration. In deed when you look closely you can see the cracks in the plaster and the stone work. Apparently the 'dome' is made of asbestos and is going to be replaced with glorious terracotta tiles, as in the original Father Hawes design. It will be even more splendid when done but the funds are still a little short.
The next day we had another lazy day before the excitement built the following day - the day of our flight.
the weather was perfect, sunny and around 23 degrees.
After lunch we drove out to the airport and after the usual safety talk we climbed aboard.
It was a lovely smooth take off and we had a great view over the city of Geraldton and then out over the port and across the ocean to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands The islands lie 70 km off the coast and are made up of 3 groups with a total of 122 islands, covering an area approximately 110 kms north to south.
22 of the islands are home to rock lobster fishermen, there are 8 aquaculture sites and the Latitude Pearl farm has a total water area of 367.9 hectares. They produce 3 different pearls, the Leeuwin Current is the reason that they are the world's largest producers of exquisite black pearls.
We were able to spot the small remains of two wrecks, the Zeewyk (wrecked in 1727) and another whose name I've forgotten (wrecked in 1906).
Rat Island is the base for the local rock lobster fishermen. They used to only be able to stay on the island for 3 months, during the fishing season, but the season and rules have now changed and they can stay 12 months - if they really want to.
We flew over the reef and were enthralled by the size, the colours and beauty of it. FANTASTIC.
Then we banked and the pilot contacted air traffic control in Geraldton announcing our landing on East Wallabi Island.
We got out and following our pilot walked along through the scrub to the ocean and then along the beach to Turtle Bay where we sat in the shelter to enjoy afternoon tea. After a welcome cuppa and the obligatory lamington (a very Aussie cake, which tastes even better at scenic locations), we carried on with our island tour.
We were delighted to see a little local Wallaby, an Osprey and absolutely amazing and fantastic scenery. Unfortunately the only turtle we saw was the shell of a long dead one.
All too soon we headed back to Turtle Beach, collected our esky and headed back to the landing strip.
Once again the take off was very smooth, we flew over Morning Reef, the site of the wreck of the Batavia. But the waves obscured any view of the actual site, apparently on calm days you can see the gash in the coral where the ship struck. It was very easy to see how she could have run aground.
It was 4.00am when she hit the reef and it was obvious how the reef would have been almost impossible to see. On the small island nearest to the wreck site some graves have been discovered and the whole island is being 'tidied up' with only a few shack remaining now.The search for further graves continues. The story of the wreck, the sailing back to Batavia (Indonesia) for help, a mutiny and survival is a fascinating one.
All too soon we're heading westward and once over the ocean spend our time intently watching the water for any signs of whales. The 'white horses' on the waves were confusing most 'sightings' but we both feel happy that we did see a couple of whales making their way north.
The coast was soon in sight and we were over the port and marina.
From the air we spotted the Cathedral, the Sydney Memorial and the little San Spirito Chapel at the cemetery, before descending with glorious views across over the Chapman Valley.
Then we were safe back on the ground.
What a truly wonderful experience, a great day out.
It is listed in tourist brochures as one of the things to do when in Geraldton, but I reckon it's the no 1 on a must do list. It cost $240 each and was well worth it.
As the day was almost over, the sun about to set, we drove out to do another on the 'things to do' list.
Sunset at the Sydney Memorial. The setting sun's last glow on the 645 seagulls of the Memorial was really lovely. It's a beautiful spot and a beautiful memorial.
The statue of the woman looking out to sea, waiting for her menfolk is one of my all time favourite art works.
What better way to complete a holiday day out in a coastal town, fish and chips for dinner.
Very nice they were too.
The next morning those clouds were back, lucky we went on the flight yesterday.
We were just about to leave the house but had to delay about 20 minutes whilst the rain came down.
Then it cleared and we were out - down to Marine Terrace and a walk along the foreshore in the sunshine.
Michael tried out the outside 'gym', but we didn't want to overdo the exercise and drove around to the next car park and walked along the boardwalk to a lovely landscaped park, and observation deck, a nice modern landscaped area. A quiet oasis, with lovely views back over the town. There were a couple of wind surers doing very well, enjoying the great weather.
A very pleasant and welcoming place, much like the city itself.
Then we drove out to the West End, the spit of land sticking out into the ocean, where the lighthouse is. We explored all the streets and found the small holiday shacks delightful, noting that there were a lot for sale. (They are only on lease, cannot be rebuilt and the area is destined for redevelopment - not high rise though).
Then we drove through the suburb of Beachlands - this is now our favourite suburb. Some lovely large old houses and the area is 'coming up' as there are a lot of older fibro,ex rental homes being bought and renovated. The area is just behind the Cathedral, walking distance to town and great beaches.
No Sale though, we are very happy were we are but just can't help looking at real estate where ever we go.
We'd just got back home when the rain returned, this time yesterday we were sitting on Turtle Beach.
The next day, Sunday, and we decided to revisit the Chapman Valley. The Chapman Valley Historical Society Museum is open Sunday afternoons (and Weds. am) so after lunch we set out. AT the museum we chatted to a family from Geraldton whose mother was from the Chapman Valley. She was donating some items to the museum relating to their days on the farm. You could hear her oohing and aahing as she recognised items and names on display. It was great to chat to her and learn a bit more local history.
As the sun was still shining we took a scenic route home, through glorious bright yellow fields (canola).
Our last week in Geraldton began with a trip to the library to check emails, using the free city wi-fi (available all along the foreshore but the strongest signal is in the library.) The library was closed until 1.00pm so we'll have to leave it until tomorrow as we have a lunch date.
We revisited our friends just north of the city and enjoyed a splendid lunch - an assortment of curries including a liver (lambs fry) rendang and a goat curry. After such a sumptuous meal we had a light dinner and spread out in front of the telly.
The next day, another 'doing nothing' day, after a quick library trip.
Shouldn't have too many of those days so the next day, we decided on another museum.
We drove up to Northampton to the Motors and Machinery Museum. As we turned north onto the North West Coastal Highway we just managed to get in front of a huge, wide load convoy. We had a lovely 30 minute drive up to Northampton, no traffic ahead and none behind. In Northampton we parked and had a coffee to sit and watch the convoy go by but we got bored waiting, and after 40 minutes headed across to the museum.
The caretaker was having a little nap when we arrived so we left our money on the table and quietly walked around.
After about 15 minutes he woke up, went outside to do some work, spotted our car and came in to find us. He was a very nice man and it turns out that he is the 'railway man' in town. He is responsible for the tourist development of the Mary Street Railway precinct and he lives in the delightful cottage behind the old station in Mary Street. (The cottage has a lovely wrought iron work gate featuring a train, that I took a photo of previously). He was full of information about the development of Northampton and we learnt that Mary Street was the second station in town, the original station being just along the road from the museum. This original site is being developed as a tourist site with a lot of work being done to unearth the old platform and buildings. After an exhaustive museum tour we went along to the old railway site.
A very good interpretive display, a credit to the town and to this particular gentleman.
Then we took the scenic route home, through the canola fields of the Chapman Valley.
We had a couple of days left in Geraldton and we had 'done' most of the town. We re-visited some op-shops and found more books! (new stock or we'd missed them first time around?)
Then one day on our way home, with nothing better to do, we detoured to have a look at a car dealership selling the Great Wall SUVs. The price is certainly right but the interior was too squeezy for us. We checked out other models at the showroom - Kia Sportage. Much better! But at double the price not an immediate option. We didn't manage to get away before the sales rep got chatting, but he was very pleasant, not at all 'pushy' and before long we had seen the entire Kia range. Then he started to show us the used cars and there was a Hyundai Tucson City (2WD not 4WD). We had looked at buying a Tucson back in 2009 but had missed out as Hyundai had stopped manufacture. Now we had so many thoughts and options that we were getting very confused and I think we each thought that the other might make a rash decision so we retreated back home to consider all the options. We had no immediate intention of replacing our lovely yellow Getz but with 419,000+ kms on the odometer we are starting to gather our options.
We thought all night, slept on it, and the next morning went to the library and used the free wifi to check out the availability, prices and reviews of used Tucsons. There were a reasonable number in the Perth area so we decided not to buy in Geraldton, some 300kms away from where we live. When we get home we'll have a look at options closer to home. (a new Kia Sportage would be nice but those dollars would pay for a good many holidays.....)
So, decision made, we headed home for lunch and then spent the afternoon packing and cleaning the house ready to lock and leave and head home the next day.
We enjoyed another glorious sunset, viewed from the lounge window.
We have enjoyed our time in Geraldton and the surrounding area, exploring and discovering quite a lot.
All good things come to an end and we have to attend to things at home, gardening, clearing, painting...........
All to be done before November 1st when burning season finishes and fire breaks must be in.
It won't all be work though, we have Michael's niece coming to stay for a week and we have promised a full week of outings. That is sure to be another blog.
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