We are on holiday!

Monday 29th August 2022

We were thankful to wake up to a dry tent this morning, after a better sleep! We packed up and left. Heading south out of Kalbarri we could really see how devastating the cyclone was. So many properties are in ruins – a lot of motels and other accommodation places but also houses. Amazing that there were no fatalities!

We stopped just outside of town at Red Bluff lookout, and saw a wild looking ocean, a large pod of dolphins, distant whales and a stunning white winged fairy wren!

Next stop was Gregory – the town itself was not much to speak of but it is next to a beautiful pink lake! Apparently full of a carotenoid producing algae.

We had a brief stop in Northampton for toilets and playground. It looks a pretty town with some beautiful old buildings. Then onto Geraldton. We had a few things to be done here, being the largest place we’d stopped in for a while. We got the camping mattress replaced, after sleeping on a deflated one since Barn Hill! 😀 Also a new tyre wrench, since Richie just happened to realise this morning that the car and trailer actually need different sizes…..very thankful the trailer hasn’t had a flat at all! 😳 We stocked up on supplies, and a few extra clothes for the kids – some things just haven’t survived the trip! Finally a coffee and cake, which put Otis into a chocolate coma! Geraldton looks quite beautiful, with a lovely waterfront area and ocean views throughout, though Richie and I both experienced sour faces all over town. Either we both smell terrible, possible after two months on the road, or Geraldton is a town of serious discontent, at least in the retail section. Though we will forgive Raynbow at BCF of her bad mood, who has no doubt spent her life spelling her name out to everyone she meets!

The kids had a bit of a playground run, hopefully to settle the chocolate cake, then we had to head off east to Mullewa. I had initially planned that we stay in Geraldton then stick to the coast, moving onto Nambung Nature Reserve, and had cut out all inland travel to get to Perth on time. We decided we really should check out the inland wildflower country, given we are here at the right time. I had booked a room in a pub for the night, so whilst we didn’t need to worry about setting up, it is still nice to get somewhere in daylight. We drove east – a sign declared us in ‘wildflower country’, which is also ‘wheat as far as you can see’ country. I wonder how it looked pre-agriculture!

We pulled into Mullewa – a small, one pub town. The pub looks pretty standard on the outside, though inside is a beautiful old country town pub, with a big staircase and pressed tin ceiling. Our room is quite large, and has a door onto the balcony

We bought some g&ts to have on the balcony, then fed the kids noodles and we had salad, with a bit of running around trying to source utensils and such! We relaxed with the tv on – such a treat to watch tv from bed! The kids had a bath in the shared bathroom – also a treat, given their last bath was in Broken Hill!