- Part 1: The Universe Gives Me A Nudge
- Part 2: Bangkok & Rest & Realisation In Koh Lanta
- Part 3: Singapore Slings & Bali Tranquility
- Part 4: A Trip To The Place Where Oceans Collide
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I didn’t know it at the time but I was about to embark on a fantastic journey that would show me so many things, namely about living in the moment and how untamed nature can be overwhelming in its beauty.
I hired a Rav 4 from Hertz in Perth and within minutes I left the city behind. It wasn’t long before the landscape started to take my breath away. As the road climbed, I felt as though I was driving higher and higher above the treetops.
As we dropped down, the road curved to the left and it was as if I could reach out and touch the sea.
I stopped at the Pinnacles at the Nambung National Park, about 125 miles north of Perth.
An emu was scratching around in the scrub on my walk to the Pinnacles and when I got there, it was like I’d gone through a portal to a different planet.
They’re limestone spire-like formations that rise from yellow desert sand and can rise to several metres high. It was a lunar-like landscape or something from the set of a science fiction film.
There are thousands upon thousands of them stretching as far as the eye can see with some looking as if they’re about to topple over and others like coffins.
It was quiet as can be but it was a heavy silence as I felt a little as if I was being watched.
Back to the car with Geraldton my next stop to see friends Russ and Shirley who were very kindly hosting me and show me the local sights.
I made my way along the stunning Indian Ocean Drive. The landscape changed from arid with blackened trees and scrub to huge white sand dunes and all the time the Indian Ocean to my left.
I turned on to the Brand Highway, absolutely loving the drive and the feeling of space, and as I neared Geraldton, I passed the Leaning Trees which have grown horizontally because of the salty winds coming off the Indian Ocean.
Geraldton Wanderings And Kalbarri Magic
I really don’t want this to become an account of what I did each day – got up (early/late), had a cup of tea/coffee (perked me up!), got into the car (it’s an automatic), went into the sea (it cleansed my soul).
Nor do I want to be talking about every single place I visited or it becomes a list but I saw and felt so much during those few days in and around Geraldton with Russ and Shirley.
Russ took me around Geraldton on my first day there. We visited St Francis Xavier Cathedral, which was designed by priest and architect Monsignor John Hawes, one of several he designed in the region.
Then on to the memorial for the HMAS Sydney II which was sunk in November 1941 after it encountered a German ship, the Kormoran, which was disguised as a merchant ship. All 645 men on the HMAS Sydney II died although 317 survived on the Kormoran. It wasn’t until 2008 that the wreckage was found.
A couple of days later I visited the Horizon Ball with Shirley. It’s like a giant marble which turns everything upside down and it perfectly captured the sun dropping down below the horizon.
The following day, Russ and I headed north for about an hour when I looked to my right and there was the Pink Lake. I couldn’t immediately process what I was seeing.
It just didn’t seem to add up that this beautiful, soft, warm, welcoming pink was water that changes colour because of algae.
It reminded me of pink custard I used to have at school and I could almost taste the sweetness.
We drove on as wild goats ambled across the road as we made our way to Kalbarri Cliffs which drop 100 metres to the Indian Ocean. It’s rugged and wild and nature unfolded in front of us in and out of the ocean.
Whales breached in the distance and we moved from lookout to lookout, keeping our eyes on them as best we could. A pod of about eight dolphins gathered. The waves pounded the cliffs providing the only sound as we stood mesmerised.
On to Kalbarri National Park which contains many different landscapes including river gorges with rock formations dating back 400 million years.
We scrambled to Nature’s Window, formed from layers of Tumblagooda sandstone, and went out on the Skywalk, a viewing platform suspended 100 metres in the air looking out over the Murchison River gorge. There were kangaroos feeding under a tree a few feet away from the path.
I’d seen so much on one day that it was almost a sensory overload, something I’d go on to experience again.
Looking back now I realise I was opening up more and more and falling headlong into the unknown. Slowly at first but these new experiences would reach a crescendo later on.
Mullewa, Woodchopping & Preparing For The Unknown
A couple of days later we all headed to Mullewa, about 100km inland, and with a population of around 300.
No matter how small the town/village/hamlet in Australia, there’s always a craft shop or art gallery and that was the case in Mullewa where Shirley and Russ’ friend Helen Ansell was holding an exhibition.
We followed a tour around Our Lady of Mount Carmel, another church designed by Monsignor Hawes. On to the Mullewa Show with wood-chopping and sheep-shearing competitions. There was farm machinery and everything big, big, big.
We drove home alongside carpets of white flowers and in the evening were joined by Sue and Col, friends of Shirley and Russ who were on their way up the coast in their caravan.
There were celebrations for Russ and Shirley’s 40th wedding anniversary and I was given oodles of advice and tips for my trip. I realised that I really hadn’t planned all that much at all. I hadn’t thought about camping and I wasn’t even sure where or what the Pilbara was, let alone all those road trains I’d encounter.
Russ and I paid a visit to a couple of camping shops and looked at tents and swags although I only came away with a couple of water bottles.
The plan was to go back the next morning which I did and bought a swag, a bright pink sleeping bag, an inflatable mattress and a mallet which would give the biceps a good old workout. I also bought cutlery, camping plates and a thermal cup which sits proudly to my right as I type.
I’d had a lovely time with Russ and Shirley. They’d made me feel completely at home. We’d talked books and sport and travel and involved me in everything.
But now I was ready for the off and about to head into the unknown.