The Big Smoke (Geraldton, Rottnest Island & Perth)

Geraldton - On the drive south from Kalbarri we passed a very pink lake at the tiny fishing village of Port Gregory and the delightful Horrocks another great little seaside village. These and a number of other similar little seaside towns south of Geraldton maintain their original character without the over development common on of large parts of the east coast.

It was back to the big smoke after being in the remote Northwest for the last couple of months. Geraldton with a population of 32000 is the biggest town since Darwin we have been to.

Geraldton itself reminds me a bit of Warrnambool-similar size, coastline, windiness, maritime and shipwreck history. It has a nice foreshore area and a great museum. Smoothest Mt Bike trails we have seen in a while too. It was great to catch up with my old neighbour Amy Farley, Ash and the kids. We also caught up with Kerrie’s old work buddy from Brisbane Sarah, Dan and the kids. BTW Thanks for the filling replacement Dan! I can recommend Geraldton Dental Care if you’re in the area.

Perth and Rottnest Island- We pulled up to John and Margery’s place in Perth and enjoyed a couch, TV and a bed with a solid roof over our heads for the first time in nearly 4 months. What a treat!

Rotto is a great spot and it worked out very nicely that my Uncle John and Aunty Margery were over there when we were in town. It was great to spend some extended time over there biking around the Island and sharing the morning coffees with the Quokkas. Humpbacks migrating south have been a feature of this whole stretch of coast, but it came to a crescendo at the west end of the Island when we watched 4 or 5 continually breaching for about 20 mins, throw in a few dolphins, fur seals, Osprey’s, dugites (local snakes) and king skinks.

Back on the mainland Kings Park was stunning as always. Maybe more so at the moment as it is wildflower season. We got along to see Australia and Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup match at Optus Stadium. Marcos Stoinis made 50 off 17 balls to get Australia the win. It was great to catch up with Rachel, another of Kerrie’s old work colleagues as well as the WA cousins and their families. Thanks for hosting a great arvo Anne and Andrew, and putting us up in Perth and Rotto John and Margery.