Geraldton (22 Apr - 1 May)

Justin was really looking forward to Geraldton, specifically Coronation Beach where he held fond memories wind-surfing here over 30 years ago. Although the winds were often howling (directly offshore easterly winds in the early morning), Justin only managed one day on the water over the 8 days we were there much to his disappointment. Outside of wind-surfing, we enjoyed the Museum of Geraldton where we learnt about the four Dutch shipwrecks in the region, including the infamous Batavia mutiny in 1629. In fact, Western Australia is internationally renowned for shipwreck archaeology and materials conservation. I made an effort to get fit by going for a couple of solo bike rides after the heat had subsided, and took the opportunity to have my hair cut as I surmised it would be a while before I would have access to another salon again.

At the caravan park, Justin accompanied Millie on her bike in search of kids in the early days. Every time new guests arrived, Millie would crane her neck for signs of young occupants. One day, after some stern encouragement from Justin, Millie ventured alone to the playground and came back beaming to announce that she had made a friend. Millie has already said that she would like to return to Geraldton to see Layla whose family is planning to make the city their new home. As for us, we met some lovely neighbours in Adam and Guy (who helped us fix our Starlink pole and gave us some delicious homemade pesto), and Susan and Andrew who were considering our brand of caravan for their next purchase. Through our chat, I also learnt from Andrew the fascinating activity of gold detecting on land not owned by the mining corporations.