First thing today I got up to have a shower so grabbed my
shower bag and noticed it had a slight whiff of shower gel to it. Upon opening
it I discovered that my bottle of shower gel had decided to empty all its
contents inside coating everything in a nice blue slime. Piss it. I carried it to the
bathroom and spent some time trying to rinse everything but the more I washed
the bag the more soap suds appeared so gave it up and decided to bag it up to
let it dry at my next stop. There was a nice view in the daylight from the balcony of the beach and harbour to enjoy though. After my shower I went back to my room to finish
getting ready and grabbed a cotton bud to clean my ears and was immediately
reminded about my shower gel incident when I deposited a layer of blue gel
inside my ear. Brilliant. They were useless now. With my blue ears I went down
to get some breakfast which consisted of bread and butter both supplied by the
hotel in the shared kitchen. I toasted the bread and went back to my room to
eat it while packing. Packing took a little while as I’d had a kit explosion
last night making full use of the spare bed but aside from the last few bits I
needed I was done. I went to the bathroom to do my teeth and was given my final
reminder. Ah yes that’s right, my shower gel exploded, oh and it tastes just like
it smells! This better not be how my trip is going to go. With my blue ears and
blue teeth I finished packing and went downstairs to check out. But the very
nice lady at reception told me to hang on to the key till I was ready to leave
Geraldton in the afternoon as there was no hurry for the room and it saved
putting my bags in their office for the day. It was probably my blue features
that scared her into that decision. At about 10.15 I left the hotel to start my
walk round Geraldton. I checked what time the tour at the HMAS Sydney II
memorial started and was unsurprised to find out it started at 10. I went
straight to the visitors centre to ask what they recommended I see in case my
lonely planet had missed something out and was very surprised to find out the HMAS
Sydney II memorial was actually starting at 10.30 and I had about 8 minutes to
get there. The lady at the info centre also told me to get to the museum after
as a tour started there at 11.30 and was worth getting to. I dashed to the
memorial and made it about 5 minutes after the tour had started. The woman was
very knowledgeable about the memorial and explained about all the features of
it. It is actually amazing how much thought went into its design. HMAS Sydney
II is a war ship, that was the pride of the fleet, and it went down with all
its crew in November 1941 off the coast near Geraldton as a result of an
engagement with a German warship. Both ships went down and they weren’t found
until 2008, 7 years after the memorial was built and dedicated. There is
exactly the same number of seagulls in the dome as there were crew that died.
And the woman faces exactly where the ship was found purely by chance. After a
few photos when the tour was finished I dashed down to the museum and was 5
minutes late again for that tour but caught most of the information given. At
the end of that talk I walked round the museum to see all the different
exhibits and found out more information about the HMAS Sydney II and also had a
chance to look at a gallery of photos that had been entered into competitions
under various categories which were fantastic. They captured many different
aspects of natural and man-made things some close up with exceptional detail,
some distant which captured an entire landscape, and some using the camera to
give artistic effects but all very well taken. After a brief look round the
shop I made my way to the Old Gaol gift shops which are a range of shops
selling locally made arts and crafts that use the former cells. There is a bit
of history there as the building dates back to 1856 and is WA’s second longest
serving gaol after Fremantle. My next stop after the gaol was the St. Francis Xavier
cathedral. On the way there I grabbed a quick bite to eat and checked out the
shopping centre too. The cathedral was designed by an architect called
Monsignor John Hawes who was an architect in England and opened in 1938. I
wasn't blown away by the décor inside but outside was very impressive. It was
now about 2pm and so as I’d now seen everything I wanted to I made my way back
to the hotel to get my bits and get on the road to Kalbarri. I thanked the
staff as I left, handed in my key and was on the road by 3pm. The road this
time was a little bit more twisty in places and actually wound along the coast
this time so I got a good view of the sea as I rode into Kalbarri, stopping a
couple of times to take photos. I was there by 5pm and was pleasantly surprised
to find Kalbarri is a very pretty and small seaside town with a relaxed vibe to
it and a homely feel. Its views of the bay are stunning. Last night I’d
enquired about space at a ranch called ‘Big River Ranch’ just outside town and
this morning I’d phoned to book a room for two nights and to book a place on a
horse ride for tomorrow. I found where the ranch was without much trouble and
pulled in to find the office closed and no-one around. I did however see a note
on the noticeboard telling me which room I was in and where to find the key. It is
a lovely setting at the ranch with horses in every field surrounding the main
buildings and great views over the surrounding hills with a lovely peaceful
atmosphere. I unloaded the bike and locked everything in my room and rode back
into town, before the supermarket closed, to get some food and drink supplies
to last me the next few days. I was back at the ranch in time for the sunset
which made the views even more picturesque. I still hadn't seen anyone about
and so went to the open sided communal kitchen to start preparing dinner.
During dinner two camper vans pulled in. One with two French lads and the other
with an Italian couple, looking for signs of life to find out if they could
stay at the campsite and after a phone call to one of the members of staff they
set up camp and came to use the kitchen too. We got chatting and they very
nicely offered me a beer which I gratefully accepted. We spent the evening
chatting about our travels and at some time or other another couple of vehicles
turned up with seven more French people in. They came to use the kitchen too
and we had a brief chat with them as well. I went to get a shower before bed
and wished everyone goodnight before heading to my room. I hung my wash bag up
to dry as it was still wet from the rinsing I’d given it and tentatively
checked how my toothbrush tasted before doing my teeth. It was fine this time.
With the usual flashing of charging lights I jumped into my double bed and it
flew sideways into the wall on its castors on the hard floor. Oops. OK so
that’s an exceptionally light bed, noted. I repositioned it, straightened my
bedside table and GENTLY got into bed this time. With the fan on, as it was a very
warm evening, I drifted off to the rhythmic swishing of its blades and soon
fell asleep thinking of home.
Rolly, a saint? Huh!
ReplyDeleteM&D