All around Geraldton there is art. This piece is located at the front of the Queens Park Theatre.
Driving around Geraldton is a great pleasure for me. Even the local tradies don’t seem to be in too much of a rush. I can’t get over the beauty of this place. So much effort has gone into making it a user-friendly city, with plenty of free parking so you can just stop when the mood takes you and watch the fishing boats, the unbelievably blue ocean or the swimmers.
A beautiful sunny day, the Indian ocean looked inviting even to this pussy-cat who rejects the thought of getting her paws wet. The waves flopped on the white sand as though they couldn’t be bothered to roll over and make a proper splash. Even the seagulls were too laid back to fly, and mooched about on the beach or made small indentations in the sand in which to sunbathe.
Such a gentle ocean, but you can hear the waves breaking on the reef.
Yesterday I took a drive to the lighthouse at Point Moore, which I could see from the back window of my donga. It was a lovely drive through the foreshore attractions, past the beaches and the marina. Two large bulk carriers were loading at the port and I stopped here and there just to watch – and to take advantage of all that free parking. The same two are still in port today, with just as much anti-fouling paintwork showing above the waterline. With four ships waiting to enter harbour, surely these can’t stay for much longer?
I wonder why other places don’t offer such extensive free car parking in places where there’s a view or some attraction that people might enjoy, who don’t necessarily want to hike miles to see?
There seemed to be nowhere from which to take photos of the lighthouse without thick, black power lines in the way, unless I pointed the camera directly into the sun. Okay, I thought, we’ll try again tomorrow. Success! I headed off earlier this morning and got the lighthouse without power lines. Yay!
The lighthouse at Point Moore against some spectacular cirrus cloud.
I like this place. I haven’t been speared and put in the pot for anyone’s dinner, so I think I can say the locals are friendly. If I don’t turn up at home in the next few weeks, if you really miss me, you can start looking for me in Geraldton.
The Museum had worked its way to the top of my list of things to see here. I’ve been interested in the story of the Batavia shipwreck since hearing about it all those years ago. The museum had a great deal more information and some fascinating exhibits. As always happens in such places, I got carried away and the hours flew. There was much about the search for the wreck of HMAS Sydney II.
St Francis Xavier Cathedral.
Tomorrow I have to move on. Perhaps I’ll stop at Cervantes? Must be in Fremantle on Friday. I had a hamburger for lunch today and it’s given me the most awful indigestion. A lesson learned, so I stopped off and bought a bread roll for tomorrow. And some soap powder – I’m in danger of running out of knickers.