We had originally planned to stay at Lancelin but decided against it in favour of Ledge Point. Despite this we always planned to at least visit Lancelin. This was mainly due to us listening to an audiobook ( when we were driving north towards Darwin ) which was partly set in Lancelin and the vast sand dunes on the edge of the town. The audiobook was called ‘Honeybee‘ about a young transgender lad coming to terms with who he is growing up with his single mum in a life of poverty and hardship. It was a very good listen and gave us a preview of the Lancelin sand dunes some months before we got to visit them in person.

Lancelin is bigger than Ledge Point and has a slightly more vibrant feel to it. This is fuelled by the massive sand dunes outside, which are a mecca for trail bikes and dune buggies, and the broad windy beach that is perfect for kite surfers

We drove out to the sand dunes first and found a large flat sandy area with a number of trucks and trailers offering trail bikes and buggies for hire. There riders and drivers zipping over the dunes in the distance and the whole place looked like a hive of activity. We weren’t tempted to do any dune riding ourselves but it was worth it to see firsthand the setting for part of the audiobook we had listed to.

Following the dunes we headed back into the township and down to the beach. The beach was probably the first pure white sand beach we had seen on the West Australian coast. The beach was backed by a long green grassy park area so we wandered down with a coffee from the coffee van at the Lancelin caravan park.

The beach at one end turns into a spit that juts out towards Edwards Island before turning a corner and joining with another beach beyond. This is the area where the kite surfers congregate and use the shallow transverse waves that come around the island to perform their aerial leaps and stunts. It was really quite mesmerising watching them duck and weave amongst each other and recover from a dunking after a bad landing.

The day out at Lancelin provided us with a much welcome respite from the holiday hordes waiting for us back at Ledge Point. It also served to fill out our imagined version of Lancelin based on the audiobook we had listened to. It iturned out to be not too different from what we expected and in hindsight might have been a better pick than Ledge Point… but then again school holidays and school holidays everywhere!

Gravity Discovery Centre

After enjoying a day at Lancelin, avoiding the holiday hordes back in Ledge Point, we turned our attention to how we could avoid them even more. To that end we turned our attention inland, away from the coast, and made a day trip out to Gingin, 70km to the south-east.

We noticed that a little south-west of Gingin there was a placed called the Gravity Discovery Centre so we headed there first. Now the strange thing about this attraction is that it is basically in the middle of nowhere and with not much signage. Driving there you turn in on a dirt track and drive through a bith of scrub until, quite suddenly, a 45m high tower leaning at 15° appears quickly followed by the main building and an observatory. By contrast, the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans at only 5.5°.

The Gravity Discovery Centre is very much along the lines of Questacon back in Canberra. It is a hands-on science discovery centre focussed on ‘gravity’ with loads of interesting and entertaining exhibits and working experiments.

Despite being school holidays there were very few visitors when we were there, which was good for us because we had the exhibits to ourselves and no waiting. The exhibits and displays are quite enthralling and well designed to teach and inform in a fun and interactive way.

Upon entry you are provided with two ballons that you can fill with water and drop from the leaning tower from as far up as you dare. With both of us having a dread fear of heights it was a daunting task to climb the 10 stories of stairs to the top in the open air structure. Jo made it to level 3 before releasing her balloons and Rob made it to level 8 before succumbing to the height and dropping his water bombs, It was very satisfying to watch them fall burst on the ground. Of course, the idea is to have a small one and a large one and drop them together to repeat Gallileo’s famous Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment to prove that all objects fall at the same rate.

Aside from the fun aspect of the Gravity Discovery Centre, the statis displays also included a large meteorite, which was very cool and even cooler was the decommissioned ‘NIOBE’ gravitational wave detector that helped detect and prove Einstein’s theory regarding gravity waves. Very, very cool!

The Gravity Discovery Centre was a very unexpected and enjoyable way to spend the morning and exercise the brain a little.

Gingin

After switching our brains back on at the Gravity Discovery Centre we headed in to Gingin, which is a small agricultural town and. surprisingly, only 65km north of Perth.

The township is centred around the very well kept Granville Park that features a replica water wheel near a shallow stream that would not look out of place in Oxford or Cambridge in England. The axle of the water wheel is the original axle and would have driven a flour mill back in the day. It sits beside the stream, which flows beneath a small footbridge and is home to a flotilla of ducks and numerous other native birds that congregate downstream from the weir at the bridge.

At the edge of the park is the CU@Park Cafe, which is a quirky little cafe and shop full of curios and bits & pieces. We enjoyed a coffee and muffin there whilst overlooking the park and enjoying the serenity before heading back to the holiday hordes at the van park.

Beside the cafe is a replica stone arch built from limestone blocks saved from an original arch from Cheriton House back in the 1880’s. The waterwheel, stream and arch are reminders of Gingin’s agricultural history and fit well into a small town that retains an historic appearance in a contemporary setting.

It must be said that The Pinnacles are just simply a stunning natural formation that can only be fully appreciated by being there in person. Only 20km from Cervantes, they are easily accesible from the Discovery Centre, which is extremely well presented with an excellent range of exhibits about the formations and local wildlife.

From the Discovery Centre you self-drive the one-way track around and through the pinnacle formations that come in all shapes and sizes. There a large groups of formations as well as solitary pillars. Some are distinctly phallic in their proportion whereas as others look like gothic thrones or small fortresses. In any case, they are all stunning in their own right.

We opted to go early in the day, which proved to be a winning strategy. We had the track through The Pinnacles all to ourselves save one car a long way in front and one a long way behind. Every corner and every hill crossed produced set after set of amazing formations and vistas. The track had plenty of stopping bays so that you could get out and walk amongst them with the feeling that you’re on a different planet.

There’s something almost supernatural about The Pinnacles and this is reinforced by the fact that there areat leastthree different theories about how they were formed. There is still not a definitive explanation and it is quite amazing to find out that they only became widely known about in 1967.

The Pinnacles left us with a lasting impression, similar to Kata-Tjuta, Uluru and Kings Canyon. Although not as individually grand, they cover a large area and there are hundreds of them. Our only regret was that we didn’t go back to see them at sunset, which apparently adds yet another dimension to them. Perhaps next time…

Unbeknownst to us there was another natural feature at Cervantes called Lake Thetis, which is also home to a number of living stromatalites. We had previously seen the stromatalites at Denham, which were a bit harder to see because of the cyclone damage to the boardwalk. In Contrast, the Lake Thetis stromatalites exist on the edges of a circular lake sourrounded by a path with a boardwalk that takes you right amongst them.

We walked the circumference of the lake stopping along the way at a lovely little spot between the trees with a shady seat. You could look across the lake and also watch the birds that frequented the area.

The walk took us back to the viewing boardwalk where you can get right up close to the stromatalites without disturbing them, fragile as they are. The boardwalk was a perfect spot to send the drone up and get a birds-eye view of these rare formations.

When viewed from above the Lake Thetis stromatalites fascinating, almost geometric, appearance looking a little like crop circles in the brown band of water at the edge of the lake. Living stromatalites are quite rare and only found in a handful of places around the world. We were privileged to see them in two different places and also to be able to get close to them.

So… When we drove from Geraldton to Port Denison / Dongara… we passed the town of Greenough. At some point between Greenough and Port Denison / Dongara our pool noodles, which were riding in the tray at the front of our van, blew out onto the side of the road because they weren’t there when we arrived. Very sad… we had history with those pool noodles…

The Seagulls, who were still in Geraldton, agreed to meet us in Greenough for a day trip with us coming back from Port Denison / Dongara. As it transpired on our drive to Greenough Rob noticed a flash of blue in some long grass under a wire farm fence and then a flash of pink in more long grass about 1 km later. Unable to stop because of traffic behind us we continued on to Greenough…

Greenough Historic Town Site

On the outskirts of Greenough is the famous leaning tree of Greenough, one of many, many leaning trees growing throughout the region and that we first came across at Linga Longa. These trees are perfectly healthy but grow sideways because the persistent winds and salt spray burn the leaves one side causing them to die off and the opposite side to become heavier causing the trunk to bend and ultimately grow horizontally.

These trees are a striking feature of the Greenough region and we can vouch for the fact the winds are strong, persistent and salty…

The Greenough Historic Site, Hamlet, is a preserved town consisting mainly of stone buildings from the early 1800’s. It is mostly managed by the National Trust and is kept in a very well preserved state.

The buildings of the hamlet hinted at a spartan and remote life with few comforts but most of the necessities such as the Community Hall, School, Store, Courthouse, Hospital, Police Complex and Cells. The School Bell still stands and at first glance looks a bit more like a gallows than innocent school bell…

The police complex, court and cells are very well preserved and do exude a very heavy atmosphere as you walk through and around them, as does the hospital, which is very basic and really just a few beds with curtain walls.

Western Australia is chock full of these convict era ruins and Greenough Hamlet is a particularly notable example. It was similar in many respects to Cossack, which we visited near Point Samson, except that Greenough Hamlet is a closed museum site whereas Cossack still has a small number of residents and economic activity.

Greenough Museum

Not far from Greenough Hamlet is the Greenough Museum and Gardens. This is a historic homestead surrounded by gardens and yards full of historic farming equipment, much of which is restored to new or working condition.

For a fee you can wander through the homestead at your leisure, viewing the various artefacts and curios, and getting a glimpse of what would have been a particularly comfortable but otherwise austere lifestyle in that period.

One of the more unique exhibits was a fully restored, horse-drawn, automatic rabbit bait spreader/dispenser used to keep the vermin population under control. Yet another innovative but cumbersome colonial technology that seems to be completely over-engineered when compared with today’s lightweight power machinery.

Perhaps the most intriguing exhibit was the double thunderbox… a two person ‘brick shithouse’. A classic white-washed stone dunny with two long drops for sharing the joy… Can’t see a revival of this architectural gem coming back in the future…

The Greenough Museum and Gardens was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours and imagine life back in that period. Back when things were both simpler and more complex at the same time…

The Drive Back To Port Denison / Dongara

After seeing the Seagulls off back to Geralston, we headed back to Port Denison / Dongara and as you may have guessed we stopped twice on the way and reclaimed our long lost pool noodles, which had suffered no damage in the three days they lay in grass beside the road, It was a happy reunion and they now travel in the back of the car behind the seats…

We had previously visited Quobba Station which is directly east of the location where the HMAS Sydney II wreck is located. Upon reaching Geraldton the first thing you notice is the magnificent HMAS Sydney II Memorial that stands proud on a hill overlooking Geraldton and the Indian Ocean where the wreck lies at rest.

We drove up to the memorial and luckily discovered that we were there at exactly the right time for the daily tour conducted by a local volunteer. This proved to be one of the best guided tour experiences we have ever experienced. The volunteer brought the sad story of the ship’s sinking to life and described every intricate detail of the memorial, which would have to rate as one of the most thoughtful and respectful war memorials in the world.

Every single aspect of this site has some form of symbolic significance to the ship and it’s lost crew from the interlinked seagulls forming the cupola to the size and alignment of the Stele that represents the ship’s bow, the seven pillars beneath the cupola, to the statue of the ‘Waiting Woman’ who stares forlornly out to sea hoping for the ship’s return.

Eerily… the statue of the Waiting Woman was placed before the wreck’s resting place was found and the Waiting Woman statue is looking in exactly the direction where the ship’s wreck lies.

There is far too much symbology to explain in this post and if you read this but don’t think you will ever visit Geraldton then I strongly encourage you to visit the HMAS Sydney II Memorial website and take a moment to learn about Australia’s worst naval tragedy that cost the lives of all 645 crew.

And if you do visit Geraldton then you absolutely must visit this memorial and make sure that you do so at the time of the tour. The tour is free but like us, and the Seagulls, a donation to the volunteer helps to keep this memorial as a sacred and cherished site dedicated to the men of the HMAS Sydney II.

The HMAS Sydney II Memorial was an unexpected surprise to us knowing very little about the ship’s sad end. Equally surprising and somewhat exciting was the Museum of Geraldton…

Jo had given Rob a copy of Peter Fitzsimons book ‘Batavia’ for one of his birthdays. This was a gruesome and horrific story of a voyage and shipwreck that ended in debauchery, carnage and slaughter. It is a little known part of pre-Cook history when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships regularly sailed alog the coast of Western Australia pursuing the spice trade.

The Batavia was wrecked on the Abrolhos Islands west of Geraldton and the museum holds a number of magnificent arefacts from the wreck of the Batavia. Rob, having read the story was very eager to view these relics and was thrilled to be able to actually touch the canons that were retrieved from this infamous shipwreck saga.

An absolutely stand-out exhibit was the full size replica longboat from the Batavia that floated in the dock area beside the museum. This small open boat carried the Batavia’s commander, Francisco Paelsart and small number of crew and passengers from the Abrolhos Islands to Batavia (Jakarta) where a rescue was arranged for the survivors of the monstrous slaughter that occured after they left. It truly was a horrendous and tragic voyage.

We had hoped to take a trip out to the Abrolhos Islands but alas the tours were only focussed on fishing and snorkelling with no real accress to the historic Batavia sites. So we had to suffice with the museum exhibits that brought the story to life as well as all the other Dutch shipwrecks along this stretch of coast, including the ‘Zuytdorp‘, which ran aground off Kalbarri.

It is believed that the Zuytdorp survivors climbed to the top of the cliffs and may have ‘intermingled’ with indigenous Australians in that region but to date it has not been conclusively proven that this happened.

The shipwreck exhibits in the Museum of Geraldton were absolutely fascinating and riveting in their misery, brutality, suffering as well as the survivors stoicism, ingenuity and in some cases heroism. They were made of much sterner stuff than we.

The museum also housed a number of more contemporary exhibits including a travelling exhibition of costumes, props and storyboards from the ABC series ‘Cleverman‘. The show was loosley based on indigenous stories brought into a contemporary setting featuring an indigenous ‘super-hero’ character. It was a show that flew under the radar but is well worth watching if you can find it on streaming sites.

All in all the Museum of Geraldton was an absolute gem and manages to pack an awful lot of historical and contemporary exhibits under one roof without being cluttered or stuffy. Like the HMAS Sydney II Memorial, it is relevant, well kept, well presented and a credit to the town.

Pink Lake

Only a couple of kilometres from Linga Longa on the way to Port Gregory is Hutt Lagoon, also known as the Pink Lake. We passed it a number of times during our stay and noticed that the colour change quite dramatically as can the level of the water. The pink colour is the result of a type of algae that produces ß-carotene, used in food colouring.

The lake is actually below sea level so saltwater seeps in as well as rising up from springs. Apparently the water level fluctuates with air pressure more so than evaporation. Regardless of the hydrology and science behind it… it is a visually stunning body of water.

Port Gregory

A few more kilometres on from Hutt Lagoon is the small seaside village of Port Gregory. It is a small holiday village with lots of shacks and a general store. One of the attractions is the high coastal sand dunes used for trail bikes, quad bikes and dune buggies.

The beach is sandy and quite attractive with a long sweeping reef that halts the wave and creates a calm lagoon area where plenty of boats are moored. Like most W.A. beaches you can drive onto the beach and there were quite a few 4WD’s taking advantage of it.

Whilst we were there we watched a bloke with ‘city 4WD’ coming off the sand behind another vehicle, with a custom-made 4WD dune buggy behind him. As he approached the ramp we could see that he had no idea about driving on soft sand and knew he was going to get bogged as he dropped his revs. We could also hear the dune buggy call from behind, “Keep going… keep going!!!”. No sooner than that then he bogged and dug in. The dune buggy pulled around him and the ‘city 4WD’ suffered the shame of being snatched out of the sand and up onto the ramp.

Horrocks

The Seagulls moved on to Northhampton after New Years Eve, which is only 40km from Linga Longa. We arranged to meet up for the day at Horrocks, another small coastal village halfway between the two.

Slightly larger than Port Gregory, Horrocks has a golf course in addition to a general store/cafe. We met there for a coffee before wandering down to see the beach and wander along it for a bit.

We had decent lunch of fish’n’chips and fish burgers at the general store and bade farewell to the Seagulls again until we met up again at Northampton. Unfortunately the lunch didn’t sit too well with Gary who suffered from a severe bout of indigestion that night that had them both worried. Luckily we did not suffer any ill effects continued to enjoy our stay at Linga Longa.

Just up the hill from the camping area is the partially restored Lynton Station homestead. The Lynton Historical Society has kept the homestead in good repair and you are free to wander around and through it at your leisure. It contains some displays but most rooms are fairly empty.

Sections of some walls are worn away and show some of the onstruction details including plaster rendering over thin laths of timber. The wood stoves and fireplaces are still in place. If you close your eyes you can smell the stews and bread that would have been produced from them back in the day.

Lynton homestead was built by the magistrate of the time who was a bit of an entrepreneur trying his hand at farming/graing and whaling. There was also a cannery established at Port Gregory, which was shelled, mistakenly, by a Japanese submarine during WW2.

The homestead is an imposing two storey building with high and low verandahs.. There is also a basement area that was a little creepy especially when looking up at how steep the steps from it were. Around the outside were som gardens with some interesting plants we haven’t seen anywhere else. They had green buds arranged in a conical shape that turned yellow as they opened with long red tendrils poking out. If they were a bit bigger you could be forgiven for mistaking them for ‘Triffids‘…

Back down the slope near the campground is the museum, which is freely open to the public and consists of a large brick shed with rooms of full of exhibits of antique tools, artefacts and equipment. Out the back there is a beautifully preserved horse carriage.

One little fact that caught us by surprise was that ‘Anna Leonowens‘, made famous in ‘The King And I‘ lived at Lynton after an unsuccessful attempt to set up a girl’s school in Perth. Her son was born at Lynton before her husband died and she moved on to her more well known period as the Governess to the Thai King (Siam).

There are two entrances to Linga Longa. At the southern entrance near the Hutt River mouth are the preserved ruins of the Lynton Convict Hiring Depot. IT was built and operated from 1853 to 1857, which was not a particularly long period of time. It was the first convict hiring depot north of Fremantle.

Despite the effort put into building it, it failed because of a scurvy outbreak due to the lack of fresh vegetables in that time. It looked like a pretty bleak existence from skeletons of the buildings that are left standing.

You are free to wander around the site, which consists of a barracks, bakery, store, administration building, cells, hospital and lime kiln for making cement. After looking around Lynton Station and these ruins you are struck with how harsh life was back in the 1850’s in Western Australia. Not only is W.A. a long, long way from anywhere else… the places within W.A., like this, are a long, long way from each other.

Northampton is only 40km away, a short drive for us these days but a long way back in the horse and carriage days. Life was above the subsistence level back then but not too far above it.