Jurien Bay

From Geralton we travelled down the coast and spent a night at Jurien Bay, here we managed to purchase a couple of crayfish from a local fisherman, frozen unfortunately but still tasty.

The bay here is very pretty and a new curved wharf has just been finished.

Geralton

Geralton is home to the largest crayfish fleet on the west coast, it is also the wind surfing capital of Australia, not hard to believe when you see the leaning tree's

It  has a beautiful memorial to the sailors on the HMAS Sydney, it's a dome made up of 645 sea gulls which represent each soldier lost on the ship. There is also a bronze statue of the Waiting Woman, she looks out to sea waiting for the ships return.

Even she is fighting the wind!

There are some very interesting old building, this is St Xaviers and the Freemasons Hotel.

You would think a town this big would have a chinese restaurant open on a Saturday at lunchtime, but no, all three were closed! WA 2 hours and 20 years behind!

Pink Lake Port Gregory

Port Gregory is a very small coastal town which has a natural bay formed by a reef which encloses it, we came through here on a rainy day but you can see where the waves break on the reef in the background of this photo.

As you make your way into Port Gregory you pass the Pink Lake, the water has a distinct pink tinge which is very pretty but not caused by anything pretty, it's a bacteria which gets trapped in the salt in the water!

Kalbarri coastline

Kalbarri is where the outback meets the sea, the coastline is a mixture of white beaches and red rock cliffs which are covered in wildflowers.

Kalbarri - crayfish and beaches

Karbarri is another fishing town but this time the main catch is crayfish (lobster) Mick and I were watching one of the boats come back through the heads yesterday and commented he had collected all his traps, the reason for this is yesterday was the last day of the season, so I guess we will be looking at a frozen lobster if we get one!

The water here is clear blue and beautiful, we have been blessed with yet another sunny day so decided we would drag out the swimmers and head to Chinamans beach which is just down the road from our caravan park. The water was cool at first but then got better, who can believe you would have this all to yourself, I would like to wrap it up and take it home with me.

Later we went to Finlays Fish BBQ what a stange place, a must do if you are ever here, the food was excellent and then after dinner we headed out to the main fishing wharf to see if we could land anything, caught 4 very nice bream on the top of the tide, 11.30pm and a bit chilly but we were the only two people on the wharf, amazing.

More Wildflowers

Heading from Carnarvon to Kalbarri you drive through a sea of colour, the wildflowers on the side of the road are amazing, the amount and variety is incredible.

Carnarvon

As you approach Carnarvon the first signs of cropping greet you with fields of green, Carnarvon is famous for Banana's and other fresh fruit and vegies. We were lucky to be here on a Saturday when the locals bring their produce to market, banana's for $6.50 a kilo and tomato's with flavour, fabulous, also you can buy wine in any shape or size without restrictions!

Carnarvon is a fishing town and the old original jetty goes out for a mile, it is now only a tourist attraction, you can take the train ride out and back for $7 or walk it for $4.

The end of the wharf is in need of repairs so we were unable to go all the way out

As the train can no longer turn around the driver has to reverse all the way back to the depot using his mirrors

The wharf is quite a famous fishing spot and many a large jewwie has been caught here, Mick and I did have a fish early and caught a heap of tiny bream and then Mick pulled up a large mud crab and somehow managed to flick him up onto the wharf before he let go of the bait! He was yummy.
The original lighthouse keepers cottage is open to view and has been restored and furnished with original pieces, a very interesting display.

Carnarvon is set on the river and the town is very pretty, everything surrounds the water.