Road Trip – The Full Story – Pt 3 Saturday 29th August


Road Trip Pt 1, Road Trip Pt 2

And so, Saturday morning was upon us. We were up bright and early as we had planned to visit a rural fair at Mullewa. So having had a breakfast of coffee and toast, we headed to my grandsons house where we prepared the convoy. With the loading of buggy, kids, kid related paraphernalia, snacks, and adults completed, we set off on the hour long journey.

It wasn’t long before we had to stop. With two girls fighting and a baby that refuses to sleep, Mum needed to get in the back. So, Talullah and seat were transferred to our car and the journey continued. Oh, the joys of parent/grand-parenthood.

Pretty soon we arrived at the Mullewa Showground, disembarked and started in to watch the displays.

Entry was free, and making our way inside the show grounds, the first sight, and sound, that we were confronted with was a wood chopping competition.

Not so much chopping, as chain sawing. Needless to say, the Monty Python lumberjack song entered my brain and stayed for quite a while.

As you can see in the pictures it was a fine day and the girls were keen to get amongst the sights and sounds of the fair. Unfortunately, due to their young age, and small size the girls weren’t able to sample all the rides.

However, mum and dad were able to take them on the Tea-Cup ride and, with no queue, they had the ride all to themselves.

And then on to the pony rides. Here it was a different story. There was a queue, but the girls were very patient and it wasn’t too long before they were in the saddle and doing circuits of the arena.

While the girls were waiting for the pony ride I took the opportunity get some food. Which meant that, while I was in the queue for some Moroccan food, I missed getting close to the stunt bike show.

But, I did get some distant shots of the bikes grabbing some air. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

For the girls, Old Macdonalds Farm was the next destination. Here the girls were able to get up close and personal with rabbits, chickens, sheep and goats. And last, but not least, a huge turkey that was just crying out for cranberry sauce and stuffing.

Of course for the kiddies getting amongst the livestock was the priority. However, my focus was on the farm mechanicals. And I wasn’t disappointed. There may not have been many units on display but what was there was truly impressive. The thing with the caterpillar tracks would have had Jeremy Clarkson green with envy.

There was also a small automotive display. Although not on a par with the Goodwood Breakfast Clubs back in the UK, those vehicles on show were pretty unique, interesting and impressive.

What with the drive and the warm weather the girls were getting tired. To be honest, so were a few of us in the upper age bracket. So we ambled slowly back to the site entrance and our cars.

En-route the girls dropped in for a spot of face painting.

They certainly looked happy enough with the final results.

And so it was back to Geraldton for dinner and sleeps all round.

Road Trip – The Full Story – Pt 2 Friday 29th August


Following on from my previous post, Friday morning arrived and we headed back to the chaos that is my grandsons house where it was agreed that he and I would go out and do that touristy thing while the girls stayed to look after the smaller girls.

During a previous visit to WA Gerry and I took a trip up to Exmouth and on the return leg it was planned that we would make a stop, just south of Kalbarrie, to visit the Pink Lake, aka the Hutt Lagoon at Port Gregory. Back then our plans were thwarted by bush fires and we were diverted away from the area.

So the plan was for us to take a trip up to the lake and have a spot of lunch. It was also a great opportunity to spend some one on one time with Ryan. After a pleasant drive, we arrived at Hutt Lagoon with the water being a beautiful pink.

Guess Who? – Yours Truly

However, no sooner had I reached for my camera than a breeze blew up, ruffling the waters surface, and the pink colour disappeared. Ryan had warned me about this but we had hoped to avoid it happening. It was still very pretty, judge for yourselves.

Thankfully the wind reduced and normal service was resumed.

While climbing up to the view point there was plenty of flora and fauna to view including this perky little fella, a Western Bearded Dragon.

Western Bearded Dragon – Pogona minor

Once we had satisfied our curiosity at the lake, we headed off to the small town of Northampton for lunch. But lunch was delayed whilst we took a small detour

….. to visit the Lynton Convict Depot or alternatively known as the Port Gregory Convict Hiring Station. Convicts were brought here to provide workers for the Geraldine Lead Mine and for local settlers.

Lynton Convict Hiring Depot according to Wikipedia ……

The Lynton Convict Hiring Depot (1853–1857) was the first convict depot north of Fremantle, Western Australia. It was established on 22 May 1853 

The depot was operational between 1853 and 1856, and was designed to hold up to 80 convicts although it is believed that actual numbers varied between five and forty. However, most would have slept under canvas as the depot wasn’t completed unti 1855.

When the convicts eventually moved into the building their accomodation would have looked something like this. Sorry about the image quality.

Convict sleeping arrangements

I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be in close proximity to up to forty bodies with dubious hygene habits. Especially during WA’s summer heat.

An interesting site with an interesting history. Should you visit, wear tough footwear as the ground is somewhat uneven.

Linga Longa at Lynton

Having had our fill of WA history it was time to attend to our bellies, and so we continued our journey to Northampton. Rachel had done some research and suggested a coffee shop, on the main street, named The Shearing Shed.

Parking up, we ambled across across the street to a small but busy cafe with a huge menu. Ryan had a burger while I had a “Boss Cocky” which is basically a filled, two egg omelette served with fries and salad. Very tasty. These we consumed, sat outside at a picnic bench style table.

Rush Hour – Main street Northampton WA

According to Wikipedia ……

Northampton is one of the oldest towns in Western Australia, having been declared a townsite in 1864.

Opposite The Shearing Shed – Northampton WA

Replete, we clambered back into Ryan’s car and headed back to join the girls. It had been a really nice day out.

Back at Ryan’s it was time to join the fray and engage with the girls. Or should I say whirling dervishes. They really are a pair of pocket tornadoes, and both with the boundless energy of a Duracell Bunny, they soon had me exhausted.

And so, after the evening meal, and with the girls in bed, we headed back to our chalet for a little R & R.