Category: Wildlife

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

According to Wikipedia ……

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

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.