Northampton – WrAnTz

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

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.

Hutt Lagoon – Port Gregory

Thankfully the wind reduced and normal service was resumed.

Hutt Lagoon – Port Gregory

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

Magistrates Quarters

Site Plan

The Depot Summary

The Lock Up

Depot – Interpretation Centre

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.

Road Trip – The Full Story – Pt 1 Thursday 28th August

First and foremost, the trip was for us to visit family. My grandson Ryan, his wife Rachel, and their three daughters, live in Sunset Beach, just outside of Geraldton. And this was the first opportunity for Gerry and I to meet the girls. The eldest, Talullah, was born in 2022, the middle girl, Loxley, was born in 2023, and the youngest, Sunday, was born just over a month ago.

Mid morning, car packed and my daughter, Denise, took the first stint of driving, primarily to get us clear of Perth city and suburbs, but also because she knows the route like the back of her hand. Driving through the city, the traffic was quite heavy but thinned out noticeably as we headed north on the Tonkin Highway. Near Muchea, we jumped onto the Brand Highway and then with a few kilometers behind us, we made a pit stop at Cataby.

From Cataby, I took over the driving for the run-up to Eneabba. At times the road ahead, and behind us was, pretty much, empty of any traffic. Although, occasionally, we would encounter road trains thundering down the road towards us. And, of course, the ubiquitous “grey nomads” with their off-road vehicles and caravans.

One feature of our journey was the vast fields of Rape, or Canola as my daughter calls it. For clarification the term “canola” denotes a group of rapeseed cultivars that were bred to have very low levels of erucic acid which is mildly toxic.

Rapeseed Crops – Canola

The glorious yellow of the flowers spread across the land on either side of the road. Prior to this trip, I had only ever seen sights such as these in the UK.

Rapeseed Crops – Canola

At Eneabba, we stopped for a loo break and also to grab a bite for lunch. Lunch consisted of chili sausages for me, some sort of pie for Gerry, and a burger for Denise. All of us thought the fare was of mediocre standard, but it filled the void, and we had the promise of a roast dinner to look forward to.

From Eneabba its about another hour and forty five minutes drive to Geraldton and Sunset Beach. Denise resumed the driving and it seemed that in no time we had arrived in Sunset Beach.

We had booked a chalet, at the Sunset Beach Holiday Park, for the weekend. And, arriving at reception, we checked in, and were soon esconsed in our accomodation. From the outside it looks a bit like a shipping container but inside was very fresh and modern looking, with all amenities. More than we needed as we were only going to sleep, shower and brew coffee here.

2 Bed Chalet – Sunset Beach

And so, with car unpacked, we headed up to Ryans house where we were made to feel really welcome, greeted as we were by two very excited young girls and a small dog. The adult welcome was a little more restrained.

The next few hours were spent with the adults chinwagging, getting to know the two girls and the glamourous grandmothers taking it in turns to hold the baby. As promised, we were fed to the point of plumptiousness with a fabulous roast cooked by Ryan after which we bade our hosts a temporary farewell and headed back to our accomodation for a good nights sleep.

Geraldton to Carnarvon

Awoke in Geraldton to wet pavements and fairly heavy rain. Seemed just like home in the UK, except that the temperature was up in the twenties. First things first, we had a full cooked breakfast. The Ocean Centre Hotel has so much going for it, but the breakfast let it down. Soggy toast, tasteless scrambled eggs and poor service.

Car loaded up we set out for Carnarvon. After a while the rain stopped but it wasn’t to be the last time that we saw it. After about forty minutes of driving, we are heading up the Northwest Coastal Highway and soon approaching Northampton. Having been following a road train for some time, we were presented with a much-needed overtaking lane. So I hit the pedal and we were soon speeding past the leviathan of the road. Admittedly by the time I passed the truck I was probably doing approximately 120 -130 km, which is exactly when I spotted the dark vehicle parked at the side of the road. The one with the strange device facing out of the back window. No flash, no blue meanies on motor bikes like back home, in fact no indication that I had been nabbed. I’ll just have to wait and see if this turns into a ticket.

A general comment for driving in Australia but it is amazing how often the highways folks put in place an overtaking lane and just as you reach it they will reduce the speed limit from say 110 km down to 80 km !!! Especially when the overtaking lane is on a long incline. Does that make sense ?

We passed through Northampton which looked to be a pretty rural town. I made a mental note that we should stop and have a wander on our way back to Perth.

5J7A3207_edited — I can see for miles and miles and …….. somewhere near Alma, WA

A few kilometers north of Northampton I stopped to take a photo of the never-ending countryside. According to the GPS on the camera we were near someplace called Alma.

On we traveled until we reached the Billabong Roadhouse some 180 km north of Northampton.

We topped up with fuel, made good use of the toilet facilities and stretched our legs at the roadhouse before continuing northwards.

Travelling along the North West Coastal Highway you begin to realise the name is something of a misnomer. Mile after mile of generally straight roads bounded on both side by sandy soil based bush might give one the feeling that you are driving over a very large beach but close to the coast ? Nope, I don’t think so.

If you look at a map of WA you will see that the road does run sort of parallel with the coast but in reality you are usually many kilometers away.

A few kilometers up the road from Billabong we topped a rise and I stopped to attempt to show how long and straight these roads are. These two photos show the north and south views of the North West Coastal Highway from a point near Carbla.

Looking South

Looking North

And so we moved on….. and eventually we made it to the 26th Parralel.

5J7A3216_edited — Your’s truly at the 26th Parallel

Now we were truly into the north of the state. The roads looked pretty much the same but the accompanying countryside had changed and soon we came upon signs for a lookout. We didn’t see any signs giving a name and there were no information boards explaining what you could see. Subsequent googling identified it as White Bluff or the Gladstone Lookout.

View To Sea – White Bluff

Cairn – White Bluff

Road North – White Bluff

Cairn – White Bluff

Plains – White Bluff

Road South – White Bluff

On top of this, very windy, flat-topped, hill we discovered a couple of “cairns” comprising all manner of memorial artefacts. Some were formal, cast iron, plaques. Most were just rocks that had been written or painted on. One of the “cairns” comprised various gnomes, dolls and other figures. White Bluff gives an almost 360 degree view over the Wooramel countryside. Showing the highway disappearing northwards and southwards, views across the plain and out to the sea at Shark Bay (I think).

descending, from White Bluff, we once again commenced our journey north. Pausing at the Wooramel Roadhouse to top up again with fuel. Shortly after leaving the roadhouse we crossed the Wooramel River ….

This picture doesn’t really show just how dry this land is. This river is actually just a sandy river bed. You get used to seeing signs on the road for such and such a river or so and so creek. Never seeing a drop of water or even mud in the little, narrow, gully passing under the road. However, the Wooramel River is quite a reasonable size. The pictures below show how wide and how dry.

Wooramel River Bed

Tree near Wooramel River

Tree and Pump near Wooramel River

After only another 115 kilometers we arrived in Carnarvon and checked into the Carnarvon Motel.

5J7A3259_edited — FootBridge – Carnarvon

This foot bridge was once part of the railway line from town to the One Mile Jetty. It now provides a pleasant walkway along the same route.

5J7A3260_edited — Fascine Boardwalk – Carnarvon

The Fascine is a picturesque bay in Carnarvon. The boardwalk is apparently popular with the locals for walking and picnicking. It wasn’t very busy while we were there.

We had thought to freshen up and go into Carnarvon for dinner. It, the town, appeared to be closed so we returned to the motel and had dinner in their restaurant. Which, as it turned out, wasn’t bad at all.

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