On the road again, Perth to Geraldton via The Pinnacles

The day the springs were fitted, I failed poorly in managing expectations.  We had expected the springs to take all morning to complete - so arranged a late check out from the caravan park.  

All was going well, I thought we would be on the road shortly after lunch - and being the beginning of a long weekend, we were keen to head north and secure a good site for the weekend.

The front springs were a fiddle - and the back wasn't much easier.  At least the boys knew their job, and I wasn't going to rush them.  Finally the brakes were bled, the wheels aligned and I was away... at 3pm.

To make matters worse, we had a medical item to pick up that was on the other side of town - and it too had been lost in the system over the Easter weekend.  I got back to the caravan park around 4pm to find Jo an the boys had packed everything up.    

My arrival was not greeted with warm hellos - in fact a glance told me I was in deep trouble.  They had been ready to go since lunch time too.  I suggested perhaps we should stay where we were and get on the road tomorrow, but another look told me that was not a smart thing to say.

After putting so much effort into packing everything up and waiting for several hous, there was no way Jo was going to be staying here.   There was nothing else for it but to hook up the camper and head out into the traffic.

It seemed half of Perth had the same idea - but the traffic was at least moving. There were plenty of other people also heading north - but they had one advantage to us I am sure.  They had already filled up their fridges with food.

We made a hurried shop at Quinns Rocks to purchase some groceries, and after a quick takeway burger for dinner, we put the headlights on and headed north.  

Of course we hadn't booked anywhere, so in desperation we called Cervantes Caravan Park.  Yes, they had one spot left - for tonight only.  No they would be closed when we arrived, but they would leave an envelope in the letterbox with directions to our camp.  And yes, the Dawn Service would be 6.30am in the Memorial Park, next door.  

Saved... for now.

Then I put the wipers on.

It started to rain - the thin lips in the passenger seat hadn't shown much sign of thawing.  We were driving at night, it was raining and I had a headache.  

At least we made it, found our camp site and in record time had showers and were in bed, 

The only thing that can make you feel better at a time like this is some other poor soul in a worse off situation than you.  The folks in the campsite next to us arrived even later - with the rain much heavier.  As they wrestled with their tents, and the kids who were tired, soaked and unable or uninterested in helping, I reflected, from the comfort of my bed, things could be worse.

Dawn Service

The Dawn Service at Cervantes was delightful, with a big turn out of around 300 people.  Living in a small community ourselves, we have come to much prefer the intimate settings of a small town or village for our ANZAC services - and Cervantes did a great job.

After a quick packup and then breakfast in the park, we went to Lake Thetis, one of the five places you can view stromatolites in Western Australia.

Stromatolites are not something that are exciting to look at, but these ancient microbial colonies are responsible for essentially giving us the atmosphere we breathe (and also our large deposits of iron ore).  They freed up oxygen in the early stages of earth's history, allowing life as we know it to evolve.  Pretty amazing stuff - and the kids did well to pretend to be as interested as they were.  

The Pinnacles

Neaby is the strange Pinnacles Desert, initially believed by Dutch sailors to be the ruins of an ancient city.  Limestone pillars, either the fossilised remains of tree trunks or tree root systems (the jury is out), rise above the bright yellow sand.  There are thousands of them to explore - and this was much more fun for the likely lads as they disappeared into the dunes.

We wandered through the Pinnacles for a while, imagining them to be bones of ancient dinosaurs or soldiers advancing over the dunes. It was a fantastic opportunity to let the imagination run wild.

We tracked further north and stayed a couple of nights at Lake Indoon.  The lake was dry - a sign it is returning to its natural state after 40 years as a 'permanent' lake due to clearing in the surrounding farmland. It wasn't particularly picturesque, but the price was right, and the sand was perfect for making Matchbox Car cities.  It was also great to be bush camping again.

Nearby down an overgrown rough 4wd road was Stockyard Gully National Park, and its 250 metre underground river.

The tunnel through limestone was great fun to explore, with a wide sandy floor, and plenty of headroom making it a most pleasant experience (unlike the lava tubes of Victoria).  Regular floods have ensured that none of the normal cave features such as stalagmites are found. It was fascinating, and we were glad to have made it to the cave/tunnel.  It did have a cost though - extra pinstripes on the side of the car from the overgrown track.  As an aside, the new suspension performed really well - which was a relief :)

With rain coming, we tried a different set up, using the car's awning instead of the camper's.  It worked, but if we were to do it again, we would spend the extra few minutes getting the main awning out.

As a bonus, it was easier to harvest the rainwater using this awning, so we left Lake Indoon with full tanks, jerrys and water bottles.

And so it was time to pack up and continue north to the warmer weather.  Our destination was Geraldton, to give Rocky a service and thorough checking over before heading to the sun.  We were getting excited!!