Slept well but woke up early at around 6 which was 8 in Melbourne. Pottered around for a bit, had cereal for breakfast which Song had bought in Coles the day before then checked out, dropped the bags and walked to pick up the car. The weather was overcast but warm, with dark clouds over the bay heading towards us.
The car pick up was a bit further than I thought but we got there just as the rain came down, pretty heavy.
Not sure what it’s going to be like out of Perth but we can’t do anything about it so will just have to see.
Drove back to the hotel to pick up the bags and grab a coffee then we hit the road.
Traffic wasn’t too bad, but it was raining quite a lot.
It was about a 5 hour drive, but with stops would probably be nearer 8.
The road was good, but after a while the rain really came down and I had to slow to around 70kmh because visibility was really bad, but luckily there wasn’t much traffic.
It eased up after a while but it alternated between rain and sun for a while.
We pulled off at a place called Lancelin to look for something to eat, it was a small town so didn’t expect much and we were right, but found a cafe that was decent enough and I had a BLT and Song had a chicken wrap with salad, both were good considering.
Had a quick look at the beach which was a bit smelly due to some large piles of seaweed, and there were more dark clouds threatening,
Back in the car and on the road again, heading to The Pinnacles, a load of stones (much more interesting than it sounds).
The landscape along the drive was a bit dull, just scrub and bushes for the most part, but very green, it seems like it rains a lot. There were also the occassional white sand dunes which were nice. We also saw a couple of wild goats, so there you go.
By the time we got to The Pinnacles the weather had cleared up and the sun had come out, but it was still a bit cloudy.
The Pinnacles were amazing – thousands of standing stones, some a few centimeters tall, others a couple of metres and everything in between. You are allowed to walk among them, but not allowed to climb or sit on them – which of course we saw people doing. Arseholes.
I’ll post some photos, it’s well worth visiting if you go to Perth, you can get a coach trip.
Back in the car and then a non-stop drive of about 3 hours to the hotel in Geraldton. I did consider stopping for a break but didn’t need it, the road was good (one stretch was just straight for miles), not much traffic, no rain and if I did stop I might have ended up driving in the dark which isn’t a good idea.
Got to the hotel just as the sun was setting, dropped the bags and looked for something to eat, decided on a place right next to the hotel – decent enough again, I had fish and chips and Song had a seafood platter. Both meals were good and it meant we didn’t have to drive anywhere.
The hotel was comfortable enough, had a bit of an 80s / 90s vibe and was OK, but places in this area are limited so it was fine.
Watched a couple of episodes of The Crown (we’ve just started to watch it in honour of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee – not really, we’ve just run out of stuff to binge) then slept.