I awoke to the tinkle, tinkle sound of rain pattering down this morning. That and the dreaded alarm clock screeching at us from the kitchen, letting us know that it was time to get up and switch the washing machine on. Rather than stay up as I did yesterday, I drearily crawled back into bed, to squeeze in between the dogs who have come to realise that the ringing of the alarm signals their chance to jump up onto the bed without being unceremoniously dumped back onto the floor.

It was another hour later that the alarm again precipitated around the van. This time we did drowsily toss back the covers and clamber out. There were a few chores that needed to be done before we headed out to face the day. On a positive note, the rain hadn’t hung around too long and while there were still a few clouds that looked like they could open up at any moment, the sun was breaking through.

With all of the tasks done and the dogs given a walk out the back of the park in the specified exercise area, we mounted up and headed for town. There were a few shops that we hadn’t had time for yesterday, as well as squeezing in a bit of sightseeing. We also arranged to have afternoon tea with a couple of Geraldton locals, John and Betty. We had met them at a roadside camp the other side of Kununurra, and made tentative plans to call on them when we reached Geraldton. It was rather funny when I called and John happily invited us over to their place for a cuppa, then in a round about fashion, tried to figure out who we were. It was the mention of meeting them in the rest area on the night that we were all woken up in the middle of the morning by the errant setting off of fireworks that jogged their memory.

The shops that we had held out so much hope for turned out to be nothing special, although interestingly, we did nearly get ‘The Beast’ stuck in a tiny little car park. Driving in was no effort, but there was no room to easily turn around to get back out again. After a tense few minutes and a multi-point u-turn, we thankfully managed to make our way back out to the road. This was all conducted under the watchful eye and amusement of the massed gaggle of youths looking on at our dilemma.

We sought out another old gaol to tour through next, finding the old Geraldton penitentiary next to the visitor information centre. Rather than just open this old building up to curious tourists, each of the cells has been transformed into little showrooms for craft artists to sell their wares from. Thus, we had a history lesson about the conditions of the gaol during its day, while checking out a vast array of handmade craft items. I thought it was a fantastic way to utilise an old building that was on the verge of being torn down before it was saved by a group of locals. It was then restored to its current state, before being opened to visitors.

Bec about to entre the old gaol.

Strangely, Bec wanted to shut the door.

The information centre right next door is itself housed in an exquisite old structure, but having missed the guided tour yesterday, we were able only to see what was on offer in the visitors centre section of the building.

Point Moore Lighthouse.

We drove a little way out of town next, through the Geraldton port precinct to Point Moore, where under the watch of the nearby Point Moore Lighthouse, we kicked off our boots, rolled up out pant legs and took the dogs for a run along the soft white sands of the beach. They both bounded happily across the sand, obviously having missed their daily outings on the beach. I think we may have started something, as they are now expecting a potter along the beach everyday.

Belting along the beach.

Without knowing what to expect when we arrive at our next destination tomorrow afternoon, we decided to stock up on groceries. With our afternoon tea date rapidly approaching, we rushed about the supermarket easily filling a trolley with all the supplies we should need to see us through the next few days.

It was off to see John and Betty then at their place next, where we spent a couple of hours swapping tales about our travels since we last saw them in Kununurra. It is amazing that we have followed similar routes from Kununurra to Geraldton, visited many of the same towns and yet seen entirely different sights. Such is the nature of travel and the vastness of Australia, it just goes to show how much more of this great country we have yet to see. Amazingly, they are due to be in Melbourne not too long after we return home, so we passed on our address, and sincerely hope that they return the favour and call on us when in our hometown. We will all have so many more adventures to catch each other up on by then.

Not wanting to outstay our welcome, and with much work to be done back at the van park before darkness descended upon us, we bid John and Betty farewell. The park we are staying at has a policy that you can wash your car and van once a week, an opportunity that we weren’t going to miss. We planned at least to give ‘The Beast’ a tub, figuring the van can wait until we get home. ‘The Beast’ hasn’t been given a decent wash since Darwin, and is starting to look more brown than white.

Getting my hands dirty and ‘The Beast’ clean.

With ‘The Beast’ looking as good as new again, and Bec having given the inside of the van a spruce up in readiness for travel tomorrow, it was time for dinner. Since it was already getting late and both of us were not in the mood to be cooking, we decided to buy dinner out. We had seen an advertisement for an award winning fish and chip shop that got me salivating about fresh fish and crispy hot chips and decided that this would be perfect for dinner.

The shop was back in town, which was handy as ‘The Beast’ needed fuel as much as we did and the service station was just around the corner from the multi-award winning fish and chips that awaited us. Imagine our distress when we drove past said fish and chip shop to find it swathed in darkness and no body home. We drove past three times before we were absolutely certain that we had the correct address, as well as being sure that it was in fact closed. Nooooo! What were we to do?

With our taste buds screaming out by this stage for a serve of chips and a bit of fish, we thankfully stumbled across a decidedly un-award winning chip shop around the corner. We could tell it was a fish shop, as it had the same ring of flashing light globes encircling the front verandah that every fish and chip shop in Australia seems to boast. Inside, the lighting was just as bright, shining down on a haphazard collection of brown vinyl upholstered chairs. It looked cheap, tacky and uninviting, but it was all that we could find at short notice and would have to do. Surely it couldn’t be worse than our recent lamb shanks or stir-fry.

As it turned out, other than leaving an oily slick across our dining table as the excess fat drained out, it was far from the worst fish and chips we have had during our trip.

Lastly, before I go tonight, don’t forget the kilometre challenge is still on, and entries are open to all. If you’ve forgotten how to enter, the rules can be seen here: Kilometre Challenge Rules (The Small Print).

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.