We left Cervantes and continued up the recently refurbished Ocean Drive. Along the way we called on the pretty little ports of Jurien Bay, Green Head & Leeman with a lunch stop beside the Indian Ocean on a small cliff top. The sea can be merciless in its force and recent high tides and strong swells have left a trail of weed deposits and high water marks in various place we have been.

Boat Harbour at Jurien Bay. We are always amazed at the beautiful, clear, sparkling, clean water on the west coast.

Port Denison and Dongara are twin towns that are like a little return to coastal paradise after the long stretches of coast line with farmlands and tiny fishing towns. Markus got chatting to a German gentleman who was driving a Unimog which he had fitted out as a camper himself. Markus is in love……..a future project perhaps?

The trees around Greenough are a vision of resilience; living with the reality of harsh southerly winds.

We pulled into Geraldton late in the day and set up camp at Coronation Beach with enough time to enjoy another spectacular sunset. Ginnie is trying to figure out how to introduce a mandatory stop at the end of every day back in city life, to pause and drink in the sunset, enjoy a moments quietness and be thankful for the blessings of the day. Markus thinks the answer is to spend every day “on the road”!

We have found cycling around the various towns and cities a great way to explore (and get some exercise). We enjoyed cycling around Geraldton, enjoying the sites (check the video on Markus’ Facebook page).

We loved the War Memorial to HMAS Sydney II commemorating the 645 sailors who were lost in battle in 1941.

The highlight of our time in Geraldton was a flight to the Abrolhos Islands thanks to friend and fellow explorer Peter Langston’s recommendation to do this. We set off bright and early with our pilot Wendy and two other passengers who were heading out to stay on the Islands for fishing and diving. These stunning coral islands are 60 km off the shore and are the scene of the Batavia shipwreck with its tragic story of mutiny and now themporary home to seasonal fishermen, divers and nature lovers. We spent the day at Turtle Bay on Wallabi East Island, snorkelling, walking and marvelling at the remoteness and beauty of this unique and isolated location.

Fish & coral reef where we spent hours snorkelling. Poor quality image is lifted from Markus’ underwater video.

We saw a large Osprey nest and were lucky to see this one soaring above and feeding on a mouse. Markus says that the following pictures are all of stunning birds he saw on the island.

Turtle Bay, our home for the day. You can see the reef where we snorkelled to the right.

View from the plane on our flights home. You could spend weeks exploring these islands.

Another great chapter in our journey 🙂