Drive: 340 miles total to Geraldton; 170 to The Pinnacles, then another 170 miles to Geraldton
Weather: 70 degrees with not a cloud in the sky- It was incredible!
Well we had our first holiday here in Perth - the Queen of England's Birthday. Now this may seem odd to most since we are in Australia; why the Aussie's would celebrate the Queen's birthday. Well, it is weird, especially because of the fact that even the Brits don't celebrate the Queen's birthday, and rumor has it, her birthday wasn't or isn't even this weekend....hmmmm...Oh well, it is a good enough excuse for me because we got a long weekend out of it ;) We realized very quickly that you cannot wait around long to book a vacation here in Australia. It was the end of the 3rd term for students, so many families take the opportunity to book vacations. I called about 15 kennels to board the dogs and FINALLY found a place to take them. We also booked one room, but were scrambling to find another room for the second night. Luckily it all worked out and we were able to take our first road trip up the Turquoise Coast of Western Australia since moving here 2 1/2 months ago.
Our first stop was north up the coast 270 kilometers (about 170 miles) to Nambung National Park, also known as The Pinnacles. The Pinnacles are limestone formations in the middle of the desert. It is quite odd to see them in the middle of nowhere. It was a nice attraction for us to see as well as stop along the beaches in Cervantes to see the crystal clear and pristine waters. The weather was amazing with not a cloud in the sky.
Me in front of The Pinnacles sign
The Pinnacles
Kaes in the crystal waters of Hangover Bay, down the road from The Pinnacles
Our final destination was further up the coast another 270 kilometers (another 170 miles) to the town of Geraldton. We brought our bikes along with us and our main goal for the weekend was to relax by the beach and see the town and coast while getting some exercise. Riding along the coast was a really great way to see what all Geraldton had to offer, and offset some of the goodies we consumed during the weekend. We got up early Sunday morning for a ride north of the town and rode about 1.5 hours. Afterwards, we met our friend's, the Kirkham's, for lunch before they headed back to Perth. Since we had to move hotels, we gathered our stuff and headed to our new location. We were very fortunate because the beach was just a short 100 meter walk. The beach was beautiful and quite peaceful. A nice getaway for all the hard work (Kaes) has been doing lately ;) We passed out early Sunday night and woke up early Monday morning to head south for a nice bike ride/calorie burn. The clouds had moved in from the previous two days, but we were able to get a great ride in to end our last day in Geraldton. After our ride, we headed back to get ready and head home to get the dogs.
Our hotel the first night - Ocean Centre Hotel
The town of Geraldton
Overall, our first road trip up the coast was everything we wanted it to be - quiet, relaxing, and peaceful. Now back to reality...
Click here to view the rest of the pictures from the weekend.
