HMAS Sydney II Memorial Geraldton

As we journied from Kalbarri to Geralton we stumbled across camping accom at Oakabella Homestead approx 15 mins north of Geralton and decided to stay here, only to find out it is thr most haunted site in WA... Exciting and all for just $21 a night!
We parked the camper in the paddock and the kind hosts let us leave Butsy while we headed into …

Didn’t get a feed of yabbies as we only caught three so we
threw them back. Saw a bower bird with
a hot pick stripe on his neck. Looked
like a punk rocker. There were a couple
of good walks around the dam and some really interesting salmon gums. They had died back and then regrown around
the dead wood. Drove over …

Packed the van and departed Kalbarri, we arrived at Rainbow Jungle just as they were opening. Wasn't sure what to expect and were very impressed with the variety of birds, the great setting of the aviaries, landscaping etc. Baz a 62 year old cockatoo walks around his area and enjoys attacking your toes or footwear and this can be disconcerting. So …

Gary and I found a dog friendly park not far from town, it was an old place, but adequate, and almost right on Tarcoola Beach. It needed some maintenance for sure, and sites were small. I missed the sound of the waves,even though they were close, the traffic on the highway masked it, oh well we have returned to civilisation.

Now it was …

Saturday 29th September 2012

We planned our trip to set off up the Brand Highway to Geraldton and back down the coast road as our round trip. We set off early to drive the road train route and up through the wheat belt, which takes approximately 5 hours. We saw a fox on the side of the road at Muchea, he stared at us for a bit before …

Saturday 30th September 2012

We were woken at 7:00 am by the clatter of the family above us dragging their dining room chairs over the tiled floor and the children, along with their father, yelling and bouncing their ball in their apartment and later outside our apartment door. The sound proofing of the Resort left a lot to be desired …

Today was shopping day. We have decided to purchase some snorkelling gear and some wetsuits so that we can do lots of snorkelling as we head up the coast. Also Carl is keen to get some lobster after watching the man get 8 in just an hour yesterday. So we checked out BCF, a local windsurfing shop, and a local camping store. We eventually purchased …

... the wreck of the Batavia in 1629. The museum also had an exhibition of wildlife photography which was absolutely sensational. The HMAS Sydney II Memorial was moving. I was fortunate to have a tour of the site with one other person so I got the inside ...

... camp about 10.30. Doing the tourist thing was the agenda for the rest of the day with a visit to the remarkable HMAS Sydney II memorial. This was truly a moving yet beautiful site to remember the brave sailors who sacrificed their lives during WW 2. ...

... portraits to buidings. The museum was excellent and enjoyable 90 minutes. After this I went to the HMAS Sydney II Memorial which is on a hill overlooking Geraldton.  It is a nice and fitting memorial which has been tastefully put together. I ...

... food stalls) so a bit disappointing. We learnt about the Batavia shipwreck and Mutiny at the WA museum Geraldton and went to the HMAS Sydney II Memorial. Attended dawn service at Birdwood house on Anzac Day with a couple of thousand other people, ...

... a noose (to catch the lobster with), a dive flag, some gloves and a catch bag. At lunch time we drove up to the HMAS Sydney II Memorial.  This is a memorial to the HMAS Sydney II which was sunk during WWII with a loss of 645 men.  The ship ...

... lost their lives and their families never knew where or how until the wreck was discovered in March 2008.  The HMAS Sydney II memorial is a beautiful design, featuring 5 elements.  The silver dome of 645 seagulls represents each of the lost ...

... two obligations. The first was to attend a barbeque put on by the WA Police, and the second was to visit the HMAS SYDNEY II Memorial. The barbeque was great, and they raised a some funds that they donated to the Steven Walter Foundation. Thanks heaps to ...