After visiting the Pinacles at Cervantes, we headed north towards Kalbarri,
Eneabba is home to Australia’s first facility mining and separating rare earths into oxides. This processing facility is a new entrant in a market previously monopolised by China.
We based ourselves at the Eneabba oval, from where we could visit the new mine site and explore a few of the surrounding towns.
As the sun set over the remote kwongan vegetation at Eneabba oval, it was difficult to believe that this small town may become the centre of significant changes in the rare earth mining sector.
One of the big things on my list to see, was The Big Tractor in Carnamah. It was about an hours drive to the tractor, but it was worth every minute. We could see the massive tractor as we approached the small town. The steel tractor measures 16m long and is almost 12m high.
The tractor is a replica of the Chamberlain 40K, only 5 times larger. The Chamberlain 40K was the first tractor manufactured in Western Australia with production commencing in 1949. This little legend has played a significant role in local agriculture.
Standing next to this tractor you appreciate its size. At more than 40 tonnes, it is an impressive replica. We have seen almost 200 “big things” on our travels to date. In my opinion, it is the most impressive “big thing” we have seen.
Just outside of Carnamah is the Macpherson station. The old Chevrolet AK pickup on the way to the homestead, takes you back to a previous era.
The 1868 Macpherson homestead has been restored, but it was not open to the public when we visited.
Carnamah is surrounded by salt lakes. The Yarra Yarra Lakes Nature Reserve protects a few of these lakes.
We decided to take a detour through Three Springs, on the way back. The reflections in the crystal clear salt lakes between Carnamah and Three Springs were worth stopping for.
After a few days in Eneabba, we headed to the town of Green Head. We had a booking for a few days at Milligan Island Eco Camp.
This rugged little coastline has it all. From white beaches to swim and fish, sand dunes to drive on and a few great lookouts.
From the beach you can see the Rock Window of Milligan Island.
For the sunset we went to Point Louise Lookout.
On the way to Point Louise Lookout the car ticked over to 100 000 kilometres.
After Green Head, we spent a few days in Geraldton.
On our first day we explored the foreshore. The park along the shoreline is lined with things weird and wonderful. On the way to the breakwater we passed a colourful emu egg art installation.
Our next stop was the 1968 fully restored yellow submarine. It does not have any resemblance to the 1966 children’s song Yellow Submarine released by the Beatles on their Revolver album. This was an early attempt to simplify cray fishing.
Just past the yellow submarine is a non-breeding colony of sea lions enjoying bachelor life, basking in the sun. This is probably a splinter group of the sea lion breeding colony 60km offshore on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
One of the most popular attractions on the foreshore must be the Big Marble Horizon Ball.
We also visited the San Spirito Chapel. This small chapel was designed by Monsignor John Hawes, who also paid for the construction between 1935 and 1936.
The Heritage listed old Town Hall was converted to the Geraldton Regional Art Galley.
Ceramics of the Central Desert was on display when we visited.
The old 1857 jail narrowly escaped demolition before being repurposed as the Old Geraldton Goal and Craft Centre. Cells were converted into small workspaces, studios and shops where local artists can create and sell their arts and crafts.
After seeing some of the attractions in Geraldton, we decided to return for sunset to re-visit our favourite places.
We started our sunset run at the HMAS Sydney II Memorial where we passed the waiting woman sculpture on the way to the dome.
As the sun started to dip, the lights illuminated the dome.
Our next stop was back at the Big Marble Horizon Ball, in time for twilight. There were loads of other tourists contending to photograph the sunset through the ball.
What a great spot for a sunset!
On the way back we passed St Francis Xavier Cathedral and spent a bit of time on the labyrinth waiting for the clock in the belltower to chime.
We spent the next day along the Batavia Marina. After lunch at a local restaurant, we walked to the marina. The public toilet on the beach is painted to assimilate a massive Rubik’s Cube.
The Batavia Coast Marina is adjacent to the Museum of Geraldton.
Just after we arrived at the Geraldton museum, they announced a guided tour through the Shipwrecks Gallery. After a quick walk through the main museum, we headed to the Shipwrecks Gallery to join the tour.
The Shipwrecks Gallery is a separate exhibition with a wealth of information on the four Dutch ships that got shipwrecked on the mid-western coast. The ships featured in the gallery are the Batavia, the Gilt Dragon, the Zuytdorp, and the Zeewijk.
One of the most impressive exhibitions was the Castle Gate Way. The sandstone gateway was recovered from the Batavia shipwreck. Batavia was owned by the Dutch East Indian Company. The sandstone gateway that went down with the Batavia was carved in north-west Germany and transported to Amsterdam, before ending up as ballast on the Batavia. The 137 stones weighing 37 tonnes were destined for Kasteel Batavia, built in 1619 under Pieterszoon Coen in Jakarta. Needless to say, it never made it to the castle as the Batavia sank in 1629. The gateway was reconstructed in Geraldton.
In addition to the gateway, 17th century silver, glassware, coins and other valuable items were recovered. Some ancient local pearls were also on display.
After a few busy days in the city of Geraldton we retreated south-east to Ellendale Pool Campground.
Ellendale Pool is a quiet, relaxing picnic and camping area, popular with the locals.
Even the local wildlife seemed relaxed. The Australian Mallee Ringnecks were on the roof of the caravan every morning. We were warned not to leave any shoes outside the van as some wild foxes apparently take the shoes to their den.
From the Ellendale Pool Campground we were heading to Kalbarri. We we ready for a long travel day as we wanted to visit a few spots on the way. Our first stop was Walkaway Wind Farm. The 40m long blade dwarfs our setup.
Our next stop was Hutt Lagoon. This pink lake close to Port Gregory was fairly dry when we visited. Despite it being dry, the pink colour was prominent.
Parking at Hutt Lagoon was not easy and we could not spend too much time at the lagoon.
Our last stop before Kalbarri was Northampton. Northampton has the “Ewe Turn for Art” project with more than 50 painted fibreglass sheep scattered through town.
We loved Kalbarri from the moment we drove into the small town.
We booked a few days at a caravan park on the beach. This coastal town has lots to offer from great views over red cliffs to a world renown national park. We were surprised by the amount of overseas tourists in town.
During our stay in Kalbarri we saw the first impact of the middle east war on fuel prices. Even though the prices started to increase, availability was not an issue.
The Blue Hole Beach in Kalbarri is a popular swimming spot and even had a few people snorkelling in the shallow pools.
We did the Red Bluff lookout trail just south of Kalbarri. The views, rock formations and the colours were fantastic.
The rock formations close to Castle Rock were carved out by years of wind erosion.
We visited a few different beaches and lookouts to soak up the great sunsets at Kalbarri.
Back Beach had a very friendly galah that joined us for sunset. This galah was more interested in our drinks than our company.
On the way back from Back Beach we stopped to take a few photos of the blood moon.
Our last experience in Kalbarri was the pelican feeding show hosted by volunteers. This attraction has been running for 5 decades. It started in 1975 with a local fisherman, Cliff Ross cleaning his catch every morning.
Kalbarri is best known for the Kalbarri National Park just north-east of town. Before leaving Kalbarri we set time aside to explore the park, the lookouts and the gorges.