We left Kalbarri reasonably early and drove south on the newly sealed road to Northampton. The road runs through the southern part of the National Park and we stopped to photograph more wild flowers.
Quite suddenly we were in cultivated farming land and the Australian landscape was replaced with a much more English prospect. As we drove further south the wheat in the fields grew taller and taller. Clearly there is a remarkably quick transition from bush to fertile land hereabouts.
We took a short detour to a place called, rather grandly as it happens, Port Gregory. There is one shop there and a parking bay overlooking the beach and seawall. We observed the birds, Jean talked to a ladybird, we wondered how the town survives and we left.
We stopped for lunch in a town rather oddly called Northampton. It is presumably named after Northampton in England but it is very, very much smaller and it isn't any more interesting than its namesake.
We went into the Tourist Information Centre at Geraldton where we were given an info pack with details about all the happenings and directions to the Moonyoonooka Polo Ground where free camping had been arranged. They didn't say how far out of town it was so we were a bit surprised when we had travelled 15 km (10 miles) before we eventually reached it. We settled in to a parking spot among the motorhomes who were already there.
Later on in the afternoon, we were told that they planned to play polo on the field we were parked beside so we moved to another spot a little further away from the possible action.
Happy hour was once again among friends but the chill of the evening drove us indoors and we were grateful that there was still some hearty beef stew waiting to be eaten.
There was a craft market in town which Jean was keen to see and we offered a lift to the some friends who are without a car who also wanted to go.
We set off with Alan and Willa to drive into town. We dropped the ladies off at the craft market and promised to return in an hour.
Alan and I went to the Fishermans Harbour to look at the cray fishing boats. Many of these are out of the water and we were able to drive round and inspect the boats from close quarters. These vessels are clearly in stiff competition with one another and speed is a key to success. Many of the boats are twin screwed and all exhibit clean lines and sharp flared bows. As each boat is worth between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and as we saw perhaps fifty boats, the investment in this one industry is extraordinarily large even for a sizeable town like this.
We returned to the craft show just as Jean and Willa were coming out. Jean had seen a stall selling African pickles and sauces which she thought I might like to try. We bought some eggplant pickles, some Trinidad spread and some "Too Hot to Touch" chilli sauce.
We next visited the HMAS Sydney Memorial. This is on the top of the hill right behind the town and provides a panoramic view. It is one of the most impressive memorials we have seen. It has at its centre an eternal flame hanging above a ships propeller which acts as the altar for memorial services. This set inside a dome supported on seven pillars representing the seven seas and the dome carries 645 stainless steel seagulls, one for each person who died when the ship was lost in 1941 while engaged with the German ship Kormoran.
To seaward of the dome is a Stele perhaps 15 metres (50 ft) high representing the prow of the ship and a bronze statue of a woman forever looking out to sea in expectation of her man's return. This bronze is beautifully done and conveys with great feeling the notion of every woman who has lost her man in war.
On either side of the entrance there are granite walls carrying the names of all those lost together with a brief historical note and an explanation of the significance of each part of the memorial.
One would have to be made of stone to fail to be deeply moved by this memorial.
We needed to imbibe some fluids so we sought out a pub, a task that took longer than we would have expected. Eventually we found somewhere to have a beer or two and we were able to sit out in the garden to avoid the noisy, smokey atmosphere in the bar.
We then needed to eat something and there was a sushi bar, called Chish and Fips, just down the road. There weren't many votes for this place but we did check it out and were assured by patrons that the food was very good. We ordered fish and chips for four and I added a box of sushi for starters. We found a beach park to eat in and, accompanied by many, many silver gulls, we ate a hearty lunch.
We all had had a pleasant day and returned to a somewhat muted happy hour because the weather had turned cool and a little rainy.
We went into town to do the laundry and a bit of shopping. The only drier not in use refused to take the money so we took the wet clothes back to Moonyoonooka and hung it out to dry in the sun.
Having time to spare and water available, I washed the Motley, the Little Motley, and the white box on the trailer.
Another couple of Highway Wanderers turned up during the afternoon and happy hour was lively if a little chilly. It was so cold that gin and tonic gave way to coffee laced with cognac.
We went into town to return some trousers that Jean had bought at Target but which were not correctly sized and have a cup of coffee before returning to the polo ground for lunch and a restful afternoon.