It is yet another cold day with temperatures below 10 C early this morning and only up to 16 C by lunch time, fortunately it warmed up a bit more to mid 20's by mid afternoon. Geraldton is only 155 km away, but there is an interesting diversion along the way, the Pink Lake at Port Gregory, where we diverted slightly to see this phenomenon. Just about everyone else on the road had the same idea, as did a couple of tour buses.
It was well worth the small diversion into the township of Port Gregory. The Lake viewing lookout is on the way in and parking space was at a premium.
The contrast of the blue water from the Indian Ocean, against the pink water of the Hutt Lagoon is stunning. The pink colour in the Hutt Lagoon is caused by beta-carotene producing algae that thrives in the higher salinity water.
The lagoon is 14 km long and is the site of the World's largest microalgae production facility which commercially farms Dunaliella salina to harvest natural beta carotene. The facility os operated by BASF.
We drove on into the township of Port Gregory which has a caravan park, a general store, some public toilets and a nearby mine that mines industrial garnets, (almadine garnet) used for abrasives and water treatment, and the population is 64 people. Tourism is an important part of the local economy.
Back on the road to Geraldton the landscape quickly changes to extensive broad acre farming. The most distinctive crop at this time of year is canola, as it is in flower.
Cereal grains are the other main crops grown in this area including wheat and barley.
Soon we arrive in the rural village of Northampton, where it is time to stretch our legs and have morning tea. It is a popular spot for other travellers doing the same. In order to gain a bit of tourism interest, in 2018, a community art project was instigated called "A Ewe Turn" celebrating a long history of sheep farming. Scattered around town are 50 brightly coloured fibreglass sheep and kelpies. We saw a few.
It was a bit of a walk into the main street from where we parked, as finding long vehicle parking is rarely easy, but we discovered there was a stately old school, St Marys, which looked like it was getting a facelift.Alongside is a massive Parish Church (the Church of St Mary of Ara Coeli). It is a very interesting design, built from hammer - dressed red sandstone, designed by architect - priest Monsignor John Hawes, who was also responsible for a number of other buildings in this region.
St Marys Church
St Mary's School
There is also an old pub which appears to have sadly seen better days, no longer appearing to be in use. A more modern tavern was on the edge of town. What a shame to see such a great old building go to waste.
Northampton Hotel (Closed)
At the far end of town we found a bakery, had a coffee, and were told this town had an award winning vanilla slice, so we shared one with our coffee. The coffee was excellent, the vanilla slice needed some work. On our way back to the car we passed a second cafe with a sign out the front, home of award winning vanilla slice. Feeling somewhat cheated, we bought one and will try it later.
Geraldton is only 55 km away, so we arrive at Sunset Beach Caravan Park, (about 5 km North of town), at just after midday. It is a smaller park with a lot of permanents, but nice enough, and right on the beach. We set up, have lunch and drive into town to get a few essentials from Woolies and BWS.
The caravan park is not full and the sites are relatively generous. Like many parks we have stayed in, you need to back your van up over a kerb to get onto the site. It can be a delicate operation, as it requires a bit of brute force followed by an abrupt halt. We are also given the usual warning at check in to lock up our cars and van and not leave anything valuable in plain sight.
A look around the park to check everything out followed, as well as a quick look at the beach.
There is a gate directly to the beach from the park
Geraldton in the background, probably not the prettiest beach
Tomorrow we plan to go inland to see the wildflowers as this area is where they are famous.
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