Hamelin Pool & Geraldton Again

Fleur Tea Rooms.

We headed off from Dongara, all the way to Geraldton, a total of 65kms. We were there in 45 minutes!! We went back to the Bel Air Caravan Park, got the same big grassy site we had last year, and settled right back in. There is something nice about coming back to a place. You have familiarity, and you get a feeling of being back at home.

Didn't take us long to find our old favourite coffee spots in town, The Jaffle Shack and Fleur Tea Rooms. We get that look that says "do I know you?" and quickly find the coffee and tea is still just as good. We are only in town for four days, time to do a couple of repairs and regroup. At Dongara, I had backed over a low bollard at Dongara, and broken a bit of plumbing, so I was off to buy the bits so I could do my own repair. Getting quite handy these days!

The Anglican Church.

Restored farmer's cottage.

A little way out of Geraldton is the historic settlement of Greenough (pronounced Gren uff). The old buildings have been restored, and the village closed off to traffic. You enter the grounds via the shop/cafe (fancy that!), pay the reasonable admission price of $5.00 for seniors, get your self guided map, and off you go. The grounds are full of Llama and Alpaca, that are just so docile. We wandered our way from schoolhouse to police station to Church and more. There was a DVD running in the community hall. we watched it for around 30 minutes, before realising we

Not all the roads have reopened.

Laid back Llama.

had watched just 2 of the 26 segments! The dulcet tones of a 4th generation ancestor recounting detailed memories of when Harry met Sally, had me nodding off in no time! A sharp elbow in the ribs, and I was on my way out the door, heading for the church. It was all a pleasant walk on a beautiful day. We passed on the cafe, having hit the tea room before venturing from Geraldton. We took a drive through the local countryside, and found evidence of the floods. Rivers are still flowing and some low level crossings are still closed. We cracked up

Greenough's famous Leaning Tree.

We didn't see one!

as we read a sign heralding a Python Crossing!! Didn't know they were that predictable!! Half expected to see a lizard in a fluro vest holding a stop sign!! We drove on slowly and soon came to the other thing that Greenough is famous for, its leaning trees! Quite bizarre really. Apparently it is to do not just with the wind, but the fact that the wind keeps blowing the bark off one side of the tree, meaning it grows faster on one side! 

A cuppa along the way.

Welcome to Hamelin Station.

Repairs complete, and restocked, we were back on the road again north, this time headed for Hamelin Pool, home of the oldest living things on earth, Stromatolites. Driving north, it is such a contrast to the dry of last year. The countryside is lush and green. Sticks are once again bushes, and grass grows where before there was just red earth. Amazing what Mother Nature can do. North of Geraldton we are soon back in the outback. No towns, just Roadhouses for fuel and food. We have learnt that they vary enormously when it comes to food, so we have packed our

Reception and meeting area.

Set up at Hamelin Station.

morning tea, and make a nice stop along the way, to stretch the legs. We have decided to stay at a working station, called Hamelin Station. It is free camping in that there is no electricity or water to the sites, but they have shower toilet and cooking facilities. There will be no phone or internet coverage either. Mid afternoon we check in, and what a pleasant surprise. It is beautifully kept and mostly new! The managers, Rhonda and Ian, are just lovely and so helpful. It is $12.00 per person per night, and we get to choose our site. All the sites have a shell grit

Boardwalk over the Stromatolites.

History of Stromatolites.

base, are large and well spaced apart. The amenities and other buildings are wonderful. On our first night, there are about eight caravans staying, and Happy Hour at the communal lounge is compulsory! We meet some lovely people, all sharing their experiences and caravan stories. In no time, two hours has flashed by! You step outside into the dark, and are met by the cry of the night hawks, and look up into one of those clear outback skies full of a zillion stars. It is one of those recurring sights that we never tire of. Just

The original Old Telegraph Station.

Stromatolites at play.

magnificent! The next morning we head down to Hamelin Pool, home to the Stromatolites. These little microbiolocal little creatures survive in the ultra saline waters that exist at the end of the bay, and are the oldest living things on earth. The viewing is really well done with a boardwalk out over the Stromatolites. It is actually quite underwhelming staring down at the little clusters on the sea bed. They don't do anything, but I guess when your 3.75 billion years old, walking is a chore!. Anyway, we strolled back to the caravan park and store,

Life was tough for our pioneers.

Shell block quarry.

where the action was a bit like the Stromatolites. The tired old caravan park has obviously been impacted by the Hamelin Station Stay. But then again it is home to some history, as the old Telegraph Station, is the last standing building from the days when telegrams went overseas by cable. The place is also home to a Shell Block quarry. The enterprising original settlers used blocks cut out of the quarry to build homes. It is no longer in use, other than to restore or repair existing old buildings. On the walk up to the quarry, we passed a small iron

Playing in the shells at Shell Beach.

One of the pretty hawks.

fenced grave site. It was the grave of a 7 month old baby of one of the original families working for the Telegraph company, and is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices that these pioneering families made. Above the grave on a power pole, was a beautiful hawk, standing like a sentry over the grave. From Hamelin Pool, we headed over to Shell Beach, which is absolutely amazing. It is a huge beach, but instead of sand, it is all shells. It goes for miles. The water here is also incredibly salty, so much so that if you swim here, then you come

A close up of Shell Beach.

Shell Beach.

out with a white salty crust all over your skin. We had a paddle instead. There is a type of cockle that thrives here as well, which is evident in some of the larger shells. It is absolutely amazing just how deep, wide and long this layer of shells is. There were a lot of Jelly fish in the water, and some small fish that must have aclimatised to the salt. Whilst you can't walk on water here, you can float very comfortably!

Goats along the roadside.

Nanga Bay Resort.

We wandered back to the Homestead, and along the way found quite a few goats which we thought were feral, but later found out were one of the things being farmed at Hamelin Homestead. We also went out to Nanga Bay, another remote location where a "Resort" had been built. It has become quite rundown, but is still open, with the caravan park modestly attended by keen fishermen. You can launch your boat from the beach, or drive up or down the beach to fish.

Back on the goats, we were fascinated to find out that they live export goats by plane to

Steve lands the drone.

Steve's drone takes flight.

Malaysia! The Station owner called by at Happy Hour, and we were fascinated to learn that this was happening. Apparently they get 1,000 goats on a plane. So does that mean that cattle class is now goat class??? Back at camp, I got talking to our neighbours, Steve and Jenny. They had just come back from a day at Steep Point, Australia's most westerly point. They are on an 18 month sabbatical, and he is using a drone to take aerial photos, and is paying his way selling photos to caravan parks and councils and anyone else who wants to see what their place looks like from above. He got the drone out and was running it through its paces taking photos of the sunset. It has a Go Pro camera mounted, and has a

The new amenities block at
Hamelin Station.

range of about one kilometre. He was showing me some of his photos on his lap top. Just unbelievable! We headed over for our last Happy Hour. Manager Rhonda had come over, and told us that she'd done a fresh batch of scones, and whipped up some cream and jam. This night, the station owner and wife came over to join the gathering. Guess the smell of those scones wafted over. We are off in the morning, but have had a marvellous time. It is our first lengthy stay using our own power and water, and the caravan has comfortably lasted three nights. We used just under one tank of our water, and the solar panels kept our batteries topped up. We haven't missed the phone or internet at all. Too bloody busy!!!