Overnight the wind picked up and things were rattling…. Matt and Sharon’s Wren performed admirably with no issues….

Unfortunately, the flies were out in force from the outset and the temperature was climbing quickly so we decided to head in to Geraldton to explore rather than go to the beach…

Everyone had a few different things to do and so we split up agreeing to meet for lunch at 12.

Rose had been having some issues with her wisdom tooth that had apparently just come through (??late bloomer??) and had planned to go to the chemist to get some bonjela to help with the pain…

Trev and I and Klaus and Beryl started at AJ’s café for a coffee and to have a look at what attractions we may want to check out…

After coffee Trev and I went down to the foreshore to have a look at the Big Marble  – which proved to give some interesting perspectives for photos…

Trev met a brother and sister on the beach who were about to go in for a snorkel – they gave him some interesting local info as to what areas are good for snorkelling – and apparently people can pick up lobsters out on the edge of the shelf in the bay…

The port at Geraldton where grain and ore are exported was a prominent feature in the bay…

We then drove up to the HMAS Sydney II memorial which was built to commemorate the sinking of the HMAS Sydney II off steep point in WWII during a battle with the German ship Kormoran – which also sunk in the battle.

645 Australian seamen perished in the sinking – the dome consists of 645 metal birds… A wall with the names and ranks of all the lost sailors was a solemn sight….

There was a pool of remembrance…

A sculpture of the waiting woman was positioned to be looking directly towards the location of where the wreck of the HMAS Sydney II was located…

The view across Geraldton from the memorial gave a good perspective of the city and harbour.

Everyone then met for lunch at the DOME café – the food was delicious and the ambience on the verandah listening to live music from the café across the road was great..

After lunch we drove up to the famous Point Moore Lighthouse painted red and white stripes…. Trev took advantage of the miniature lighthouse shower…

As the day was hot we were keen for a swim and so went back to the foreshore beach near the Big Marble and jumped in. The water was clear, cool and refreshing…

Trev got the kayak off the roof and went in to catch some small waves… Gordie and Matt also got in on the action….

Driving back to Coronation Beach as the sun set, we stopped to admire the view back towards Geraldton – farms, hills and mesas…. All glowing in the fading sunlight….

The view over Coro Beach was also beautiful in the dusk – our campsite was visible….

Back at camp, Klaus and Beryl had indulged in dessert from the Food Truck which comes to Coro every Saturday and Sunday – the single mum who runs it had not made enough to pay for her petrol today so we went over to buy ice-creams as well… and Gordie bought some sweet potato fries which turned out to be the BEST EVER….

Sunset over Coro produced what looked like flames of fire on the horizon….

We had happy hour outside our van and had a visit from Tracey and Chris the camp hosts – very helpful and friendly – and keen to ensure everyone was having a great experience at Coro Park…