Mario and Pat's Australian drive holiday

Day 19: 22/9/2014 Carnarvon, WA to Geraldton, WA Distance travelled: 485km

It was a pleasant drive down to Geraldton, unlike yesterday’s drive to Carnarvon.

I must say Pat and I were very impressed with Geraldton. It reminds me of Port Macquarie in NSW, but nicer. We stayed in a nice hotel called Abrolhos Reef Motel. We did a tour of the town and had a late lunch at the Freemason Tavern, also nice.

Geraldton is the capital of Western Australia's Mid West region and the gateway to the amazing Abrolhos Islands. Only 424km north of Perth. It has a population of around 36,000. Geraldton is the hub of the Mid West region, with a world leading rock lobster fishery, farming and agriculture and the production of iron ore, making it a truly thriving and sustainable regional city.

World renowned for an extensive host of water sports, Geraldton lends itself to some of the most spectacular kitesurfing, windsurfing, fishing and diving conditions. The surfing here is also a big attraction.

We looked at real estate and joked about getting a holiday home here. Yeah just a short drive from Sydney, only 4,300km.

I had been saying for the last 19 days that I was going to enjoy a nice Cigar and a drink at the next place that I felt relaxed and refreshed. Yep, Geraldton got the nod on that. I really enjoyed my cigar.

I must say that the morning did not shape up to meet those conditions. The temperature dropped to 15C and overcast. But, as the day progressed it got warmer and cleared up.

We went to see the HMAS Sydney memorial. The memorial overlooks Geraldton. HMAS Sydney was involved in a mutually destructive engagement with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, and was lost with all 645 aboard. The wrecks of both ships were lost until 2008

Tomorrow we are off to Perth, WA. We are staying there 2 days. I also have booked my car in for service at a RAC service centre. They are like NRMA in NSW or AAA in the USA.