I should know – I’ve stayed there three times now! Although my first experience wasn’t fantastic, (blown away by strong winds), I came back a few weeks later and had six nights here. Sometimes it’s not the place, it’s the people you meet when you’re there, but Coronation Beach ticked both boxes my second time around.

A very friendly group included me in Happy Hour every day thanks to another solo traveller, Kevin, who was camped nearby me. This whole group got on so well that many stayed longer than they intended. One night we had a group barbeque at the facilities there and ended up playing a dice game that Kevin had learned at Barn Hill. It seemed to go forever, but there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, unfortunately not won by me!

We collared a couple of backpackers to take a group shot for us and they couldn’t believe that we had all only just met each other over the last few days. They were convinced we were a Caravan Club that knew each other well! It was a great fun group and I really enjoyed their company.

A couple of the guys had crab pots in and caught this wobbygong (shark) in one of them – no crabs unfortunately. It made a brief appearance for a photo shoot and then was quickly released back into the sea where, with a bit of encouragement, it swam away….very relieved I would imagine.
The group disbanded with everyone going off in their own direction and I took a detour back to Geraldton for some shopping before wandering off to Oakabella Homestead, which was the subject of my previous blog.

After a few days at Oakabella I decided to go back to Coronation Beach and although I enjoyed it once again, the friends I’d made had moved on so it was a more solitary experience.
Every afternoon the wind blew up and the windsurfers and kite surfers arrived to test their skill. What amazing strength they must have to battle the wind and the surf as they do. My favourite part was when they were getting out of their wetsuits and into dry clothes…..plenty of nicely toned cheeks on view 🙂

I have to share with you the colour of the sky one night. It was after sunset and it truly looked like the sky was on fire – spectacular.

When I left Coronation Beach I once again headed back into Geraldton (only about 30kms away) to do some shopping but this time I took the opportunity to visit the stunning HMAS Sydney Memorial. The link I have included here has a page on the elements of the memorial that is well worth reading. The memorial itself sits high on a hill overlooking Geraldton and is dedicated to the 645 lives lost when the HMAS Sydney was sunk. Visiting here is a very moving experience and it’s interesting to read about the history, the sinking and the controversy that surrounded the whole event.

The dome is made up of 645 bird images – one for each of those who died in November 1941.

Then, with my cupboards stocked and the wine cellar replenished, I showed great imagination and went back to Oakabella for a few more days to enjoy Loretta’s company – and scones!