Finally on my own, on the road and free. First: 6 hours on the Greyhound to the heart of the midwest.
This first bus trip probably set a precedent for how much bus journeys – especially on public transport – are not going to grow on me. With the seat in front of me reclined and the child of the mum behind me having made her goal for the journey to conduct a fairly rudimentary test of the strength of her window, the 6 hours certainly didn’t fly by. The film provided some hope of killing a few hours but only managed one before it started skipping.
After a dreary start in perth, it was great to step into a warm, sunny Geraldton even if it did make the 10 minute walk to the hostel with hiking and camera bags a bit of a sweaty experience. It took about as long again to navigate to reception due to a push door being fitted with a pull handle and that resulting annoyance distracting me from noticing the fairly obvious directions in the hostel.
As someone without a car or much in the way of a budget i didn’t find a huge amount to do in the city – renting a bike allowed me to get up as far as the the river and sunset beach and down round the headland where the lighthouse is. The HMAS Sydney memorial was interesting as well as giving the best view over the town. I didn’t find the impressively built cathedral particularly compelling once inside, but maybe that’s just a reflection on my beliefs.
The hostel was great, i think the number and friendliness of long term guests are what made it such a nice place to stay at and there wasn’t a night where there wasn’t someone outside to have a drink or barby with.