Checked out of the Mantarays resort rather sadly as we’ve enjoyed this place, despite taking a very sizeable hit on the plastic, and headed south to Carnarvon, a mere 400 km away. Usual scenario – long straight road with very little traffic, so just set the cruise control and relaxed,  crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on the way.

Took a short detour to Coral Bay on the way down and rather wish we hadn’t. Teeming with tents, 4x4s towing caravans, kids and very hot (as the weather generally has been – anything between 32 and 35 degrees and cloudless blue skies). Anyway, drank a rather lukewarm coffee and headed on our way.

Arrived in Carnarvon at another Best Western motel, very similar to the one in Geraldton that we stayed in on the way up. Looks comfortable enough, and we are only here for a night anyway on our return journey to Perth. And at least it has a halfway decent WiFi, so I can update the blog……

Apparently, today is the Queen’s birthday (!) and virtually all of Carnarvon is closed as it’s a public holiday in Australia. Explains why Coral Bay was so crowded.

As per the motel in Geraldton, this modest destination sports quite a large public restaurant, which was really busy on a Monday night. One can only assume that it was the only place open for business on the Queen’s birthday in Carnarvon! Anyway, the food was remarkably good, both in terms of quality and quantity – neither of us could finish our meal. We had to ask to move tables as the main area was full of screaming kids. Very noisy. The staff managed this courteously and efficiently, to their immense credit given that they were so busy.

Temperature has dropped substantially and it’s blowing a bit of a hooly. Apparently the latter phenomenon is the norm around these parts.