Lap Around Australia: Port Gregory pink lake

Port Gregory Pink Lake

Our intended destination today was Geraldton, albeit with a few route diversions and stop-offs along the way to see some interesting sights. We got underway early from Wagoe Beach and headed off south towards Port Gregory. Port Gregory is a picturesque fishing village encircled by five kilometres of exposed reef. It was originally established to serve the Geraldine lead mine and whalers, but it really wasn't suitable for large vessels. What really piqued our interest was the nearby Pink Lake. The pink colouring is due to the presence of a carotenoid-producing algae, dunaliella salina, a source of beta-carotene Vitamin A. The lagoon contains the world's largest microalgae production plant and a commercial supply of brine shrimp used by prawn and fish farmers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lake (or Hutt Lagoon) is huge and we could catch glimpses of pink water from a long way off. Finally we came to a suitable viewing point big enough to accommodate our three vans and cars so that we could take some photos. It is indeed PINK! We even got an empty water bottle and filled it with water and you could see it was pink. It is also not drinkable, so we disposed of the bottle afterwards.



We drove all the way into town, stopping off to buy postcards from the one small general store and service station we saw. Then we parked at the town beach to admire the view. It is very pretty, but also very small and didn't seem to be overrun with tourists like Kalbarri. What! Not seem to be overrun? It was deserted!

























A little way out of Port Gregory are the ruins of Lynton Station, home to the Governor's mansion and convict ruins which is currently undergoing restoration work. We didn't stop here, but just beyond here where the road starts to climb some gentle hills we noticed that the Jackaroo was not changing gears properly on the hills and was not running properly. The Check Transmission warning light came on. Bummer! We knew there was trouble. Barb called on the UHF to advise the others we were experiencing car trouble and would stop for a while and let things cool down. We did that, then tried to proceed again. On came the warning light again.







We pulled over a second time and the others had also pulled over to wait for us. After a while we tried to get going again. This time John was driving in first gear at 25 kph. The light didn't come on and we crawled at snail's pace the thirty five kilometres to Northhampton. It was a very slow journey, made slower by frequently pulling off the road to let other drivers past. Luckily there were no big trucks and it wasn't super busy. Steve had asked a local for advice about mechanics in town and he relayed that information to us and we drove straight there. The man sucked his teeth when John described the problem and suggested we call RAC and get towed to Geraldton, as he thought it was a gear box problem requiring specialist work.



Luckily our RACQ Ultracare came to the fore again. We called them and they arranged a tow truck to pick us and the van up. The others had gone ahead to look at Northampton and all of us had already booked to stay at Belair Caravan Park in Geraldton. Rob, the tow truck driver, got the Jackaroo onto the tray of the tow truck and tied down, then hitched up our van behind. This is how we arrived at the van park, just as Karen and Steve and Ian and Kathy were checking in.







Rob dropped off our van into our caravan site and then took John and the Jackaroo to the auto repair shop. It turns out that Rob's second job is a custom's officer and he knew two skippers that John worked with on the City Cats who had previously worked in Customs in WA. Small world!

The next day we were advised that the problem is indeed the gear box. It needs to be re-conditioned and it can only be done in Perth. We will be stuck in Geraldton until it is repaired and it's likely to be in the region of $6,500 to repair! Ouch.

At least the towing bill is covered, and also a hire car for 12 days while we wait in Geraldton. We are feeling a bit devastated by this news and it's blown the holiday budget for sure. Still, we're going ahead with the repair not least because we can't afford a new Landcruiser (Barb's dream option is the big one with a V8 engine) this decade. Also we actually like the Jackaroo and it is otherwise well set up for the trip we're doing.

As a result of this breakdown we are no longer flying home in mid-November with a view to resuming in the new year. Instead we will drive home by the most direct route - a mere 4000 km - and explore south west WA another time. We still intend to arrive home in mid November.