The dome

This is the HMAS Sydney Memorial which sits on the hill over looking Geraldton. It commemorates the loss of the ship and its crew during WWII when it was torpedoed by a German raider disguised as a Dutch trading ship. The wreck was only found last year, after decades of searching.

Each seagull represents a person lost

Last days in Gero

Well I am sadly now back in Perth. I am really feeling the cold (Perth's min temps were 4 degrees last week. Maxes have been 17-21 which is not cold by many people's standards). Geraldton was 12-25 degrees, though it is cooling down now. Sunrise on my last day of work

The strange cathedral in Geraldton (I didn't bother taking pics of this til I was on my way out of town - slack I know).
On the road again

<-- Gero met office Lining up to land:

Taking off and landing are my most hated parts of flying. On this occasion, both were painless. After a short run-up, the plane lifted off the ground quickly and effortlessly. My initial panic (there was a lot of it) melted away as I got my camera out and admired the view, now green from the recent rains. Landing also seemed very fast, and didn't end with a bone-jarring thump as it sometimes does on airliners.
Then we took the plane back to the hangar:

All in all, a pretty good experience!

over town

new estate at Drummonds Cove

Town and foreshore

Pt Moore lighthouse

Taken to the skies again

Yesterday I decided to face my fears again and climb aboard a small aircraft. This time it was a 4-seater Cessna 172. It made the 7-seater Airvan (pictured below) I flew in last time seem huge! Above is SMY, the 172 with her trusty pilot Kieren. We took off around 5pm, so the light was fading.


Airvan at the Abrolhos

Miraculously, I snapped this shot of Kieren coming in to land SMY two days before!

Mount Tarcoola

Southgates dunes

Greenough River mouth where I like kayaking

Smiley face?

Secret lovers?

Mel got out of the shower today to find these two snuggling on her bed. They are holding paws!

They're going to miss each other.