Western Australia Tourism & Accommodation Guide

Geraldton - Sun City, the Whole Year Round

Approximately 400km north of Perth, Geraldton (Sun City) has long been a favourite resort for Australians and travellers from overseas. It owes this to its year- round sunny climate, its pristine beaches, its pleasure harbours, its excellent fishing and its central position for touring up and down the coast or further inland.

Sun City is no empty boast. Geraldton has an average of 8 hours sunshine a day - summer, winter, spring and autumn. The Abrolhos Islands where the Dutch merchantmen in the "Batavia" ran aground, are the site of the first Europeans to set foot in Western Australia -

it is thought that two Dutch mutineers who were cast ashore managed to survive here and possibly lived the normal span of their lives here on the mainland.

Geraldton is a great place for just laying around and living the beach- life. You can hire windsurfers, charter fishing boats, tour inland, go horseriding, spend time scuba diving in the clear waters or take to the air in a charter plane to see the coast, the islands and inland scenery.

Geraldton is a deepwater port exporting grain and mineral sands to overseas markets. A visit to the fishing boat harbour, the centre of rock lobster industry, is a must.

The town is a popular tourist destination and has a backpackers’ hostel, hotel-motel, motel, caravan parks, villas, cottages and a good shopping centre. There are also al-la-carte restaurants, takeaway establishments and the usual counter meals at the hotel.

Water sports dominate the scene and windsurfing, surfing, swimming, body surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling and fishing, are all everyday activities.

Geraldton is also an internationally renowned windsurfing location. The most famous spot is Coronation Beach, located to the north of the town. "Coro" is a spectacular port tack jumping site, with flat water on the inside and unhindered Indian Ocean rolling swell offshore. In the late afternoon, the wind swings offshore and starboard tack waveriding becomes possible.

Geraldton is also home to a flourishing horse racing industry, which since 1887 has hosted the annual Geraldton Gold Cup.

Sixty four kilometres south of Geraldton is the picturesque fishing town of Dongara, its main street lined with Moreton Bay fig trees that join overhead to form an archway. It is another important link in WA’s multi-million dollar crayfishing industry. Testimony to this is to be seen at “suburban” Denison, one and a half kilometres to the south of town where a modern marina home ports to the fishing fleet.

The coastal plain between Dongara and Geraldton is known as the Greenough Flats and consistently produces some of the state’s highest yielding wheat crops. Along this stretch of road, visitors will see fully grown trees that have been forced parallel to the ground by the consistent south west winds.

The region boasts many historical buildings and museums but no visit to Geraldton could be complete without seeing the Greenough Historical Hamlet where several buildings have been restored to their original glory days of the mid-1800’s. Daily walk tours are conducted from 9.30am and are most informative.

Coach operators conduct regular tours of the region including the Greenough Hamlet, wildlife park (in the same area), Dongara, the city sights and Northampton. During wildflower season (July to December), they also run tours to the top spots to see the most spectacular of the region's famous wildflowers.

An air charter company operates flights to the Abrolhos Islands taking in the coastal cliffs and the Murchison River Gorges.

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