On the road that follows the coastline from Kalbarri to Geraldton,there’s a few sites worth stopping at ! one of them is the old convict ruins at Lynton Hiring Depot.Only one building remains standing and the others lay in ruins, also down from the ruins is a very small cemetery with only a few headstones.There’s camping available at the Lynton Station,they charge $20 a night, that was the price they quoted us with all the kids and it was also including power and water and the caretaker there even offered us a lend of his sand boardsto go sand boarding down the nearby sand dunes,he was a nice blokeand once we got talking with him he told us quite allot about the area.The cost to have a look around the old Lynton Station is a gold coin donation and the convict ruins are free to have a wander around.
Lynton Hiring Depot,North West of Northampton.It was once a old convict settlement from the 1850’s which only lasted four years,apparently the convicts had been plagued by scurvy & the conditions were harsh.There’s a map just before entering the ruins which shows the original layout of all the buildings that once stood on this site
On the way up the track to the top of the hill to look at the view!
This is the statue up the top of the hill that over looks the convict ruins and further along Lynton Station,it was erected in respect for Ronald Wesley Simkin a descendant of the pioneering families and the man who started the work of preserving the convict ruins years ago.
The plaque that sits by the statute on the hill,Ronald's ashes lay here.
The walk into Lynton Station.
On the grounds of Lynton Station,in the background the Old Mill and the main residence( Sanford House )
This is inside the main residence which is still under restoration,they actually have school camps at the station and part of the camp is to sit up in this old house on one of the nights to tell ghost stories.
Sanford House Inside the old Mill at Lynton Station
The old stables,where inside they have many items on display from years ago!
A original old convict symbol stamped into the side of the wall of the old stables.
The beach at Port Gregory
Port Gregory isn’t all that far from Lynton Homestead,it’s only a small place by the ocean, on a calm day it’s a great place for a swim.
Hutt Lagoon (Pink Lake) you can get a great view of this lake on the way to Port Gregory,the lagoon is coloured by the presence of algae known as beta carotene in the water.It is also mined for salt.
The link below is a small video of our own night tour we took at what that they say is Western Australia’s most haunted house,Oakabella Homestead!
http://youtu.be/VXneWu7CO7E http://oakabella.blogspot.com.au/ ,Now this link is to Oakabella Homesteads site where you can read a little about the place and it’s past.
We had great stop over at this place and could have quite easily stayed on another night but had to make it to Geraldton the next day to catch up with a journalist we had met years ago who was running another story on us. Okabella Homestead is only about 30k’s north of Geraldton and open for day and night tours of the old but restored homestead from the late 18oo’s ,the tour also includes a look at the small museum of relics found on site and that's also including Aboriginal artefact's.There is also a cafe there where Loretta (manager) also serves up her home made scones! For the month of February the homestead is closed for tours.They also have camping available with power and water and pets also welcome. We made it there by afternoon,it’s not all that far off the main road but once we got to the homestead gates we realised we had arrived in the only month it’s closed February! Kicking ourselves we thought we’d get out and have a quick look around from the outside anyhow, along with also finding a place to turn around, while we were doing this Loretta the manager turned up in her car. To cut a long story short,we talked with Loretta for quite some time,she also opened up the cafe and showed us prints on the walls of the many ghost sightings throughout the rooms of the homestead and other buildings on the property.She offered us to camp for the night for only $16 with power ,we were made welcome even to the point where we were allowed to use the under cover out door area of the cafe and if we wanted to we could explore the property and parts of the homestead open,but under one condition we were not to call her if we had any dramas! So virtually here we were at the most haunted homestead in WA and we had it all to ourselves.We did explore the property while it was still daylight and had a great time.In photos I had seen of the homestead I had noticed there was also a creek with waterfall but because of the dry weather for some time, the creek and water fall down the back of the homestead had dried up. That night once the younger four kids had gone to bed we did our own night tour and no we didn’t see any ghosts but the atmosphere of the night set the scene for allot of screams and laughter from the kids. The next morning we found a note and a jar Fig Jam at our door step…….Loretta had told the kids it must of been a ghost that had left it there. Anyway if you are heading north from Geraldton, do drop into Okabella Homestead even if you are non believer in haunted places it's a great place to explore and to look at the items in the museum or maybe to have a chat with Loretta, as we found her to be a real character!
The Museum
One of the rooms to the side of the kitchen
Part of the shearing shed
This is down the back of the homestead where normally there’s water in the creek flowing
