Geraldton, 420km north of Perth, is something of a marine graveyard. Several Dutch vessels including the infamous Batavia sank off the coast. Explorer George Grey, later South Australia’s governor, was shipwrecked at Kalbarri and, in 1941, HMAS Sydney went down with all hands after a sea battle with a German cruiser off Shark Bay.
Ironic, then, that these days this hot and windy port city is a magnet for kitesurfers and other water-sports enthusiasts.
Adding to its renown, just northeast of the city, is Chapman Valley Fishing Park, home to Wayne and
