Monday 13th November – Kalbarri National Park

We awoke to more drizzle and grey clouds.  Not very motivational but maybe better for hiking around a park than the blazing sun.

Before setting off we did our vehicle checks.  The oil and coolant levels had been looking a bit low so we topped both of them off.  Travellers Autobahn make it clear that these very basic checks should be done regularly as if the engine fails due to lack of oil or water then we are completely liable.

Back past the pink lake (not looking so pink today) and as we neared the town of Kalbarri we started to see a sure sign of scenic delights, the brown tourism signs.  The stormy weather today actually suited the rugged coastline that we saw from various viewpoints.

I don't even know what this bug is, but it's cool!

There was another natural bridge, island rock but sadly no eagles to be seen at Eagle Gorge, only randomly this sheep:

It took quite a while to drive or walk from point to point, all the while keeping our eyes fixed to the water hoping for sightings of marine mammals in between watching the overhead kestrels.  We stopped at Jakes Point for lunch to watch the surfers before we even reached Kalbarri town itself.

There we did the usual thing – stopped at the VC where we acquired a couple of codes to be able to borrow some WiFi for half an hour to get our fix.  Then it was time to find a tap to refill the water tank which seems to drain very rapidly in this camper, I’m talking on a daily basis, and fill the other tank that seems to disappear into nowhere, the petrol one!  We are nearing our budget after only 3 days on the road this week and this is without being particularly frivolous I feel. 

Kalbarri National Park is in two very distinct zones.  Having viewed the coastal cliffs area of the park we headed East out of Kalbarri to view the inland gorges and rock formations on the Murchison River.  This meant taking an over 60km detour off our intended route, but it was worth it to see Nature’s Window even if it meant a hike down into the valley in soaring temperatures. We were even treated to a flypast from the Australian RAF as they threw their aircraft around the bends in the gorge. 

Images showing the amazing colourful stripes in the rock

We moved on to the ‘Z Bend River Trail’ before winding our way back to the main road.  We were trying to fit all of this in before sunset and it was getting later and later. 

We got distracted on the way to our next lookouts by this Wedge Tail hawk that we disturbed whilst it was trying to eat lizard road kill! (right)

But we still managed to squeeze in a stop at Hawks’ Head (above) and Ross Graham’s lookout. Simon took over at the wheel and guided us into a free camping spot at a rest area.  There was so much space so we made ourselves at home within range of the just-about-bearable toilets (including colourful probably poisonous spider!)  I was exhausted, so Simon took on the cooking rights whilst I relaxed.