Day 73: Thu 30 May 24 - Kalbarri

Thu 30 May 24 - Kalbarri 

12 to 23 Dec C , partly cloudy with moderate winds along the coast, and almost no wind in the Kalbarri National Park. 

After breakfast, we drove 38km out to the Kalbarri National Park. First stop was the Skywalk, with breathtaking views from two cantilevered viewing platforms overlooking the Murchison River gorge 100m below, and the spectacular surrounding landscape. Next stop a few km away was Natures Window. Accessed via an easy 1km walk from the carpark, it's another picturesque trail with several lookout points along the way. Natures Window is a natural rock formation that perfectly frames the rugged upstream view of the Murchison River. For the last point of interest we drove 12km to Z Bend. The Z Bend lookout overhangs a sharp bend in the Murchison River and is reached via a 1.2km return walk from the parking area. 

After almost 3 hours enjoying the amazing scenery, we returned to the van. Noel had a rest, while I ventured out again just south of Kalbarri to send the drone up for a few photos overlooking Blue Holes Beach which is a fish habitat area and protected waters with rock pools. The tide was high and the waves were breaking heavily over the reef, so I couldn't quite capture the images I was hoping for, but it was still very scenic. On return to the van, I set about booking our Karijini National Park stay for when we leave Exmouth in two weeks. Unfortunately, I left the bookings too late for our preferred dates, but after some juggling, I did secure bookings at Dales Campground then Karijini Eco Retreat. This will involve some back tracking, but it is only a short distance, so it won't be too much of an inconvenience. Unfortunately, it leaves very little time to see much between Exmouth and Karijini. After sorting out the travel arrangements, I refuelled the ute in preparation for our departure in the morning. Our first stop will be about 40km away at two more lookouts in the Kalbarri National Park overlooking the Murchison River, before continuing along the NW Coastal Highway to a free camp for an overnight stay.

Kalbarri National Park Skywalk


Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk


Kalbarri Skywalk

Kalbarri Skywalk


Natures Window - looking towards Skywalk

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

This is Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Natures Window

Z Bend

Z Bend

Z Bend

Z Bend

Z Bend

Z Bend

Z Bend

Z Bend

Blue Holes

Blue Holes

Blue Holes

Blue Holes

Blue Holes

Blue Holes

Blue Holes looking to Kalbarri








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 109: Fri 05 Jul 24 - Merghiny Gravel Pit (Ceduna) to Port Augusta

Image
Merghiny Gravel Pit (Ceduna) to Port Augusta (450km)  It was 8 Deg and feeling much less, raining on and off from 4:00am for the first 100km, then cloudy and very windy for the rest of the day. At Port Augusta it reached 18 Deg with strong winds gusting in excess of 60km/h. The past few days have been tiring driving in the wind and rain with lots of heavy transport travelling in both directions, so it was nice to have a quiet start to our 450km drive today. This post is a little light on photographic material, as we have now covered the stretch between Ceduna and Port Augusta three times in the past 18 months, so we kept driving with minimal stops.  Coffee was had at the Minnipa rest area, then lunch at the Kimba roadhouse, before arriving at 3:00pm at the Discovery Parks Caravan Park in Port Augusta for an overnight stay.  We have a drive through site for the night for a quick get away tomorrow. From here we have settled on a couple of nights at Clare for a bit of a brea...
Read more

Day 111: Sun 07 Jul 24 - Clare

Image
Sun 07 Jul 24 - Clare  The overnight temperature dropped to 6 Deg with 54km/h winds which eventually eased by the time we climbed out of bed. No surprise though when we woke, it was raining again, and it continued raining until mid afternoon, so it was a day of forced rest which we both enjoyed. The day comprised coffee in town this morning, then a visit to Hill River Wines to buy a few local wines. I chose this winery out of all others because t hey are a young cellar door and they are family owned. The wines also tasted nice. Back at the van, we had a quiet afternoon resting and watching a documentary series about one of Australia's biggest and strangest art heists on SBS.  It's about an investigation into the art heist from the New Norcia monastery where we recently visited - it's very interesting. Check it out.  The clouds cleared late afternoon, so I mustered the motivation to go out into the cold (6 Deg) for a late walk, before we drove back into town for an Indian ...
Read more

Day 11: Fri 29 Mar 24 (Good Friday) - Madura Pass to Norseman

Image
Fri 29 Mar 24 (Good Friday) Madura Pass to Norseman (530km) It was 14 Deg with a very slight SE breeze and a light dew, reaching 32, clear and sunny with no wind at Norseman. It was a lovely morning, and a nice change waking to early daylight, so we took the opportunity to get on the road earlier than usual. Today was a long haul, 530km along very good road, but with not a lot to see. We were amazed at how green the countryside was, and particularly so around Madura. This is clearly a reflection of all the recent heavy rain had in the region. One other observation from our trek across the Nullarbor, is despite the various Camel, Kangaroo, Wombat, Cattle and Emu warning signs, we did not see any roadkill. Disappointingly, Noeleene went another day without spotting a camel (dead or alive). The traffic today was well spread out, and the majority was Heavy Transport Trucks and caravans - all well behaved, and surprisingly a lot of three-wheeled motorbikes.  We also spotted a couple mor...
Read more