Friday 4th September 2009

Leaving Denmark for 343 km heading south

It was time to pack up and leave Denham for Kalbarri

However before we finally left this beautiful part of WA we still wanted to see a couple of places on our way out  on Shark Bay Road. After 40 km our first stop was at Shell Beach which comprises of countless millions of tiny shells. Here the shell build up is 25-30 feet deep. Once upon a time cars were allowed to be driven on the beach but now it is all protected and the shell cannot be removed or driven on. There is some commercial mining in another area that provides shell for pathways, poultry feed additives and making of some building blocks to replace some of those  in heritage  buildings that were constructed many years ago.  (Unfortunately my camera battery had discharged and I was unable to take any photos.)

We then drove on to see the Stromatolites at Hamelin Bay. Click on the name and you can read all about them and see the photos of the board walk that we went out on to view them. When we visited the tide was out but we were still able to appreciate the significance of these living microbes. We also took the opportunity to visit the old telegraph station here and read of the history of the area when it was used as a sheep station and the wool was carted out in to the pool put on to lighters , taken out to the deeper water and then on to ships that transported it down to Perth to the markets. We had our packed lunch and continued on our journey. Much of this area namely Dirk Hartog Island,Peron Peninsula and the Nanga Station have all been purchased by the government so it can all be returned to its natural state and also be protected for future generations to enjoy. They are also reintroducing much of the wild life that has been decimated by the feral cats and foxes which they are currently baiting and trapping.

We turned onto the North West Coastal Highway after driving along a mostly low flat scrubland until we approached the Murchison River when it appeared as though we had entered another country. This pastoral land had been cleared and was well cultivated, it all looked very green and hilly and the abundance of the wildflowers truly made it look quite stunning. We were constantly amazed at the beautiful scenery and colour and found it all so contrary to what we had been experiencing over the last couple of months.

We continued on admiring the carpet of wildflowers that some times was so prolific that it appeared as though snow or frost had appeared under the small wooded areas that had not been cleared. We both remarked how much it looked like the French countryside and even the green fields of England.

We turned on to the Ajana Kalbarri Road for the 65 km drive to the coast and the township. It wasn’t long before we entered the Kalbarri National Park and at the moment the country side reverted back to the scrubland and bushy trees. It all appeared as though it was returning to it natural state which has its own beautiful landscape and which we are looking forward to seeing.

We were lucky to have been able to check into the Murchison Caravan Park for two nights as they only had a couple of sites left. We found out that they and the other caravan parks were full every night as this area is extremely popular with the West Australians from down south who are escaping the cold weather there and there was also the  general run of tourists and overseas visitors and of course many of those had come to see the wildflowers which WA is well known for at this time of the year.