Saturday 5th September – Kalbarri

Last night it poured with rain for a couple of hours which is really the first that we have encountered since Tamworth in NSW which was when we first set off in May.

In the morning it was about 12 deg ,cloudy and windy, however we decided that as it had started to clear up and with the sky turning blue we would head off to the Kalbarri National Park and have a look at the gorges and the Murchison River

some of the roadside scenery

About11 km north out of town we turned off onto a dirt road to enter the park. We showed our seniors card and paid up the $5 and then drove for another 20 km to the gorge .

 

 

Here the key attraction was Natures Window a natural rock arch that superbly frames the upstream view. We only had to walk 400 metres from the car park for this, however we could have continued on and walked the 8km loop walk trail which would have taken us a couple of hours.Since we were not prepared with our sturdy boots and adequate drinking water we decided to give it a miss.

It was also starting to rain! Perhaps next time if we find ourselves this way again. We then drove on for another 6km to view the Z  bend where we saw some of the most breathtaking scenery where the gorge plunges 150 metres to the river below.

With the weather not really being on our side and not use to the cooler winds we hopped back into the car and headed back into town stopping off for lunch back at our little home.

It was then time to have another look at the Rainbow Jungle which they say is regarded as Australia’s most beautiful parrot habitat.We wandered around and recalled our previous visit about 15 years ago and noted some of the changes that they had made with some additional enclosures.

www.rainbowjunglekalbarri.com

The gardens were very well laid out with water ponds and paved walkways winding through the enclosures

The Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs

We then headed out south to see some of the views from the coastal cliffs. We went to them all from Blue Holes and down the coast to Eagle Gorge. It was very windy however we braved those and were rewarded not only with some great views but also the sight of whales making their way north just a off the shore line. With there breaching and blowing.

There out there somewhere! (the whales)

With the sunset we went down to the local fish and chip shop which is well known for its excellent locally caught fish and headed back home for our evening meal and of course to catch up with the Manly game from Sydney over the ABC on the net and talk to Michael  Q over Skype.

Tomorrow we head fro Geraldton where we intend to stay for a few days before heading off inland to drive the wildflower trail as we make our way down to Perth. Lets hope the weather warms up a bit as we aren’t use to all this rain and the cool temps.