Day 99. Kalbarri

Wild Wild West...

Today we played 'explorer' in the wild wild west.


Overlooking the Upper Murchison River


This morning we woke to a lazy morning, where we had a relaxing breakfast, read the paper, and enjoyed a 'slightly breezy' morning with only a scattering of flies (for now). Last night the wind was blowing wildly, but we woke to a still morning that was a very welcome change. Before we left for our days activities, Bec and Wendy prepared and pre-cooked a butter chicken dinner.

'Z bend' - Kalbarri National Park

We were on the road by mid morning, and drove north through the township of Kalbarri, and continued for a further 30 km into the Kalbarri National Park on what would have to be the worst corrugated dirt roads I think I have ever had the misfortune of travelling on. By the first stop we were dropping tyre pressures and trying all sorts of things to make our driving experience a little less tiresome.



Scarlett at 'Z bend' - Kalbarri National Park

First stop was 'Z bend', a spectacular lookout overlooking the Murchison River. It ended up being about a 2.5km return walk to the lookout, but I must say the walk down through the gorge was certainly worth the effort. The only downside was the flies, and we soon discovered that they are in swarm proportions in this part of the country. They are everywhere, and unfortunately they did make our day's exploring a little painful!



Scarlett and her 'dinosaur' track find!

However, the views were amazing', and the river looked so cool and inviting! It was late morning by the time we reached 'Z bend', and the temperature was starting to soar already. By the time we returned to the Pajero, we had all already downed at least a litre of water each; and that's including Scarlett.

During the walk, Scarlett found a fossilised animal track in a rock. There was a sign nearby that indicated that the 'tracks' were those of an ancient anthropod called a Eurypterid, one of Earth's earliest land dwellers. It had a hard outer covering called a cuticle, and was probably amphibious, moving from one pool to another as the water dried up, leaving its tracks in the wet sand - which is what we see today. Scarlett commented that the picture of the Eurypterid looked like a scorpion, which I would have to agree with.



Wendy, Bec, Scarlett, and Shane at 'Natures Window' - Kalbarri National Park

We then found a lookout adjacent to 'Natures Window', which just happened to be our next destination. This 'overlooked' the spur that 'Natures Window' is located on, as well as a bushwalk called 'The Loop', and Mt Curious.

Next was 'Natures Window' itself, where we decided to have lunch at the top of the escarpment. Again the flies were in plague proportions, and I could of sworn I saw at least 2 x backpackers being carried off by the flies in the distance! They were everywhere, and we even started using both 'Aeroguard' and 'Bushmans' insect repellents - as neither by themselves seemed to do anything.

The walk out to 'Natures Window' was along the top of a spur, and the rocks seemed to be mostly a mixture of shale and iron ore. The rocks were very brittle and more than once we came across some loose stones/rocks. We finally made it out to the 'window' and loved the views. It certainly is a special part of Australia, and I think its safe to say we were all glad we made the effort to see this natural wonder!- bugger the flies!



Look! I can fly...

By this time we had all finished our 2nd litre of water (including Scarlett), and were getting tired of the heat and the flies. We decided to head back to the van, as everyone voted on checking out the beach behind our van on the coast. The kids wanted to try sand boarding on the sand dunes, and we wanted to have a closer look at the coastline.

Down  at the beach behind our camp just south of Kalbarri

We soon realised that the sea's were too rough for swimming, as there was a huge swell coming in, and the tide was starting to go out. The problem is that the coast here consists of sand dunes, beach, rock, reef, and huge swells! This created some huge waves and under currents, and the sound of the water crashing into the rocks and reef was deafening.

Wild seas along the West Australian Coastline

Even the sand boarding was a non-event as the dunes just weren't steep enough to ride on. Bec drove back from the beach and had a ball 4wding on the sand! She did really well, so I guess she'll want to do more of it in the future!

We finished off our day having 'butter chicken' while watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean. The skies were a vivid red, and with the sounds of the waves breaking on the reef below us, it was a fantastic way to finish day 99.


Another picture perfect sunset over the Indian Ocean

 Bring on day 100!