Journey to Jurien

Our time in Kalbarri is up and we must move on, Coral Bay now seems so far away and Perth so close. The kids are now realising that it will not be long till we see some very special friends that we have not seen for ages. So, as hard as it is to farewell new friends, we can now count the sleeps till Perth. But first things first, Jurien Bay is our next stop. We have had many people tell us how wonderful Jurien Bay is so we are looking forward to getting there and seeing for ourselves.

These are some of the friendly locals who treat the Kalbarri caravan park as their feeding ground. This is taken from our caravan. 

Kids passing the time while we finish the packing. We have to add that the kids have become an integral part of our unpacking of the van, however, we have discovered that on packing up days, we move that little bit faster when they are busy somewhere not near the van!!

Last views of the Murchison River as we leave Kalbarri. It must be said that even though we had exited the caravan park before 10, we did not actually leave Kalbarri till 12.30. A quick stop off at the surf shop for some new thongs for Boaz resulted in a yummy lunch and some shopping at a very groovy cafe/gallery next door.

E.C.S

This is the Hutt Lagoon, otherwise known as the Pink Lake. As you approach the area, we started to notice the low clouds had a pink tinge to them. It is hard to make out in the picture, but the water is actually pink as a result of large amounts of beta carotene naturally occurring in the water. One of those moments that look better in real life.

The thought to turn left is extremely tempting.

E.C.S

Look how close we are to Perth. It is starting to sink in how far we have come. We have now travelled almost 20,000m klms.

We have opted to not stay in Geraldton, this time, but we do take the scenic drive to check out what we are missing. Geraldton has a population of around 33,000 and is the largest centre north of Perth. It is the major port and administrative centre for the region. Geraldton began as a convict outpost in the 1850's and most of the early buildings were constructed by these convicts. Geraldton is a busy town and we are most interested to know that it is the main centre for rock lobster fishing. Mmmmmm.

To many this is just a regular vision, to us these are the first traffic lights we have seen since Darwin, and the most traffic since leaving Melbourne!!!!!!

The round anthills of the north have been replaced now by the round haybales of the south.

The turnoff for Jurien Bay along the newly finished Indian Ocean Drive.

Passing through Leeman and Greenhead, Jurien Bay is just down the road!!!! We plan to stay a few days and this will be our last stop before Perth. There is only one caravan park in town so we hope that we might bump into some fellow travellers we have previously met. Always a chance when you are all heading in the same direction!!

Kalbarri capers (part 2)

We are really enjoying our time here in Kalbarri. This morning we take it extremely slow, Linda & Timna disappear to the Book Exchange in search of more books in the Harry Potter series as Benj, Timna and Boaz have all become Harry Potter mad.  It is quite entertaining to listen to the banter as they talk about the books. On their return we spend the rest of the morning by the pool with our new friends. We all decide that a visit to Blue Holes for some snorkelling in the fish sanctuary is a must. We had already been there and found some great snorkelling........but on the way there is always time for some more wildflower photograpy. In the words of Boaz, ' Dad has gone nature mad!!!'.

Its amazing when we look back at these pictures how calm it appears. In fact it was quite the opposite. But this did not get in the way of our fun as we all had a great time snorkelling, building sandcastles and exploring the beach. 

Later that afternoon we all decide to try a spot of fishing. We have to admit that the women did have a back up plan for dinner organised, so there was no pressure to produce attached to this venture. All the kids were primed from the 4 year old to the 11 year olds, and mums included.

We were not prepared for the extremely successful fish expedition that ensued. Many a black bream was caught and released. We did wonder if we were recatching the same poor little fishy!!!

The final loot, 2 large mud crabs and 6 fish. Every child caught something, with the catch of the day going to our new friend who whilst helping his brother reel in his bream on a hand line, ended up reeling in an estuary cod who ate the bream!!!!  We returned back to our vans 2 1/2 hours later. We cooked up a storm and Linda and Michelle's first attempt at cooking mud crabs was a success. Although we are not sure who squealed louder, the crabs when put into the pot or the girls when the crabs tried to escape!

To Michelle, Justin and the boys, we had such a great time meeting you. We are green with envy that you guys are continuing your journey north.......we hope you have as much fun as we did and we hope that one day are paths will cross once more.

Kalbarri capers (part 1)

When leaving Denham, the very groovy man at the visitors centre gave us some tips for Kalbarri. One in particular was to visit the iconic fish barbecue restaurant called Finlays. So, after arriving just on sunset last night, we decide dinner out would be sensational, no dishes!!!!!!! Unfortunately we left the camera behind but, trust us, it was alot of fun. We got yummy food, huge portions, cheap prices and an eclectic mix of paraphernalia displayed all around. From car engines, to old scuba gas cyclinders, to beer bottles, the list goes on. With full bellies we sleep well and wake up ready to explore our new home. We musn't forget to mention the kangaroos that use the caravan park as their feeding ground. They would have to have been some of the biggest kangaroos we have come across so close and personal.

This morning we visited the Rainbow Jungle Parrot Park.  It is a breeding centre for Australian and exotic parrots and we get to walk through a free flight area of rare and endangered parrots as well as cages with a huge array of birds.

South American macaws

After the birds we head for the Kalbarri National Park Coastal Cliffs. The  more adventurous can don the walking boots and cover the 8klms one way, but alas we were not feeling so keen and instead we opted for the drive to each lookout, walk a couple of hundred metres and enjoy the scenery! The photo  following was taken at Natural Bridge. 

Despite the wildflower season being well and truly over, however, if you seek you shall find!!!

A lovely mother and daughter moment, of which there have been many, is a wonderful gift of this trip.

I'm King of the world!!!!!!!

"Hooray" we cry, more gorgeous gorges for the Gores!!!

The Murchison River is a permanently flowing river that can occasionally transform into a raging flood with rare force. Over many years these forces have carved deep gorges into the ancient colourful sandstone. The views from the top are quite breathtaking. The tongues are in response to a, not unreasonable, request to pose for a photo.

We make it to the famous Nature's Window, where there is the option of the Loop walk, which appeals greatly to us adults but not so to the younger members of the family. For some reason the minor majority over-rule and we embark on the short walk. We will let you know that the long walk was 9km with an estimated travel time of 5 hours!!!  

As you can see, the short walk did not disappoint. While out here we met up with a family we had met by the pool yesterday and they kindly recorded this moment for us. After much chatting, from Linda (surprise!), we decide to continue this visit to the National Park together.

I'm king of the world!!!!!! (again!!)

This is at Ross Graham Lookout, a short walk from here brings you down to the rivers edge and a place to have a nice refreshing dip.

Our new friends. They come from Sydney and are currently heading north. They excitedly share with us all the great free camping places they have been and we share all the places up north, especially CORAL BAY!!!!!!

Looks can be deceiving. This river bed had us believing it was beautiful fresh water when actually we all got a mouthful of salt water. During the rainy season this river will be filled predominately with fresh water, however in the dry the water comes from the artesian water level which is salty. The soil is also black and the river bed is filled with silt. Lets just say we all looked and smelt rather spectacular when we exited. But it was a lot of fun, and a great laugh.

Hard not to be happy. Linda can't believe this photo is going out there...........she has decided there are other battles more important to fight!!!!!

We return for a relaxing swim by the pool with new friends, a few beers and lots of chatter. This is truly the life!!!!

Kalbarri here we come

Kalbarri here we come, but we have a few things to do here before we leave so we organise a late checkout. On the recommendation of the park we are staying in, we take up a special offer of pay 3 stay 4 at their sister park in Kalbarri. Accomodation secured, we can now relax in to our day.

After an incredible couple of hours in the Shark Bay Discovery Centre, an absolute must see should you visit Denham, Linda and the kids decide to have a spontaneous dip in the water in their clothes while Robbie went and hitched the van. This is looking out on the man made boat channel leading from the jetty.

Note: In at the back of the picture between Benj and Timna's heads is a skate ramp. While swimming we also has the pleasure of watching some crazy kids riding their bikes of the ramp and back flipping into the water!!

On the road again......

Eagle Bluff, 20klms on from Denham has this incredible scenic lookout which has a 100 metre boardwalk along the top of a cliff face. From here we saw large rays, and schools of sharks swimming .

Only 50klms from Denham we find ourselves at Shell Beach. It is made up of billions of tiny cockle shells that are compacted to many metres deep and stretch over nearly 120klms. These shells are unique to the area as the animal in the shell has had to adapt to the extreme salinity of the water in the bay. These shells were once quarried for bricks that were used to construct the walls of  buildings in the area.

The men! The shallow crystal clear water just stretched on for miles.

 Not your average family protrait. Or "you put your left foot in, you put your left foot out...."

This would have to be up there as one of our favourite photos. The perfect blue sky, the incredible water, the white cockle shells and our lovely children!!!!

We are now 90 klms south east of Denham. Hamelin Pool is one of only a few places on earth where stromatolites,the oldest living organisms in the planet, exist.

Situated within the grounds of the Hamelin Pool Caravan Park we find our way to the stromatolites.

 Isn't Linda just such a copy cat!!!!

This is the boardwalk that takes you out to the stromatolites. 

Due to the high salinity of the water sea snails, which usually feed on the cyanobacteria, are not present which then allows the stromatolites to form. They were responsible for generating the oxygen in the air that makes life as we know it possible.

E.C.S.

We arrive finally in Ka;barri and we wonder what this town has in store for us.