We then carried on to Port Gregory and The Pink Lake. Well much to our surprise the lake is actually Pink. Not a light Pink either! Amazing! The pictures actually don't do it justice.
We then took a quick look at the Port area and a few more pictures. Not too much to the town of Port Gregory but looked like a nice place to spend a relaxing vacation.
Back into the car where we drove back around the Pink Lake and North towards Kalbarri along the coast. Lots of places to stop and view lookouts but we carried on past them today. We will return later during our stay at Kalbarri. Arrived at the Tudor Caravan Park and checked into our Villa around 10am. Di had kindly checked out a few of the cabin options in Kalbarri for us along with our friend Donna. The Villa we checked into was beautiful, clean, and very modern. Have two separate bedrooms, a full kitchen and living area, and a lovely bathroom.
After we checked in we had morning tea with Di, Terry, Phil, and Donna. Great to see them all again. Donna took Sandra, Di, and I to the Rainbow Jungle Bird Sancturary. She had been there already but loved it and was happy to go back again. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as her first visit. It was a very hot day ad the birds were mostly hiding and trying to keep cool. Donna had been there on a cool day early in the morning and the birds had been much more plentiful and active.The ones we saw looked pretty wiped out by the heat. Got some good pictures of a few though. A couple have real character. Check out the bad hair day on the red head and also the world's ugliest parrot.
Friday morning we had planned on the boys going fishing early. Terry called us off about 5am as was too windy. Funny thing was about 5 minutes after he cancelled the wind dropped completely. I enjoyed the extra hour and a bit of sleep anyway. Sandra, Di, and I went on a driving tour of the National Park about 7:30am. Our first stop was Meanarra Hill Lookout which is just a short distance East of the town. From the lookout here you have a great view of the Kalbarri coast line, the township, and the Murchison River mouth.
Continued travelling East until we took a 25Km gravel road into the Kalbarri National Park. Lots of stops along the way for Di and Sandra to take pictures of different wildflowers we came across. Road was very corrugated but we have been on much worse. Our first major stop was the Z Bend. We took a 1.5Km round trip walk from the car park down to the lookout. It was already very warm and lots of steps so more than enough workout for us. Flies were bad as well so our fly nets got a workout. Got some lovely pictures from the lookout of where the Murchison River does a number of ninety degree turns to form a Z shape. Struggled back up the stairs to the car and headed off for our next stop.
Had a couple of lookout points before we got the the next major stop which was Nature's Window. Again we had about a 1Km return walk down. Very hot by this time but well worth the effort. Nature's Window was beautiful and we were lucky enough to have it to ourselves for about 15 minutes. Di almost chickened out but finally made it down to the window. Not that bad of a climb but looks daunting from the top. The Window itself was beautifully cool as provided shade and had a lovely breeze blowing through it. Got lots of pictures before hiking back up the hill. We all decided that was enough walking for the day as temperature was approaching 38 degrees. There is an 8Km loop walk from Nature's Window that looks lovely as well but really shouldn't be attempted in this type of weather. Saw some people doing it and hope they had lots of water as temperature hits 50 degrees in the Gorges.
Headed off home where we arrived about 12:30. Dropped Di off at her caravan before returning to our Villa and having a salad lunch. The afternoon was fairly laid back with a bit of resting and another swim for Sandra and I. Only a quick swim today as limited shade provided at the pool and was all being utilised when we got there. A group of 12 of us went out to dinner at Finlay's Fish. What an experience as is an open air restaurant with very rustic trimmings. A lot of history is preserved on the walls. They provide a roll of toilet paper for your table to use as napkins. The fish was beautiful and they served Sandra a lovely gluten free fish and prawns with chips. The prices were very reasonable with BYOB, and definitely is a must do while in Kalbarri. Had a great meal, some cold drinks, and a lovely visit before returning home at 9:30pm
Saturday is a bit of a catch up and rest up day. Sandra is doing some laundry and I am doing some work on the Blog. Another hot one with 39 degrees expected. I believe it is supposed to cool slightly by the beginning of the week. We had a relaxing day with a swim in the afternoon.
The evening saw a group of us journey out to the Murchison River Station for a BBQ and concert. Well what an experience. The Station was very interesting as the original homestead is from the mid 1800's and one of the oldest in WA.
The woolshed was the location for the BBQ and concert. The evening was BYOB and the BBQ was hamburgers. Not bad but fairly basic fare. The music however was what made the evening what it was (and not necessarily in a good way) First they had a fellow that played acoustic/classical guiter. With some effort you were able to recognise some of the songs but it definitely was not toe tapping material. Eventually a man and woman joined him on stage to do a couple of numbers. Finally we thought things were going to pick up. Well when they started to sing; the woman had probably the worst voice I had ever heard and they totally butchered a couple of songs. We all just looked at each other when she started to sing and Donna headed straight for the door before she made a scene with her laughing.
Our next treat was a young Pommy Bloke who had never sang in front of an audience before (with good reason). Totally trashed a couple of songs before the "Band" finally took the stage. It was the original couple and another couple. Well at least the other guy could play guitar and the other lady could hold a tune. Some songs were better than the worst I ever heard but most were slow sad songs. Donna went up and asked for some rock and roll so we could dance. They said they would play some later but wanted to play their best material first (Shit! This was their best) They actually sent the Pommy back on for another few songs after their break! He sang Wild Thing which no one recognised until he yelled it out at the end of the song. He then had a young girl join him on stage and sang Lying Eyes by the Eagles. So bad that Sandra didn't even recognise it until I told her what it was on the way home. The band played another depressing set before finally playing one rock and roll song. Donna and Phil had their dance. While definitely not a great night of entertainment we had a lot of laughs. We headed home about 10pm, laughing all the way.
Sunday morning Sandra and I went exploring the Coastal Cliffs of Kalbarri National Park. What a wonderful morning. The wind had actually subsided for a few hours and we managed to see some beautiful sites. The water is so clear and blue that you could see so much detail even from the cliff tops. Our first stop was Rainbow Valley where we did a walk to Mushroom Rock and back. About 1.5Km of quite uneven ground. Lots of steps, rocks, and hills. Luckily we did it early as it was hot enough even then. Saw some amazing rock formations and colours.
From here we headed to the Southern end of the Coastal Cliffs to Natural Bridge, Castle Cove, and Island Rock. Beautiful views! The coastline here is very rugged and different to what we have experienced in Northern WA.
Other stops were: The Grandstand, The Shellhouse, Eagle Gorge, Pot Alley and Red Bluff. Wonderful cliffs with secluded beaches at a number of locations.
We also toured a couple of new subdivisions near Red Bluff. Had some lovely properties overlooking the coast. We headed home shortly after noon for some lunch. Had an easy afternoon before we hosted Di and Terry for happy hour. Sandra and I had a nice BBQ steak dinner. BBQ didn't burn out of control this time.
Monday morning the four of us were planning to return to Pot Alley for a secluded swim on the beach before having a snorkel and a fish at Blue Holes. Unfortunately the wind had picked up and was blowing directly onshore. All the areas we had hoped to swim/fish/snorkel at were too rough. We stopped for a bit at Red Bluff Beach where I managed to catch some crabs for bait. We threw the line in for a while without success. Too windy to really enjoy.
Stopped on the way home at IGA for some groceries. Afternoon is a cleaning/organising one as we are moving on to Horrocks tomorrow morning. I called the Caravan Repair place and while they are making good progress the caravan won't be ready before we fly home next week. We will leave the caravan there over Christmas. We plan on heading down towards Perth on Friday or Saturday for our flight on Tuesday.
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