Wed. 19th Sept., 2012 - Final day in Kalbarri

A quiet day.  Bob had an early game of golf at the local club.  He said that they must be keeping the course well watered, as it was very green.  However, we did have a fairly heavy shower of rain during the night & a few spots in the late afternoon, so the wildflowers will have enjoyed that.


The 14th hole ( The Loch )



I did some washing, then caught up with some work on the computer.

The caravan park filled up, as people took their children out of school early, prior to the next fortnight's holidays.  There were also a lot of dogs on site, but I must admit that they were no trouble at all.

Currently, we've been away for 96 days & have done 12,891km!

Tues. 18th Sept., 2012 - "Rainbow Jungle" & local coastline

It was quite an overcast morning, with even a hint of drizzle - a bit of a shock, but we decided to ignore it (perhaps it would go away!)  Sure enough, the sun returned after lunch & we had a lovely afternoon.

Major Mitchell

Our first port of call was "Rainbow Jungle", a bird sanctuary that housed parrots of every kind in a sympathetic & beautiful environment.  Many, that were in danger of extinction, were being bred there & the variety of different birds was amazing.  Their diets were enviable - they were definitely receiving their "5 a day" from a good selection of fruit, vegetables & seeds.  Their plumage consisted of every colour of the rainbow & the place was, indeed, aptly named.  It provided a wonderful selection of Australia's birds, brought together in one place to be enjoyed & protected.

Next, we visited one or two of the look-out spots along the dramatic sandstone coastline.  Massive red cliffs towered upwards from the ocean below & we walked to designated areas from where we were rewarded with fantastic views.  We even saw one or two whales surfacing in the far distance.

Eagle Bluff

Finally, we drove back into Kalbarri & walked along the beach before returning to the caravan park.

Mon. 17th Sept., 2012 - Our wildflower trail

We had a look around Kalbarri, which is an attractive little town overlooking the Murchison River & the ocean.  It has picturesque scenery, a beautiful beach & a shopping centre that provides essentials as well as gifts, clothes & novelties.  There is also a good selection of cafes & restaurants.



After lunch, we set off in search of the wildflowers & were able to have a closer look at the ones we'd passed yesterday.  They grew in profusion along the verges & in the fields & were a joy to behold.  A lady in the Visitor Centre told us that this is an extremely harsh environment in summer - dry, parched & with temperatures of up to 50C!  The vegetation dies right back, making it all the more amazing when everything bursts into bloom again & becomes a lush garden from June to November.  Apparently, there are nearly 800 species of West Australian native wildflowers & we have been privileged to see a fair number of them during our visit.



 

Next, we drove to two look-out points from where we could enjoy views of the Murchison River - these were the Hawk's Head & Ross Graham Look-outs.





Our lovely day ended with fish 'n chips whilst watching the sun go down - magic!





Sun. 16th Sept., 2012 - Denham to Kalbarri

We left Denham at 8am.  What a beautiful area Shark Bay is - we shall remember it fondly, despite having been almost buried there!



View of  Shark Bay from caravan window



As we drove out of the peninsular, two large emus crossed the road infront of us - we'd seen quite a lot of them around Denham, with broods of up to six chicks.

We refuelled at the Overlander Roadhouse & joined the Brand Highway, on which we would travel until we reached the turn-off to Kalbarri.

The vegetation was attractive, with lots of low-growing bushes, flowering lavender & white, in between the larger green ones.  There were also big trees, which had been absent on our last long drive.  The yellow wattle flowered intermittently & we saw patches of a deeper purple bush, too - the countryside was beginning to look colourful.  As we entered the Shire of Northampton, the temperature was 30C, with no humidity - perfect!

The further we travelled, the more numerous & varied the flowers became.  We'd seen lots of yellow & purple but pink was now beginning to enter the picture, too

Nearer to our turn-off, we were surprised to see fields containing some kind of crop that was possibly wheat &, when we crossed the Murchison River, it had a reasonable amount of water in it, suggesting a more fertile region.

At midday, we turned off the highway towards Kalbarri, which was 65km away.  The fields were green & we could almost have been in England!

The National Park area was ablaze with colour from the plants & bushes that had burst into bloom.  We recognised kangaroo paw, banksia & wattle but were not familiar with many others.  The kaleidoscope of colour was indescribable & Mother Nature had excelled herself - she had created a floral wonderland!

Kangaroo Paw 

Banksia

On reaching Kalbarri, we booked into a caravan park, had lunch & relaxed before setting out to do a little exploring.

Kalbarri

Sat. 15th Sept., 2012 - Visit to Monkey Mia & Little Lagoon

Our day began early - we were up at 6am & on the road just after 7am.  We were off to Monkey Mia to see wild bottlenose dolphins coming ashore to receive small amounts of fish & to interact with the rangers & onlookers.  The dolphins visit almost every day & we were extremely lucky, as they spent a lot of time near to us, in the shallows.  It was amazing to have adult females & their young approaching so closely that we could actually hand feed them (I was fortunate enough to do so!)  They were very trusting, sociable & a delight to watch. 

A manic pelican also tried to get in on the act by attempting to steal the fish before it could be given to the dolphins.  A turtle popped its head up from time to time & there were plenty of fish & birds to hold our interest.

What a wonderful place - sufficient facilities for comfort, but not enough to be over-commercialized.

After lunch, we drove to Little Lagoon, a circular-shaped lake, which is a popular spot for fishing, swimming & canoeing.  It was there that the most dramatic event of our trip, so far, occurred ...

 Bob decided to drive around the lagoon, on the sand, but when he attempted to exit from the beach, catastrophe struck.  We became totally bogged down & could go neither forward nor back.  The wheels merely spun around & the bottom of the car was resting on the sand!  Bob tried to clear the sand away from the wheels but his efforts were in vain - we were well & truly "bottomed".  In desperation, I sought the help of a young lady who had been sunbathing nearby.  She & her companion very kindly tried to help us by tying a rope between our two vehicles & attempting to pull us free.  In the process of so doing, they became bogged down, too!  What a fiasco - we were so embarrassed (well, I was!)

By this time, quite a few visitors to the lagoon had gathered & someone had gone to fetch our would-be rescuer's husband from the gun club, where he was a member (it's a wonder he didn't use us for target practice!)  Fortunately, he arrived with someone who had a more powerful vehicle & finally both of our cars were pulled free.  What a relief, but we had red faces that weren't just the result of sunburn!

I must say that Aussies are great people to have around when disaster strikes - we shall be eternally grateful to all those who pushed, pulled, wielded spades & attached tow ropes in our hour of need.  An unforgettable day, in more ways than one!  And, has my dear husband, who lacks any sense of caution, learned from this experience?  I doubt it!  His adventurous nature will, almost certainly, continue urging him to "rush in where angels fear to tread."