Day 77 - Tuesday 18 September - Making our way home

Day 77

Tuesday

18 September – 

Yuna – Geraldton – Jurien Bay - home

6.30am we were awake and off to use the loos. I came back first and promptly jumped back into bed, it was bloody freezing outside. Unfortunately, Paul had other ideas, he was up and awake and ready to move on. He began putting the breakfast things together, leaving me little choice, but to join him. Grrr 

There wasn’t much to do with the pack up, I didn’t even make the bed. I moved my things to the front carriage and at 7.20am, we were on the road for the final time. Insert a very sad face here. 

We followed the narrow Chapman Valley Road through small farming villages, past the rolling dales of yellow and green, every now and then we saw sheep or cows, I even spied the ears of Kangaroo amongst a field of wheat. The sun was beaming, giving everything a healthy glow and the sky was a cloudless cornflour blue. 

By 8.10am, we had reached the outer burbs of Geraldton, entering the familiar setting of housing estates. The traffic increased with the morning commute and followed through to the southern boundary. We stopped briefly for fuel and then we followed the signs to the Brand Highway, all the while watching the waves crest and break over unseen reef. 

We made our way through Greenough, passing the windswept trees. We picked up a large stone, that put a 10c sized indent in the windscreen, another thing to add to the list of things to do when we are home. We skirted Port Denison / Dongara at 9.15am and then turned right onto the Indian Ocean Drive. 

At 10.30am, the buildings of Jurien Bay became visible and my stomach said it was time for morning tea. We did a loop of town, looking for somewhere to park, eventually pulling up with some other vans. We got out, stretched the legs and made our way to the bakery for a pastry. We sat inside, as it was too cool outside. When we were done, we returned to the van and continued to trundle on down the road.

We passed Ledge Point and the viewing area for the grass trees, of which there were hundreds. We then entered the road work zone, which slowed us down somewhat, coming into Lancelin. Once we passed it and the turn off for Seabird though, the road became a little clearer. 

12.40pm and we reached the northern City of Wanneroo marker, we really were heading home. Yanchep National Park soon emerged and we were only 45km from our front door. All this time on the road and the end drawing ever nearer.  

Day 76 - Monday 17 September - Wildflower Way

Day 76

Monday

17 September – 

Kalbarri – Northampton – Yuna – Mullewa - Pindar

We managed a decent sleep in, not waking until 7.10am. I think the subdued light caused by the cloud cover helped considerably. Once we were awake however, we got moving. Bed and breakfast complete, I went for a shower, while Paul moved the van and car to the boat ramp carpark across the road and loaded up. When I returned, he went for his shower. I took some last pics of the Murchison River and a lone pelican, before we loaded ourselves into the van and began the trek once again. 

Our first destination was the Pink Lake in Port Gregory, about 60km from Kalbarri. Apparently, this is one of the must dos on a Chinese tourists WA list. 10km from the Port Gregory Road we saw our first flash of pink, it was a hot musk pink. I have never seen a lake, that is supposed to be pink, this pink before. 

I had mapped out the lookout to head to, but as we passed a parking sign, we realised we would have a view from it, as long as there was a path through the bush and there was. We pulled in and got out and began walking. I used a cairn of rocks to stand on for an overhead view and then we continued to move closer to the water’s edge. We couldn’t get right up to it though, as it became rather muddy. 

Paul was keen to get back into the car, as it was very windy and cold. We had even had a spot of rain on the drive down, which had me seriously contemplating jumping ship and making my own way north. 

We continued on the Port Gregory Road towards Northampton, passing through plenty of farmer’s fields, some yellow with canola. One place was obviously producing Geraldton wax, as they had rows of bushes in different shades of pinks. The roads and paddocks were bordered by colour, what is probably weed, but the little sprays of colourful flowers added a nice touch.

We passed through Northampton, before taking a left and heading for the small farming hamlet of Yuna. We parked the van at a siding and went in search of the free camp. We passed a garden full of paper daisies and a tree full of red tail cockies, before locating the hall and having the ah huh moment, we had been here before, though only for a lunch stop. 

We moved the van up to the parking area, unloaded the car, made lunch, got changed into warm clothes and then transferred us and our stuff to the Getz to go in search of wildflowers. We drove towards Mullewa, on the Tenindiwa Road and there was plenty of carpet colour to be seen. A quick moving echidna, had us coming to a halt, me jumping from the vehicle, before it was stopped, to chase after it. It hunkered down on the side of the road, as I approached and I took my photos and left it in peace.

We continued on to the town of Mullewa, followed the tourist bureau sign and parked nearby. We asked the questions every tourist in town was asking, “where can we see the wildflowers?”, collected a map and returned to the car.  

To see the wreath flowers, the main attraction and reason for coming, we had to head 30km east of Mullewa, to the small town of Pindar, from there it was a further 10km on dirt. It was corrugated, despite being graded on Friday, but only for the first few km’s and then it was an easier drive. We joined the line of traffic parked by the side of the road and then left the car to go and explore. There were hundreds of the Lechenaultia macrantha on display, some perfectly round, some with flowers around the edge, others with them in a mound, some white, some pink. There was every variation you could imagine and they were all quite beautiful. 

Once we had seen all we could, we returned to Pindar, pulled up in a layby and proceeded to make our lunch. We couldn’t have the door open, as the flies were relentless. When we finished, we returned to Mullewa, stopping in at the Our Lady of Mt Carmel to check out the old Priest House and the Catholic Church attached to it. They were impressive stone buildings and internally there were large wooden buttresses to hold up the curved roof and some picturesque stained glass windows. 

From the church, we drove to the starting point of the Railway walking trail. We left the car and began to follow the path through the bush. The flies were giving us the pips and we had to resort to snapping off a small tree branch to keep them at bay. As a result, we didn’t complete the whole walk. We saw an old rusty water tank and a number of trucks and then returned to the car, to make the journey back to Yuna. 

We had a couple of stops along the way, checking out the carpets of colour, mostly yellow and white. We also took in the patchwork of fields, delineated by lines of trees, green and yellow rectangles weaved between them. 

Once back in Yuna, we settled in for the late afternoon. School was out, but there were still cars in the carpark. I fiddled around, before sitting down with the computer to go through the photos taken for the day. Paul put salad together and left me in charge of cooking the salmon, which I did and then we ate. 

We discussed where to from here, Paul opting for the return home, insert a very sad face here. I am in no way ready to head back, but I can’t put off the inevitable I suppose and it will give us a little extra time at home to do “stuff’. 

Dad rang to check in and we had a laugh, as Aunty from England had been on the phone very concerned for Paul’s health, after seeing all the wreaths on Facebook. We let them know we were heading back and would organise to collect Yogi when we were settled. 

I returned to the tourist mags, reading up on the different wildflowers and then it was time to head to bed, the last one.

Day 75 - Monday - 16 September - Kalbarri Gorges

Day 75

Sunday

16 September – 

Began Book 13 – Tullyby Paulina Simons

Kalbarri River Gorges

We were awake relatively early this morning, but remained firmly stuck in bed, at first just dozing and then reading our books. Once we were up, we had showers and then gathered all of our necessary items, before piling into the car for 930am and making the trek out to the Murchison River Gorges. 

We entered the park and paid the $13 fee. It occurred to us then, that we probably should have invested in National Parks pass and saved some money, but too late now. Once through the pay station gate, we continued into the park a further 25km, heading to the Z Bend lookout first.

We parked in the carpark and then followed the bush path. There were plenty of wildflowers out to lead the way and I stopped to take a closer look at a number of them. 

After about 10min of walking we reached the viewing platform, crossed the metal path and then took in the view of the river below, weaving its way between the rock walls. We watched people below who were doing the river walk, deciding we wouldn’t join them. 

We were lucky enough to time it right with only a couple on the platform with us. On our return, we passed a bus load of teens eagerly heading that way. I am glad we got in first.  Once we were back at the top, it was into the car and heading on to the iconic Nature’s Window.

As soon as we crested the hill, we could see that this was going to be a busy stop. All the tourist signage and brochures push this rock phenomenon, so it was to be expected that it would be a little busy. 

We parked the car and made the move down the stairs and along the path. As we reached the peak, we could see a Chinese tourist ding Saturday Night Fever poses on the top of a rock. Another Aussie couple came past us complaining about their wilful disregard of the safety messages and how stupid they were. We had to agree. 

We sat on a bench to take a photo and then continued around the rock face, Paul letting the Chinese tourists know what he thought of their reckless behaviour. Once around the bend, we were finally at the famous rock structure and thankfully there weren’t too many people crowding around. 

We took the obligatory photos beside the window and peering through to the Murchison River below. We both discussed camps we had been on, deciding that below were the spots we had spent time at. We watched the Chinese tourists climb over the window like ants, despite signage saying that you shouldn’t and we wished there were spring loaded traps that would fling them over the edge, the minute they stepped where they shouldn’t. 

We returned along the path and up the stairs, before making our way out of the park and heading further east. The next two stops were further out and were entered at a different spot. Once we turned left off the main road, we made way for Hawks Head Lookout. The drive in was very picturesque with smoke bush lining the road and yellow and pink flashes added for a little extra colour. 

We parked in the large carpark, relieved to see only a handful of vehicles. We walked the short path down to the viewing platform, where we could see the Hawk’s head rock structure and the Murchison River below. 

Our final stop was the Ross Graham Lookout. This is the easiest gorge to climb into and follow the river, but we didn’t bother. We took in the view above, watched a family clambering around below and then returned to the car to grab our lunch things. 

We sat at a picnic table, fighting off the flies, as we ate our salad rolls. It had been a pleasant morning, but we were ready to head back to town. Paul was keen for a beer, so we stopped in at the tavern for a quick one. It didn’t leave him satisfied, so we made our way to Finlay’s so he could enjoy a couple of pints of their Citra. He chatted with the owner, Warwick, before we made our way back to the van. 

We didn’t hang around for long, as we needed a few things from the IGA. We walked the short distance, checking the fish truck first and then stopping in at the shop and then the bottle-o. 

Paul was looking to get out for a fish from the jetty and I was keen to walk the beach, so we gathered what was needed and then left the van once again. I followed Paul to the jetty, before leaving him with it and making my way down to the sand of the river. I left my thongs by a bush and then walked the water’s edge all the way to Chinaman’s Beach. 

It was very pleasant wandering in the afternoon sun, there was a bit of a breeze that occasionally whipped up the sand, but it didn’t bother me greatly. I watched a golden retriever dive in and out of the water, after a ball, which made me pine for Yogi, but I knew we would be seeing him soon enough. 

Once I had reached my destination, I turned around and made my way back, taking photos as I pleased. Paul had texted me a photo of his catch, a silver bream, but it was too small and had to go back. Turns out he had caught a few, but nothing came home with us. 

By the time I met him back on the jetty, the wind was blowing, the cloud was rolling in and it was cool. We were happy to return to the van and hide away from the elements. Dinner was a can of soup. I think we were both still full from our indulgent evening last night. It was long before we were looking for the comfort of bed and an early night.