Day 74
Saturday
15 September –
Galena Bridge - Kalbarri
The light was pouring in and the wind was still when we woke this morning. Knowing we had a short drive on to Kalbarri there was no rush to move out of bed. We stayed put for an hour reading, before we eventually got out at 8.15am.
We took our time with breakfast and tidying up, again there was no rush, but with little to do for pack up, we were joining the convoy of other travellers and pulling out of the free camp at 8.45am. In an hour, we would be in Kalbarri.
At 9.45am, we pulled into the BP and filled the tank, which was running on empty. At $1.68, it was one of the more expensive pumps we have filled up at, of late. We then proceeded the further km down the road to the boat ramp and took the car off the trailer. Meanwhile, I went to reception at the Anchorage Caravan Park and booked in for a couple of days.
We ended up with a spot in the riverfront section, manoeuvred the van into place and set up our base. When we were done, I went for a shower and when Paul had done the same, we ventured into town, happy for the chance to walk.
Our first stop was the info centre, where we picked up info on what to do and then we continued to follow the river front all the way around to the lookouts where the Murchison River meets the sea. We stood and watched the waters pounding, waves crashing against the reef and rocks below.
We continued to follow the trail up to the Zuytdorp memorial lookout which gave a good view back over the town and the river. It was a lovely warm morning, but the breeze was just beginning to turn. As it was midday, Paul suggested we head home so we could have lunch and prepare for the afternoon.
On our return at 12.30pm, I put salad rolls together and then we enjoyed a bit of a sit down for a short while. Just after 1pm, we were ready to be on the move again. This time we were heading off to check out the coastal cliffs, something we did last time we were here, but the weather was so fowl, we didn’t really see much.
We drove out of town, heading south, making our way to Island Rock. Here we parked and wandered over to the lookout. The large rock structure emerged from the sea floor and was being pounded by the large swell. We walked between it and Natural Bridge, on a boardwalk snaking its way through the scrub. We spied a pod of dolphins not far from the Island Rock happy to just bob about.
We eventually made it to Natural Bridge and took in the sights both north and south of us. Out to the West, whales could be seen leaving a spray of water, as they emerged and disappeared again. We returned to the car and moved on to Shellhouse Grandstand. We again left the car and walked the short distance to the lookout, checking out the white sandstone cliffs that fall into the water below.
The next stop on the trail was Eagle Gorge. We followed the path to the viewing platform and took in the landscape before us. Someone had taken some time to gather black rocks and make a heart shape at the base of the cliff. As we followed the path back, a small bearded dragon popped out to say hello, almost running up my leg. He was quite cute, but also quite unpredictable.
We drove in and checked out Pot Alley, but weren’t interested in doing the walk, so continued on to Mushroom Rock. We cheated with the walk, opting to take an obvious shortcut and view it from a rock platform, rather than venture all the way down. It is quite an interesting structure.
Our final stop was Red Bluff. We remembered walking this trail when we were here in 2016, the dog barking in the van after we left him and our rain / wind jackets done up tight around our ears, as we braved the wind and rain. Today we didn’t have the rain, but the wind was still a battle.
We made it to the point, took in the view over the beach below and the Kalbarri town site beyond and then returned to the car, happy to be heading back to the van for some r n r. I took the time to go through the photos for the day, before we had to think about getting ready to head out to dinner. Paul had found a craft brewery in town and had booked a table for 6pm.
We drove over to Finlays Bar at 5.30pm and were shown to our table, the Collingwood v GWS game was already playing and we had front row seats, so that kept us entertained, as we perused the menu and ordered drinks. Paul met with the owner, speaking to him about the place and the beer.
Our food came out nice and quick, coconut prawns for entrée followed by fish n chips and squid. It was all delicious. We let it settle for a short while, before ordering chocolate mousse for dessert and a hot chocolate for me.
We watched the footy until ¾ time and then returned to the warmth of the van. I was happy to go through the blog and the rest of the photos, keeping tabs on the final quarter of the footy. Unfortunately, the Pies made it through by 10pts. Soon after it was time for bed.
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