Around 100ks North of Geraldton was a holding cell for convicts, (maybe the Lankans in Geraldton would live here) we stopped for a quick look but didn’t want to be locked up so we took our pictures from afar and continued until we came across the Pink Lake, it was pink and lead us away from the road to Kalbarri to Port Gregory and a great surprise. The G on this day was calm and a picture of untouched seaside beauty, a coral reef 100 meters off shore protected the fishermen launching their boats from the sand to the clear mid north WA waters.
We had to backtrack before we headed north again to stop just short of Kalbarri and check out the bluffs/cliffs that looked similar to the Great Australian Bight, they were ok but you seen one, you seen them all. We headed over the only hill for a thousand kilometers (other than the cliffs) and the Murchison River presented as a sparkling apron for the town of Kalbarri.
We chose the Murchison Caravan Park and they chose us for position 1A, the best site in the house right on the river (only the rarely traveled road between us) with a view up the Murchison and across to the ocean that kept us more than happy after we set up and wandered over for a dip to keep things cool. Shell whipped up dinner of local butcher snags under a great sunset that we enjoyed with a cold few beers.
Our early morning ride around town and the river was great before we headed into the Kalbarri National Park to check out the Gorge’s, the first one we walked down into they are very deep but carried more flies than water, Shell found what she calls a skeleton (see picture) but I’m not so sure.
Natures Window was a rough 30k trip down a red dirt track before we came into the car park and enjoyed some PB&J sangas with the flies and backpackers on a bus tour. We had to walk around a kilometer out onto the red rock cliff face to see the window, the rock like strategically placed thin blocks to create levels like Kramer was once planning for his apartment.
It was a little dangerous and extremely hot walking out but it wasn’t either of these that worried us, it was the FLIES! I don’t recall seeing this many flies ever and for some reason they liked yellow more than anything else.
We had to have been more than 100 meters up form the dry gorge floor when we walked out onto a narrow ledge to see the star attraction Natures Window, a shame it had no flowing water like the photoshopped image to promote the place but it was well worth the trip to see this place. A car parked near ours back in the car park had a thermometer on its window, it was no surprise to us to see it at 58c.
A few cold beers were a must after a day in the wild before we ripped out the TV and watched The Nugget to remind us of what could have been back on the Kalgoorlie Gold Fields.
Shark Bay World Heritage Area
Half way between Kalbarri and our destination we stopped at the Billabong Roadhouse for Australia’s most expensive coffee, a bit further up the road we passed the 26th Paralell and after 380ks drove into Denham.
Denhams population is only around 1800 but the place had a lot going for it, clear water a couple of pubs and caravan parks, plenty of backpackers Francois National Park to the north and Monkey Mia 20ks to the East. We stocked up on some supplies, Shell made lunch whilst I did some work and we headed into the wild for a few days.
Herald Bight in Francois National Park was our home, on the beach only 10 meters from the water. A swim in the crystal clear waters after setting up was great with the crabs, bream and whiting so we grab the rods to catch dinner, they were good eating too.
We woke for sunrise that reflected perfectly on the glassy water that was only broken by the fin of a shark cruising by. When the tide moved in after lunch Shell grabbed the gopro and snorkel to check out the marine life while I kept watch for sharks!
It wasn’t long before some dolphins appeared with one of them venturing in to the beach and only a meter from the edge chasing a whiting, it was only around 8 meters from Shelly before it noticed her and went around her before heading back out to sea.
Press Play Above
The best came as we were having our lunch only 10 meters from the water, a Dugong popped his head up out of the water only around 8 meters from the sand. Dugongs are funny looking things like a dolphin and a seal cross this one fully grown at 3 meters. This funny looking fellow frolicked gracefully in front of us for the next 3 hours only breaking the silence every few minutes when it came up for air.
Next up in our private marine show was the predator of the sea, it may have only been 2 meters but the shark was built for speed and it used it to round up bait fish in the shallow waters only a couple of meter from my toes. Not being a fan off fish at the dinner table other than shark I decided we could do with a feed. I baited up with a big pilchard and cast my bait into the center of the bait fish on the run from the predator that immediately turned toward my offering, my line went off! My heart went off! I got him…. SHARK!!! Now what!
It didn’t take long to realise I didn’t hook the shark, just a flathead about 1.6 meters shorter than my target.
The next morning we packed up and explored the other parts of the national park before heading back to Denham to get ready for the Bombers game. We sampled both pubs and checked out the locals wandering the streets (see video below).
Monkey Mia
The resort at Monkey Mia was fully booked so we had to make it a day trip to see the dolphins feeding, plenty of people lined the beach early in the morning, the water not as clear as it would normally be but it was good experience and well worth the trip.
It was time to depart Shark Bay and head north to Carnarvon, this meant we had to drive south past Shell Beach a beach that over thousands of year has little conch shell build up (10 meters deep) on the shore. I got some good pictures of Shell on shell beach.
A bit further south was something pretty special, Stromatolites (living rock) these funny looking things are linked to life on earth and 3.5 billion years old. Stomatolites – are layered limestone rock built up by single-celled cyanobacteris (blue-green bacteria) which trap and bind sediments. Some build craggy towers, other build flat spongy mats.
Press Play Above
for our gopro on a stick video
A couple of hundred ks through the desert to Carnarvon and our destination and home for Saturday night.
CameronCorner 