Day 63 - Fri, 10 Sep at Kalbarri

This morning was the first, I guess more from here on; you see the tent had moisture on it and this is the first for many moons. I rose and had an easy morning having breakfast next to my tent overlooking the Murchison River.

I headed into town (about 500m) to check out the waterfront, get some information on activities and see whether a camera was available. And guess what, the video and photo store had what I wanted at, well a “reasonable” cost. So I am back with a camera and hanging onto it (well at the moment anyway) – not dropped yet!

At the river headland, it empties into the sea and the passage for the boats is channel marked, but there is some rough action, entering and leaving the tranquillity of the estuary. It is a pretty place with swimming, surfing, sandsurfing (riding a wake board down a sand dune), fishing and canoeing all available in close proximity to the town.

Yesterday I passed a couple of lookouts in the NP but I didn’t want to stop as it was getting late. So today I thought I would check them out. The NP is quite different from the flatness of the coastal plain that resides behind it.

The Murchison River runs for some 700km through the arid rangeland and then cuts its way through the sandstone and empties into the ocean at Kalbarri. The gorges are part of the Kalbarri NP and accessible by 4WD with the upper reaches having little flow presently, awaiting the rains yet to come. The river can reach 1/2 way up the gorge sides in the above photo.

This afternoon I had coffee and a fabulous blueberry & white chocolate muffin at the local Gorges Cafe (right next to the caravan park) whilst I wrote some emails and did some internet surfing. Such decadence.

On returning to the tent, the neighbours opposite (WA locals) invited me to watch the AFL tonight – Fremantle vs Geelong – everyone is very excited about the match, except for the West Coast Eagles supporters (the competition wooden spooners). If you know me you know that AFL is not really my cuppa tea, but then again, after dinner I’ll head over and either give congratulations or commiserations.

I’ve decided to stay another day, heading out for a canoe trip in the morning and then probably do some housekeeping and bike check in the afternoon. Until then, see yah!