Kalbarri - Murchison Gorge

With the weather closing in, we set of early the next morning for the Murchison Gorge. It still falls under the Kalbarri National Park but is set back from the coast along the Murchison River. The access road runs off the main road that heads east to the Brand Highway. It's bitumen for a fair way before turning into a dirt road. About half way along the black stuff something caught my eye in the cloudy conditions.

This little critter is a Thorny Devil. These are my favorite lizards of all time. It was strangely camouflaged against the asphalt. My new spiky little friend gave away it's identity by the way it was standing tall on it's legs, head up and tail pointing straight up in the air.

This was the first time I'd seen one in the flesh. It's such an unusual looking creature all covered in spikes but was very subdued, easy to pick up and didn't mind being handled.

After we'd all had a good look I decided to take it away from the road and release it somewhere a little safer to bask in the sun.

You can see how camouflaged they are against their natural habitat. What a buzz to start the day?!

15kms on the dirt road later we reached Z-bend. A short walk leads to the lookout to the top of the gorge.

A side trail runs down a small valley to the bottom of the gorge.

It was nice to potter around and paddle the feet in the water.

Harry did surprisingly well with the fairly technical short hike that included scrambling over rocks and climbing ladders.

Latter we ventured over to Nature's Window. A rain front howled across the area just as we arrived but were able to get down to the formation, take our photos and get back to the car between squalls  without getting drenched (well mostly). Everyone who visits the gorge lines up for this shot at Nature's Window. On the other side of the window is a significant drop. Toddlers don't necessarily understand the danger.

As the day went on the weather deteriorated. The cars were filthy by the time we got back to the house. Fortunately the rain during the afternoon managed to wash most of it away. By mid afternoon the weather was horrible and was so windy that the panel of the back fence blew down, almost into the pool. We'd managed to see what we wanted to see while we were in Kalbarri so we weren't complaining. The three boys started to get a bit of cabin fever but otherwise things were fine. The following day we set off for Perth reasonably early. We reached Lancelin for lunch and Perth and hour or so after that.

It was a fairly successful trip and a good test to see how Harry would go on a long car trip. Hopefully next year we can start exploring the Southern coast near Albany or Esperance.

Kalbarri - Coastal Cliffs

Travel has been scarce for a while with the toddler in our lives and the economic environment being so unstable. The only escape was a trip to Brisbane for Christmas last year. Good times but not for this site.

My brother, Tim, and I can up with a plan to get out of Perth. Kalbarri is about an eight hour drive from Perth and not too expensive so it seemed like a good plan to get away from a wet winter/spring. We made stops at Jurien Bay and Geralton. Harry handled the trip pretty well which is a good sign that he's ready for more longer car trips. It was pretty late by the time we arrived but the next day we were out and about exploring.

We concentrated on the coastal cliffs. It's a bit like WA's answer to the Great Ocean Road. This one is Natural Bridge (also along the Great Ocean Road).

This is Island Rock, just on the other side of Natural Bridge.

September is the time when the whales start migrating south. We could see them a couple of kilometres offshore breaching and fin slapping. Even with a long lens the photos aren't great.

By lunchtime the sea breeze was in so we packed it in and settled in at the house for the afternoon.

Once Harry was awake from his afternoon sleep we did a little more exploring. Pot Alley was a bit sheltered from the wind.

Kalbarri rarely disappoints when it comes to sunsets.

There were even a couple of very cheeky pelicans to keep Harry entertained.