WA - Kalbarri

Kalbarri is a spectacular coastal town on the headwaters of the Murchison River. The area has many coastal as well as inland gorges. As you drive into town from the south you are greeted by the bay where the town sits. The surf in the area is world renowned and we spent time watching surfers, swimming, as well as walking some of the gorges. We biked the walk/bike track that winds its way along the coast and stopped along the way at the many perfectly positioned seats to admire the view.





Kalbarri is also home to a fishing fleet of lobster as well as ocean fish. You can buy lobster off the boat for as little as $15.00 each. We watched the boats unloading and were amazed at the number of lobsters caught from each boat. One boat had 42 crates with about 30kilos in each crate. Not a bad days work! Western Australia has strict fishing laws which will hopefully secure fish in these waters for the future.




For the first time in months we felt safe enough to take the kayak out. No sharks and no crocodiles. We spent the morning in the lower part of the river where a sea eagle sat in the trees watching our progress. We were also in the middle of a large group of mullet that were surface eating around us. It was great to be back on the water again.





One of the most photographed areas of Kalbarri is Nature’s Window which is a very pleasant 800 metre round trip walk from the car park. The gorges in the area are impressive but the Murhison riverbed this far upstream was mostly dry with a few waterholes here and there. It would be wonderful to see this river in flood rushing through these gorges after major rainfall.

We spent four days here enjoying the scenery and visiting with our friends Lesley and Gabrielle who we met on our travels last year at Coffs Harbour. It was great to catch up and share “travelling stories”.

WA - Geraldton

Just before arriving in Geraldton you drive through Greenough flats. This area is buffeted by southerly winds and many of the trees have horizontal trunks which have become an icon for the region. (Photo 1 )

Geraldton is the regional hub and largest city on the Coral Coast. The area supports mines, grain, sheep and the sea breezes encourage windsurfers and kitesurfers from all across the globe.




On a hill overlooking Geraldton is the HMAS Sydney 11 Memorial. It pays tribute to the 645 crew lost in a WW2 battle against a German ship. The dome of the monument has 645 bronze birds heading skyward and a concrete wall lists the names of all lost. (Photo 2)The Sydney was found in March 2008 along with the German vessel the Kormoran about 150klms from Shark Bay.

Just over half way from Geraldton to Kalbarri is Port Gregory where we found the extraordinary Pink Lake. The lake is an intriguing site with areas of dark pink to pale pink and pieces of pink salt bordering the edges. The colour is due to a bacteria trapped in the sand granules. This is a provides a rich source of Beta Carotene which is harvested from small ponds. (Photo 3)

WA-The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles Desert is 250 klms north of Perth and just south of the beach side town of Cervantes.

As you drive through the Nambung National Park towards the Pinnacle area there is scrub and bushes all around. Suddenly, they thin out, and rising mysteriously from the sand dunes are thousands of limestone pillars of all shapes and sizes. You are able to drive and walk through the area but you are not permitted to touch them.

These amazing structures were created from ancient shells eons ago when this area was covered by the oceans. As you make your way though the park you could almost be wandering through an ancient cemetery with these “tombstones” protruding out of the sand. It is an eerie feeling but a fascinating place to visit.

WA-Freemnatle - Perth

The port of Freemantle is 20mins drive south west of Perth at the mouth of the Swan River. Many of the streets down town are full of wonderful heritage buildings, many housing businesses, coffee shops and restaurants. The old jail which was built by the convicts takes up a large portion of the area and is now a tourist attraction.

Freemantle has a large fishing fleet which supports the many sea food restaurants in the harbour. This area comes alive at night, brimming with people here for a meal. Mike and I had a fantastic sea food meal at one, and then enjoyed walking around looking at many of the fishing boats.(Photo 1 & 2).

While there, they were getting ready for the Freemantle boat show so we had a quick look at some of the boats for sale. Funny how I like all the ones that are about 1 million dollars upwards.

While in the area a “must do” is a boat ride on the Swan River from Perth to Freemantle. The trip takes about an hour and is very picturesque with beautiful homes and boats everywhere. One out of three families in Perth have a boat. The many multiple stacked boat storage facilities are seen in many of the bays along the river. Beaches with crystal clear water and stunning white sandy beaches are only 15 minutes from the city centre.

Perth is a very modern sprawling city which we found very easy to navigate around. The many stunning parks around the city give a feeling of relaxation and full of people enjoying them. The downtown area is walking distance to the rivers edge. (Photo 3).One of the city’s streets is a little England full of specialty shops. (Photo 4)Public buses are free within the city centre so it encourages people to leave their cars at home.

We visited the Perth mint where the gold that we saw mined at Kalgoorlie is melted into gold nuggets (Photo 5).

We encourage those of you who have not visited Perth to put this wonderful city on your travel list.

WA-Augusta to Bussleton

We visited the lighthouse at Augusta which is where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. Beside the beach at the foot of the lighthouse is an old water mill that was used to pump water to the people at the lighthouse in the 1800’s. It has now calcified but water is still running along it.(Photo 1) A little further west in the National Park is Hamelin Bay where we watched the large rays swimming up and down the waters edge waiting to be fed. The fishermen would hand the scraps to the rays and they would suck it up like a vacuum cleaner.(Photo 2). Mike fed them but I decided to be the wary photographer.

We enjoyed the entire Margaret River area with its’ many beautiful trees and of course the vineyards that go on for kilometres. The beaches along the coast are famous for their surf and while there, we watched part of the pro competition which was fantastic. We were interested to find where the Margaret River almost meets the sea. It flows to within about 100 metres from the ocean where a sand dune stops the progress. Maybe it then filters through the sand to the ocean. (Photo 3).

While in the area an art show was in progress. Artists from the area had painted over a hundred cows which were displayed at various business and parks throughout the area. We enjoyed following part of the “cow trail” to view the various designs. One in downtown Bussletown was named the KISS cow after the band and had many similarities to the band. (Photo 4)

The Bussellton and Dunsbourough area seem very affluent as the beautiful homes bordering the ocean go for kilometres. While at Bussleton Mike and I would ride the 5klms to town each morning on the bike tracks beside the ocean and have a coffee before the ride back to the van. What a great way to start the day. Then, back to the van to make more glass beads ( my new on the road hobby).

WA_Esperance to Denmark

The coastal drive from Esperance to Denmark was fantastic. The large coastal town of Albany was a great place to stay for a few days and travel the surrounding countryside. The National parks in the area have beautiful walks to hidden beaches and Albany has done a wonderful job converting the old whaling station to a tourist centre explaining the whaling industry with a whaling boat as part of the museum. Thank fully no more whales are hunted in our waters. The butchering of them was criminal.
Denmark is the home of the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk as well as having over one hundred kilometres of spectacular coastline and beautiful beaches, swimming holes and rock pools. The area has wineries, much local produce, art and craft galleries and to me the town itself has a very relaxed feel. A little hippyish maybe.
It is delightful driving through the area with the huge forests of Marri, Karri, Tingle and Jarrah trees. The smell radiating from the forest floor is so refreshing.
We walked above the trees on the tree top walk, at the highest part we are 40 metres above the ground and the tops of some of the trees were still towering above us. The walkway was swaying as we walked along it so I was very happy to get to the end. Back on the ground, there is boardwalk which meanders through a grove of tingle trees. Some of these are over four hundred years old and gigantic. Boy, if they could only talk.
Out to the coast we find the Elephant rocks and Greens Pool which are small sheltered coves, wonderful to swim in and stunning to look at. (Photo 3)
Next we are heading to the Margaret River area for a few days so we are looking forward to sampling a few wines.

WA-Esperance

After our crossing of the Nullarbor and our visit to Kalgoorlie we headed south to Esperance, a beautiful coastal town. We have decided that the coast line of Western Australia just keeps better around every corner.
The squeaky white, fine sand beaches bordered by brilliant blue pristine bays just take your breath away. Mike and I keep saying to each other that we cannot get over the clearness and the colour of the water. Every bay is truly post card scenery. There are over 100 island in the coastal archipelago and this area is also known as The Bay of Isles. There are long beautiful beaches that you can four wheel drive on, great bike and walking tracks around town and along the foreshore, as well as many fishing spots.
At the Tanker jetty in the bay the local seal, Sammy, swims and lazes around the pylons waiting for the fishermen to discard the leftovers from filleting their fish. You can sit and watch him for hours he is such a character. When he’s had his fill, he lies on the beach and has a nap oblivious to all the on- lookers and doesn’t stir until it is feed time again.

The Cape le Grand National Park is close by and offers two good camp areas on the beach as well as more incredible scenery.
We stayed at Esperance for a week and loved every minute of it.
Visiting this area is a must. The scenery is magnificent.