Pearly Shells (Kalbarri to Monkey Mia, WA)

Kalbarri, on our day of departure, couldn't decide what weather to offer. Wind. Showers. Sunshine. It was like being in Melbourne. Nah, it wasn't that sad a situation and the pies were better.

The neighbours commenced moving out around, I don't know, it was dark. We managed to crawl out of bed to the news of an Ashes victory. Well done team. Especially Alex Carey and Captain Pat for the Bairstow dismissal. This will keep the Colonial Masters whingeing for a generation. However, I digress. Bags packed and stowed, we checked out and went straight to the Red Bluff Bakery for a breakfast pie. Today ... success. Good pies. I shall return. A pity they can't manage to serve coffee in a proper cup. Not letting it go.

The drive today is around 4 hours straight through but we have things still to investigate in the National Park before we hit the big road. First stop is Hawke's Head Lookout.

Hawke's Head Lookout

Another amazing spot above the Murchison River. It's making me itch to be out bushwalking. On the drive in, we spotted numerous emus and wallabies. Happily they remained where they were.

This 'walk' was classed as 1. Sealed all weather surface all the way. Luxury. The walk was only a few hundred metres from the car park. Did we take rain protection? No. Did it rain? Yes. Enough to send us back to the shelter. The wind was moving the clouds so quickly it wasn't going to last, and didn't, but it was enough to make us moist. OK, damp.

Rain cleared, it was back down the path. The colours of this country are so unfamiliar to me. The depth and variety of the red soil is incredible. And the river as a contrast, blue and green, depending on depth of the water and the reflective sky. It is stunning and awe inspiring. And while I'd love to walk it, I think of it from ground level and wonder how the First Australians navigated the landscape. Respect.

The head of the hawke is visible to the left.

We were pretty much the only people here although numbers increased as we were leaving. The experience is so much better without the hordes of school holidays and the sullen teenagers and whining children.

Ross Graham Lookout

A kilometre or so down the road was the Ross Graham Lookout. Apparently a Class 3 walk. What a joke. Reasonably level, sound under foot, well signposted. I wonder how they would rate some of the tracks I've walked.

Again, a gentle wander from the car park to an area overlooking the magnificent Murchison. It provided easy access to the river for day trips and picnics, although I'm sure I cold manufacture an overnighter out of sight of the day trippers. The landscape here is so different from other parts of the river. The red of the soil was not nearly evident and it was in between gorges.

Ross Graham was the first teacher in Kalbarri and died at the tender age of 30 in 1967. He was known and respected for his love of the environment and was a great champion of the area in general. 

Coincidentally, Ross Graham is also the name of a family friend. Photos and text were sent to him to let him know we were thinking of him and Lesley (his wife).

Back on the road for the longer section of the drive. There was not much in the way of wildlife except goats, goats and more goats. Alive, in reasonable numbers and not as much as roadkill, sadly. The next break would be to see the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool.

Hamelin Pool Stromatolites

Finally we reached the turn at Overland Roadhouse. Excitement plus. The trip was easy, the road was straight, and consequently there were plenty of opportunities to pass the ubiquitous caravans/trailers. Even when some idiots were driving in convoy with insufficient space between vehicles.

We turned left towards our final destination but with a couple of stops in between. The first was at Hamelin Pool, the stromatolites. Life is too short for to explain what they are, so google it. Anyway, every sign showing a turn off to said 'attraction' had a very large, handwritten NO adhered to it. Every sign. Curious. Have the living fossils been removed? Surely such an act of vandalism would have the news on the east coast. I mean, they have an hour for news and only devote about 12 minutes to reporting it.

Maybe the road was closed. WA Roads would have had that signposted. So we continued and with every signposted 'NO', our curiosity grew. We turned off toward Telegraph and the stromatolites, and the road was fine. There was traffic coming back from the other direction. On we went.

We reached the car park. There were other cars there, a shelter with the usual explanations for the area and the attraction you are about to see. So we walked down to the beach. And there it was.

Despite brochures and information everywhere. NO!

Apparently cyclone Seroja wiped out the viewing platform in 2021 and it was scheduled for reconstruction and reopening in 2022. In front of our eyes were a fence and a sign saying NO access - subject to fines. The viewing platform looks as demolished as it did immediately after Seroja struck 2 years ago. Our tourist brochure said it was open. The RAC magazine, June/July 23 edition, lists it as place to visit because the viewing platform makes for easy access. Poor form WA. Lift your game.

I mean, to be honest, they're not that interesting anyway.

Back in the car an onward. Disappointment behind us.

Shell Beach

Shells as far as the eye can see.

A little further down the road. Ok, a 30 minute drive or so. The name says it all. Shell beach is a beach made of cockle shells that stretches for 60 kms at a depth of up to 10 metres. White shells that can be absolutely blinding in full sun. The shells have been used to build local buildings in Denham. Signs warn against visitors helping themselves to the shells so 21st century constructions cannot make use of this product. Instead the crunchy shells are left to build up and provide a dazzling white contrast to the pristine soft blue waters of the L'haridon Bight sanctuary.

A hand model happened past and offered to pose.

At the eastern end of the beach, at one of the narrowest points of the peninsula, a fence has been constructed that spans the width of the land and extends into the ocean on either side. This has been built to keep out introduced predators like cats and goats and consequently, without the threat of these feral species, the native wildlife has started to regenerate. Mind you, the fence is open at the roadway but a cattle grid supposedly acts as a barrier at this point.

They were serious - I thought.

Obviously the shell beach inspired today's title, Pearly Shells by Burl Ives, in case it has slipped past you. Too young? Google it.

Eagle Bluff

Last stop before Denham was Eagle Bluff. The road in is sealed all the way, despite the travel brochures saying otherwise. Sealed, except for the car park where we wrangled with a mach 4WD unsurprisingly attempting the roundabout in the wrong direction. After a brief stand-off, I parked in one of the last spots.

Not a creature was stirring....

The Bluff is a high cliff that overlooks shallows that extend out to a small island and sea grass beds that feed an estimated 10,000 dugongs (10% of the world's population). A boardwalk and viewing platforms have been built along the cliff top and viewers can glimpse turtles, sharks, rays and dugongs in the shallows. We, however, did not see a single creature stirring while we were there because we were too intent on not being blown into the bay. 

Denham and Monkey Mia

Denham is not the nicest place to be when the wind is howling. Today it would blow a brown dog off a chain. We drove in to buy some supplies, cheese and biscuits and so forth because we didn't really know what to expect at Monkey Mia.

One of the locals.

The wind continued and brought the occasional shower of rain. Just unpleasant, so we checked out the shopping precinct and returned to the safety and warmth of the car.

Monkey Mia is about 30 minutes drive from Denham. Aside from the dolphins, what is at Monkey Mia you ask, dear reader? Nothing. The RCA "Resort" is it. A monopoly on food, drink, entertainment, accommodation. They own the lot and charge an extra fee to be there, on top of the National Park Pass and your accommodation and all the other incidentals. Nice.

Approaching sunset

First impressions were not good. Unfettered, unbridled screaming children everywhere. It is, a glorified tourist park with some expensive accommodation. There are a couple of food options and at both venues are also bars. The view from our room is beautiful but at the moment, I'm feeling tired and thinking this was not a good choice. Maybe some food and a couple of glasses of wine will soften my stance.

Stock standard sunset photo.

For this first night, we opted for take-away pizzas to accompany our own wine on the balcony of our unit to watch the sun go down.

All the photos at Monkey Mia have been taken from our balcony.

Until tomorrow.

DCX3 (Kalbarri, WA)

Dinner was an interesting affair. The bus group that inhabited most of the restaurant were celebrating Christmas in July. It's not a concept that resonates with me and, in Kalbarri in July, it wasn't cold. In fact I've endured colder December days in Sydney. The food was fine, expensive but fine; not that it would necessarily be my first choice, should I return. However, even in school holidays, options were limited as we soon discovered.

The next morning was not the sunshine promised by my weather app. It was already cloudy which meant the Pink Lake or Hutt Lagoon, as it is properly known, would not be at its best. It also cast further doubt on the sunset cruise going ahead.

The local bakery, Red Bluff Bakery Café was fêted for its wares and coffee on some website Jayne had been using, so breakfast there en route to the lake was the plan. They were sold out of plain pies so we settled for a $6 sausage roll. Quite tasty. Am I out of touch, dear reader, or is that a tad pricey? And the coffee? Served in cardboard cups with a sippy lid. Two of my pet hates. Good coffee requires a proper cup. No coffee for me.

The Pink Lake

The view from the road to Kalbarri.

We drove past the Pink Lake on the way in to Kalbarri last evening. It was just on sunset and probably would have produced some spectacular photographs, but I was keen to get off the road, away from wandering animals, so we didn't stop. The road was punctuated by road kill, a black cat, kangaroos, wallabies and un upturned car.

Cloud kills the colour

The drive back takes around 35 minutes and during this time the sun came and went. We spotted a kangaroo, but it was far enough away not to be a concern. The cloud was moving fast in blustery conditions, signalling a change in weather.

Colouring up with a break in the clouds.

There were plenty of cars in the 'car park' and a bus, which meant the sand strip along the lake was crowded. The high ground, which afforded better views, was not so. Although we had an excellent vantage point the cloud really dulled the impact of the salt crystals that provide the colour. It was definitely pink, but looks blindingly fairy floss pink in full sun. They should have launched the Barbie movie here, there is more pink than the Barbie aisle at K-Mart. I'd come back to see it on a clear day, as it is quite startling and not something I've seen before.

An arty shot from Jayne.

On the drive back toward Kalbarri we passed the dead black cat for the third time which made today's title choice simple. DCX3 or Dead Cat Three Times by Grinspoon what a great rock band.

Bigurda Trail: Natural Bridge and Island Rock

The rest of the day was focused on the natural environment and we turned our trusty Camry back towards Kalbarri. After a short period of time second guessing how quickly the fuel would run down, I gambled that we had sufficient to stop and explore a couple of sights before heading back into town.

The clouds were being ripped across the sky by this time as the wind increased. A boardwalk on the edge of the coastal cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean was always going to be an interesting experience. The road in to these 'natural wonders' has recently been sealed. 

Island Rock

Car parked, we made our way to the first lookout point that provided views of Castle Cove and Island Rock. I'm not sure it was worth the walk to be honest. While the view was dramatic again, the colours were muted by the cloud. Undeterred we walked towards the other lookout to discover that we were gifted with a view of Island Rock from the northern side. About face, down the boardwalk to the southernmost point where Natural Bridge was the attraction.

Given the velocity of the wind and the sand that was providing us with a face exfoliation, we are not certain Natural Bridge is going to be a tourist hot spot for long.

Natural Bridge

In all seriousness, the walk along the cliff top was an attraction in itself. The two manufactured sights are really quite an embarrassment. It's like a little brother trying to outdo the elder, or some sort of animal competitive thing you'd see on a David Attenborough program. WA is bigger than Texas with plenty to offer, it doesn't need to 'create' attractions.

Point in case - whales. They were just doing their thing flopping about in the water. The assumption is that they are juvenile humpbacks.

Once again the car was pointed toward Kalbarri, this time for petrol before heading to the Kalbarri National Park. Incidentally, I'm averaging 5.4litres per 100km in the hybrid Camry. Pretty good given all the highway driving.

Kalbarri National Park 

First stop was the Skywalk. As the name suggests, this is a boardwalk that has been constructed by combining steel and sandtone to create two cantilevered viewing platforms that protrude out into the gorge, 100 metres above the Murchison River. The walkway provides a canvass for first nations Nanda artists to tell visitors about their Dreaming and the Beemarra Serpent, central to their country. It is also an opportunity to educate tourists about the local fauna and for some truth telling about the post-colonial treatment of the Nanda people.

The Skywalk structure boasts a capability of 1000 kgs per square metre of the steel mesh platforms - it is said to provide a thrilling experience and great photo ops of the gorge. Not so thrilling, if you are not comfortable looking through the mesh under your feet at the gorge floor 100 metres below you while the "sturdy world class engineering marvel" sways and sings in the strong WA winds....

Anyway, for your enjoyment, the less than thrilled intrepid photographer ignored the dangers and took the stunning shots of the gorge and the river before we moved on to the next walk in the Kalbarri National Park.

In WA, all walks are classed 1-4; a different rating system to NSW. The Skywalk was a class 1 walk - wheelchair accessible. There was some discussion about next going to Nature's Window, a much celebrated photo spot but this was rated a higher class walk so the decision was made to hold that over till next time.

Instead, we headed to the Z Bend Lookout Trail, a relatively short walk which was said to offer the most spectacular views of the park, showcasing the sheer gorge walls of iconic sandstone layers that are synonymous with this environment.

The walk also featured fossilised tracks made by the Eurypterid, a long extinct creature that looked a lot like a trilobite.

A model of the Eurypterid.

This was a Class 3 walk, the second most difficult. Yeah, nah. Too easy. It was clearly marked, had drainage channels and was stable underfoot. here was no scrambling or climbing. Too easy. Had I known I would perhaps have tackled Nature's Window, despite wearing jeans.

The fossilised tracks.

Meanarra Lookout

This lookout is outside of the park, on the drive back into town. We stopped and admired the 360° view but the wind had whipped up the sea spray to ensure the entire valley was covered in mist. No photo opportunity here as you can see.

On a clear day ... not today.

Despite the weather, the view is worth the short drive off the road and there are interactive points where Indigenous elders relate stories of the area. The wind and threat of rain sent us back to the car and The Edge to check on the viability of the sunset cruise.

Sunset Cruise and Pizza

No deal. For either. The weather was,  accurately described as foul by the cruise operator. It was off. As I put the phone down the drizzle turned to rain and the wind ratcheted up another notch. Not a afternoon to be on the water.

The reputedly best pizza in Kalbarri was a 3 minute walk from our accommodation. Once again a carefully researched destination. We arrived to the shop in utter darkness and a potential customer was sitting on the doorstep, surrounded by all her shopping bags of groceries. Shortly after, a car arrived and disgorged more potential pizza eaters. We stood and discussed the situation as the phone continued to ring inside.

The lady who was waiting when we arrived said this was not an uncommon event as there was illness within the family. To wait or retreat? The rain and wind settled it.

Plan B. Back to the resort, into the car and down to the jetty to the Jetty Seafood Shack. This turned out to be a masterstroke. Again the food was expensive but it was excellent. Certainly some of the best fish and chips we've had. We would most definitely return because of the quality of the food but also because we witnessed the staff breaking in a new worker. She was slightly under the pump at her station and she was frequently asked how she was going, was she okay, did she need a drink of water?  Nice to see them look after a newbie.

And that's about it. We watched the cricket - go Australia - tomorrow is a 4 hour drive without breaks, but there will be breaks.

Until next time.