Kalbarri
Thursday, April 7th
We woke to find a few drops of rain on the windscreen and a strong wind blowing. This was not going to be a good beach day! A visit to the Tourist Info Centre confirmed this as the swell was high, therefore snorkelling and reef fishing not recommended. Ah, there’s always ‘plan B’.
Although the coastline around Kalbarri was explored by Europeans in the early seventeenth century the actual town of Kalbarri did not come into existence until 1951 and seemingly it exists today just as a tourist destination. The history of the area is one of shipwrecks – the coast is treacherous and entry to the Murchison River involves navigation around the reef. In 1712 a Dutch ship named the Zuytdorp was wrecked on a reef north of Kalbarri. It is claimed that the ship sunk with a bullion of 100 000 guilders and pieces of eight aboard. By the eighteenth century it had become commonplace for Dutch ships to round the Cape of Good Hope, sail west along the Roaring Forties, and then sail north along the West Australian coast towards the Dutch East Indies with many ending up wrecked along the reefs in this area.
In 1839 Lieutenant George Grey, while attempting to explore North West Cape, was shipwrecked near the mouth of the Murchison. He was forced to walk back to Perth and thus became the first white explorer to travel along the coastal strip of the Central West.
The Kalbarri NP with its spectacular scenery and red rock gorges cut from the landscape by the Murchison River became our new focus for the day. I bought a fly veil which Graeme quickly commandeered and we were grateful for our hats and shirts as when the sun came through the clouds it was very hot. Not something to try when the temperature is much above 30 as in the gorges it can be up to 10 degrees hotter. The scenery made the 30+km trip on corrugated roads worthwhile. The green river contrasted with the sandy beaches and the red rocks. Beautiful!
Back in town after lunch, Graeme fished without luck at Chinaman’s Point while I swam at the main river beach. It was lovely to have a relaxing afternoon of reading, cooking (for GVS) and doing very little. Our caravan park was situated opposite the river and the view was lovely, the breeze strong and the pool water cool.
Instead of going into town for dinner – Graeme has been desperate to have crayfish – we opted for joining the caravan park owners and fellow travellers for a BBQ. We thought that it would be good to have company after a few days on our own, however we probably should have gone out to eat!
Kalbarri to Monkey Mia
Friday, April 8th
Happy Birthday, Stuart.
A trip to Monkey Mia was not the plan, it just worked out that way!
After a pleasant walk along the Kalbarri walk/cycle track to Blue Holes beach where some surfers were enjoying the swell and the off-shore wind, we packed up and drove south along the NP, stopping to visit a number of the scenic views. At the Natural Bridge lookout we saw 2 large pods of dolphins – about 15-20 dolphins in each – and a large sealion swimming along the cliff edge. The scenery was pretty but not as spectacular as the gorges, so we headed out along the gorges road and called in at another 2 sites, where once again the views were wonderful and each different to the other.
We had planned on stopping just a few km up the main highway but decided that we would be prepared to drive on .... and on....and on, as each of the selected camp sites was unsuitable. Eventually we phoned Tourist Info in Denham and booked a free camp site but when we arrived at Fowlers Camp around 5pm we discovered that we couldn’t take our 2WD up the sandy hill, so we continued on and eventually paid $30 to stay at the car park at Monkey Mia! They called it an ‘unpowered site’ but that’s romanticising it!!!
Monkey Mia, Denham and Goudrey Bluff
Sat. April 9th
We were up early to see the dolphins. As we stood at the beach waiting, we saw some in the water and knew that we were lucky as on the previous day none had come in near the shore. Eventually about 12 came in, including the 5 adult females that are fed a small amount of their daily diet here each morning. It took a long time for them to come right in to feed and although we saw them up to 5 metres away, the event did not fulfil the tourism brochures’ expectations. The process was very well explained and quite entertaining, however we could not recommend the 130+ each way drive just to see this, when there are dolphins in Western Port and Port Philip Bays.
A 2.5 walk along the red ridge and then the beach was well-signed and interesting, although it was too late in the morning to see many birds at the water hole. A swim in the refreshing sea was a perfect way to end the morning, especially as we had access to the showers at the ‘resort’.
At Denham we visited the Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre which was very interesting and well arranged in a new building. The history of Shark Bay, its importance as a marine habitat, the dolphins, dugongs, stromatalites, shells, oyster farming, shipwrecks, Dirk Hartog Island, Aboriginal history – past and present – were all covered.
A late lunch in the shade on the water’s edge was followed by a short drive down the coast. We stopped at Eagle Bluff along the way and walked out on the boardwalk where we saw many lemon sharks, up to 1.5m long, cruising close to the rocks below. The binoculars were put to good use!
From there it was on to Goudrey Bluff, our free camp for the evening. This was spectacular!! The tide was out and the sand bars were actually made up of millions of little, perfect shells. There were small sharks that looked like yellowish rays with long tails and many fish in the shallow inlet and bigger sharks along the shoreline. The scenery was beautiful, swimming refreshing and the whole experience amazing as we were the only ones there .... until just before sunset when other travellers came for the night. We watched the sun set over the Indian Ocean, the tide creep up and quietly engulf the pools and trees, and counted our many blessings.
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