Day 87: Kalbarri (Day 1)

Today we got up early and headed into Kalbarri National Park for a day of walking and wildflower viewing. Our first stop was Z Bend. We walked to the lookout to see the sharp bend in the river below, then continued along the River Track to the Murchinson River below. Along the way down we saw a school group who were getting ready to abseil down the wall of the gorge. On the way back up we stopped to watch for a little bit while the kids assessed if it was something they might want to try later on in the trip.

The next stop was Nature's Window. Here we walked out to a "window" in the rock that you can look through and see the Murchinson River below. Theo and I got excited when we thought we could see a mallee fowl down by the river (one of the animals in our Menagerie card game), but on closer inspection with a zoom lens it looked more like a swan.

Our last walk in the Murchison River part of the national park was to the Skywalk. Here there are two cantilevered lookouts that hang out over the gorge below. It was a very windy day today so we were careful to hang on to our hats. Unlike many previous visitors who had lost their hats (and at least one drone) to the cliffs below in what the kids called the "hat graveyard".

On the drive back out to the coast we saw a thorny devil on the road. We have been looking out for one for a long time. It was super cool to finally see one.

In the coastal section of Kalbarri National Park we stopped at Natural Bridge/Castle Cove for a look at the ocean. This was the first time on the trip that we have seen big waves coming in to the shore and crashing onto the cliffs. Further north the reefs stop the big waves of the Indian Ocean from getting to the coastline.

On the way back to camp we stopped at Blue Holes for a look around, before getting ice creams and having a quick play in the town playground. For the rest of the afternoon we stayed at camp where the kids spent their time making up new games with the other kids staying at the farm.