Life in a Humpback

Day 89: Kalbarri to Mullewa

Today we were on the move once again. Our first stop was south of Kalbarri at Hutt Lagoon to see the pink coloured Lagoon. The lagoon is pink due to algae that produce carotenoid. This algae is used for things like makeup and food colouring.

We then headed to Geraldton for lunch and to pick up some groceries, as this was the first big city we had passed through since Broome. It was very windy so we did not spend much time in the city.

Once we were re-stocked we drove back inland to Mullewa, which is a small town in the middle of "wildflower country". We stayed at the Mullewa Caravan Park (overflow section). Once we unhooked the caravan I headed out on the wildflower walk that leaves from the entrance to the caravan park. It was a short 3km walk through fields of pink, while and yellow everlastings, hakea bushes, and pincushion flowers, with a few sculptures scattered along the way.

Day 88: Kalbarri (Day 2)

Today we woke up to cloudy skies and a forecast of rain, so we didn't make any big plans for the day. In the morning we went into town for the daily pelican feeding.

While the others had some down time, I headed out for another look at the wildflowers in Kalbarri National Park. Then later in the afternoon Olivia and I went into town to look at the art and craft exhibition that was on.

For dinner we went to Finley's where Theo was very excited to find a burger named after one of his best friends.

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.

Day 86: Shark Bay to Kalbarri

Another travelling day today. We stopped into the Denham visitors centre and the "little shop" for one last look around before heading south again.

On the way back to the main highway we stopped at Hamelin Pools to try and see the stromatolites. Even though the tide wasn't very low we could still use binoculars to see some of them sticking up out of the water. After looking at the stromatolites we walked along the shore towards the old Hamelin Station, and its shell brick quarry, before circling back to the car.

As we headed further south we started to see fields of flowers along the side of the road - including white everlastings near our petrol stop at Billabong Roadhouse.

For our stay in Kalbarri we camped at the Big River Farm. The property used to be a horse farm but it is now up for sale. There are still a few horses, dogs, cats, and peacocks around. The kids were excited to have the pool and playground right near our site and made good use of them before dinner.