Kalbarri to Perth

Rolling into Kalbarri without a booking in the school holidays is like turning up to the beach without your Mankini. Strangely, things worked out rather smoothly as we claimed the last campsite in town, and it had a view.

Forecasters were proved correct with strong southerly winds buffeting the little fishing village. The kind of wind that has you wondering if your tent will be standing when you return from a day out. The kind of wind that could see a Jayco take flight and a Retreat Caravan, well, retreat.

As we approach the populated south west things like libraries and Op shops are coming back into play. Lissa has taken the kids school work down to the tiny Kalbarri Library for a change of scenery.

It is a pretty little town set right in the Murchison River which cuts through the national park. Most boats stay in the river with plenty of waves at the river mouth. It seems that the town remains very much a tourist haven with masses of retirement developments hidden behind. 

Steep cliffs stretch to the south and the surrounding national park is littered with wildflowers. The river cuts deep into the land providing great viewing from the lookouts. There is a little bit of everything in Kalbarri making it popular with holiday makers.

Our time in Geraldton coincided with the annual “Airing of the Quilts” day in Northhampton. As you can imagine, one of us was busting to get there. I had to drag Lissa along. The town was alive with quilt lovers poring over hundreds of quilts. A fashion parade on the steps of the convent proved to be great entertainment with gowns from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s on show. The compare was the most glamourous woman in the Shire who described the final outfit: “Dianne is wearing another one of Mrs McDonald’s frocks that she wore to the wedding of her eldest son. You will notice the genuine fox fur, which I must say it looks decidedly better than the one my grandchildren shot this morning.” 
Top Shelf!

We pulled in at the sleepy coastal towns of Dongara and Jurien Bay on our way past Geraldton. Kael and I caught some live bait and cast them out off the breakwall at Dongara. Our preparation was rewarded with a little Mulloway (me) and a Banjo Shark (Kael).

From Jurien Bay the road passes through stretches of sand dunes which appear like snow capped peaks in the distant sun. One of these dunes strewn with a vast collection of pointy rocks emerging from the sands. The drive through the Pinnicles is quite magical. It is a striking scene for photographs, rather subline.

This is also the land of wheat fields. Neat rows of grain and bales of hay. Fishing shacks which cluster on the calm shoreline are reminders of a time when this coastline was anyones, literally.

Detouring through Yanchep NP for lunch we were pleasantly surprised to find 11 resident Koalas waiting to be spotted in the trees.Our descent into Perth was moved forward to allow Lissa to fly to France for the Funeral of her much loved Pappy. It was a shock to the system to drive into the big smoke after months of town and country. Perth is the real deal. It looks like a city, smells like a city, I bet the coffee even tastes like it should in a city. It’s a good looking city too. The Swan river system provides plenty of waterfront suburbs to live in or just enjoy the waterside parkland.

With the tent all set up by the beach we dropped Lissa at the airport, leaving us set a week near Fremantle. Sounds like an adventure for everyone.

Before I go, it’s time to hand out the annual awards for bathroom excellence. 

And the winners are:

Coogee: hot water then cold. Best portrayal of a bipolar shower.

Jurien Bay: instant bathroom renovation. Paint over everything: Tiles, cabinets. Heck, why not paint the urinal.

Geraldton: Shower stalls so narrow that you need to eat desert after you get out lest you won’t fit in.

Honourable mentions to all those shower blocks with sticky floors, big peeking gaps around the doors, impotent showerheads and stale smokey aromas.