Kalbarri
This post is part of our Western Australia road trip. In case you don’t want to read this sequentially, or you are looking for another part of the trip, here are some shortcuts:
- Lake Ballard
- Exmouth and Coral Bay
- Shark Bay and Monkey Mia
- Kalbarri <– You are here
- Jurien Bay
All we knew of Kalbarri was that is was half way between Shark Bay and Jurien Bay.
There was significant damage from Cyclone Seroja, a category three which stuck two months previously. We stayed at the Red Bluff Tourist Park, which was brand new and located just outside of the south end of town.
Our two bedroom cabin had a lovely view and was just across the road from the Red Bluff Walk, which goes along the beach and coastal cliffs.
Each morning at 8:45, volunteers feed pelicans on the foreshore. According to the website:
We cannot guarantee pelicans or volunteers will show every day of the year.
We stopped for coffee at a van along the way before heading to the pelican party. The volunteer did show up, but the pelicans weren’t too interested in the fish.
We spent one day at Kalbarri National Park, which is located about 20 minutes from town. There’s an entrance fee of $15, however there was a nation-wide payment processing outage so the ranger waved us through.
Part way through the park, we got pulled over by the Geraldton police. The constable introduced himself and his partner, explained the use of body cameras, and then asked if he knew why they’d pulled us over. Andy said no, and then they asked if he knew how fast he was driving. Andy knew he was driving 80km/h (50 mph). Australia is really strict with speeding so we pay close attention to the speed limit. The officer explained that we were driving 81 km/h, and the speed limit was 70 km/h. Andy explained that he must have missed the sign, and they gave him a random breath test which he passed. They took his drivers license back to their car and returned to say that they didn’t want to ruin our holiday with a ticket, so they’d just give us a warning. Yet another example of him being the luckiest person I’ve ever met.
It was late afternoon so we visited the Skywalk and did short hikes at Natures Window (1 KM) and Z Bend Lookout (1.2 KM).
On our last day in Kalbarri, we did a scenic flight over Hutt Lagoon. Continue reading…
