June 15 ... Kalbarri

Yesterday was our first day of poor weather on the trip so far. It was very windy with constant rain as we drove out of Geraldton. Our first stop was to be Northampton, just 60kms north to see the only gothic church constructed by the priest John Dawes, and a shop which must date from the 1920's, or before.
The rain had eased a little when we arrived so we headed for St Mary's Church and the old convent. Both were lovely but when we tried to go inside, we found the church was locked which was a little disappointing.

St Mary's Church

Northampton Convent

From here we walked down the street to investigate "The Family Store" and it really was a relic. It had all the old display cases and all the fittings were the originals, including the floorboards. Despite its age, it was a true "general" store and it had an excellent range of gifts and clothes and just about anything you could think of. It obviously catered well for the surrounding community.

It was still raining so we set off for Kalbarri, passing by the large Pink Lake, coloured by betacarotene, which they mine; the garnet mine, the only one in Australia; and many kilometers of beautifully green, rolling hills. It was a shame about the weather but overall we feel we have been very lucky in that area.
We checked into the Murchison Caravan Park, and when the rain eased, we went for a walk around town. It is a picturesque little place, situated beside the river and right on the coast. Just now it is very quiet but we have been told that the population rises to around 10000 in the summer, which may explain the attitude of some of the locals towards tourists!

Kalbarri

Today dawned much nicer with lots of blue sky and, even though we have had a few showers, they have not affected our activities. We spent most of the day exploring the cliffs that run for about 10kms to the south of here.  There are a number of sealed roads leading to lookouts and the views are amazing, especially today as the waves were massive. One of our first stops was Jakes Point which is known for its excellent surf break. We stopped a while to watch some guys who were catching some huge, and very scary, waves.

Jakes Point

Red Bluff

After being impressed by the skills of these guys we continued on to a series of lookouts at various points along the cliffs. At Mushroom Rock we went for a very pleasant walk along the cliff edge to Rainbow Valley and, en route, we saw a large pod of dolphins and lots of interesting, and ancient, geology.

Garry at Mushroom Rock

Kalbarri Cliffs

Eagle Gorge Lookout

 Each of the lookouts had a particular feature and it is not hard to guess what we saw at Island Rock and Natural Bridge. Today was another enjoyable experience and we continue to think of Kalbarri as an exceptional little spot on the WA coastline. We returned to town for a late lunch of a fishburger overlooking the river, and then to get organized for a big day tomorrow. It is good to see the sun again as it makes everything so much easier and it is nice to be warm.

 Cliffs looking north

Natural Arch

Island Rock