Blogs from Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 13

Day 55 Onslow to Exmouth 23/08/06 As we had had such a big day yesterday, we slept in until about 7.30am. We got up, had breakfast and packed up. We walked down onto the beach and had a look around before driving back into town. We then drove out to the Onslow Salt works and had a look at the conveyor system they use to transfer the salt to the ships. After having a look at Sunset and Four Mile Beaches we drove back into town. After Leanne phoned Melbourne to check on her mother, as she had been admitted to hospital, (Marie is okay and on penicillin) we headed back out to the Highway and south toward to Exmouth. We arrived back at Nanaturra at 11.50am, where we refueled ($183.9 Lt) and had lunch. After ... read more

Despite having informed the Rainbow Lodge reception that I'd be leaving early, and been told that someone would be around to give me back my key deposit, no-one had materialised by the time I had to leave, so I was forced to depart for the Greyhound terminal $10 lighter than expected. The Greyhound terminal actually corresponded to a small poster on a pillar of East Perth station - hardly the most assuming of locations. The coach managed to turn up an hour late - some feat given that this was the departure point - by which time there was a gaggle of other passengers waiting. The check-in process was a complete free-for-all in terms of lack of queuing, but the driver attempted to put people who were travelling together in neighbouring seats, and people travelling on ... read more

Kalbarri National Park covers 183 004 hectares and is located on the lower reaches of the Murchison River - we did a trek in the Kalbarri Gorges today...down into the Gorge - which wasn't too bad except our guide was new so we had to find a way down ourselves - and then back up. Rippled surfaces can be seen in many places like around Nature's Window - which is basically a big hole that you can look through . The ripples were formed by waves moving over the tidal flats. Some beds (such as on the way down the Z-Bend and in overhangs at The Loop) look as if they have been riddled by plant roots, and often have a 'can of worms' appearance. These are burrows left by worms sheltering in the sand. We ... read more

Hello there. It's been a while. I bet you all thought we had disappeared or something in the vast expanses of the Autralian outback. No such luck, tempting as it may be. Too many flies, for one thing. No, we've just been busy. The new year has brought many exciting developments. When last I wrote, I seem to recall we were in Ubud in Bali. My, how things have changed. 2006 has so far brought with it an ear infection for Mia and a chest and sinus infection for me. On a brighter note, for those who don't know, Claire is expecting (a baby) in July. We have also made it out alive from Bali and are now half way up the west coast of Australia. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Bali was lovely, we ... read more

Had a great day at Kalbarri National Park, not one to be missed. It was fantastically hot to be out in the bush, so we did a medium walk but were collapsing after 10mins! We climbed up to see Nature's window, a natural rock formation that is (as the name would suggest) like a window, plus down in the gorges, the z-bend. Really magnificent burnt orange rock. Continued South in the car towards The Pinnacles in Namburg National Park, staying the night in Cerventes (again - a really great backpackers hotel, run by a man from Hastings, UK!). Had a mad dash around the park in fading sunlight! The pinnancles are thousands of pillars, up to 4 metre high, made up of limestone, millions of years old. They are dramatically spread over desert land, which you ... read more