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Published: September 2nd 2009
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After a bit of a restless sleep we get to the Backpacker rental company nice and early...only to discover that they don’t open until 10.00am! After kicking our heels at the gate we are finally let in and have to go through a mound of paperwork as well as watching a DVD on the workings of the campervan and also a thorough inspection for any dents or scratches on the van. The good news is that we have been upgraded to a high top van which means we can a) stand up in it b) have a proper kitchen area with built in fridge/microwave/hob rather than cooking out the back on a portable gas stove with a cooler box for a fridge! At 11.30am we finally pull away....me driving to start with. John has only driven automatics - this is a manual so I’ll be looking forward to getting on long EMPTY stretches of road for him to take over. It feels weird driving so high up and takes a while to negotiate the gears as well as indicators (luckily we’ve taken out full insurance so not too worried)
We pop back round to Pauls place to collect our stuff and
load the van up and after some emotional goodbyes we hit the road..by now its 1.30pm, not really how late we had planned to be setting off! As we had already driven this journey in the car it was fairly straightforward and so it was just a case of foot down and head for Geraldton. John takes over some of the driving (don’t know who was more nervous, him or me but he’s ok and its a relief not for me to have to do all the driving) We encounter our first ‘road train’ - articulated lorries that are up to 35m in length and realise that we really don’t want to be overtaking them too often as they almost suck you in as you go past or if they are on the other side of the road coming towards you they blow you across as well as kicking up huge dust clouds....nice!!
We stop at Dongara tourist park for the night and cook our first meal in the van. Its amazing to think that we have almost 6 weeks in it and as we bed down for the night we both hope we haven’t made a huge mistake.
As
we set off the following morning we are sure we have done the right thing as we both slept soundly. We continue along the highway and, apart from having a very close shave with John driving(end up on the other side of the road when he overshoots a corner), we arrive at Kalbarri National Park.
Kalbarri National Park straddles the Murchison River catchment area. The river runs the length of the national park, cutting and carving through the rocks in various places. From the Hawks Head lookout point we get absolutely breathtaking views across the valley. It’s so still and quiet, the only thing spoiling the moment are the million and one flies that seem to have appeared out of nowhere. We had been warned that this would be a major irritation but hadn’t paid it much thought..in fact I’d bought my fly head covering as a bit of a joke. Only now did I realise that no matter how stupid they look they do a good job of stopping you going completely mad from having to swat flies off your face!! From the Ross Graham lookout we are able to climb down to the rivers edge and take a
well deserved rest when we get there. We begin to realise just how beautiful and natural this part of Australia is as we sit gazing across the river at the gorge that has been left by river erosion thousands of years ago.
We head into Kalbarri town, a beautiful coastal town at the mouth of the Murchison River. As there is no free camping anywhere nearby (do we risk it and just park in the beach carpark?) we book into Murchison caravan Park which is right opposite the beach. Although we get given a really small unpowered spot to park on we find out it has power...result! As we sit eating our dinner, glass of wine in hand watching the sun go down we can’t help but think of our lives that have been temporarily left behind in the UK.....do we really have to return?
The following morning we awake extremely early and I decide to head out for a run where I see the park ranger fining those campervans parked in the carpark....good decision not to stay there! We head across the road to the water’s edge where the pelicans get fed every day. This tradition has been
going on here for years and its quite amusing to hear the commentary from the lady doing the speil - she tells it as it is with colourful language to match! After heading back to the van for breakfast we drive further around the coast to Chinamans Beach lookout, which gives sweeping views of Kalbarri, and then onto Red Bluff, which is the start of the coastal gorges. The views are just stunning and its hard to describe in words the views that meet us around each corner.
Not content with these views we decide to head up to some other gorges in the National Park that are off an unsealed gravel road. After checking with the park ranger that the campervan can go on the unsealed road (yes, you’ll be fine) we decide to give it a go. As I turn onto the road I soon realise the huge amount of time it is going to take to travel the 30km as the road is extremely bumpy and gravelly and the camper keeps loosing traction every so often. I crawl along, letting cars go whizzing by me. However, when I see two other campervans go whizzing past me it
dawns on us that maybe the best way is just to put your foot down and plough straight along. Sure there were times, especially when we hit a sandy stretch of road, when I had to struggle to hold the van straight as the rear wheels slid from under us(and I’ll admit i was a little scared) but at least we were covering the distance. Eventually we reach ‘The Loop’ which makes the difficult drive worth it as we get magnificent views down the valley into the gorge, the rocks consisting of tumblagooda sandstone giving contrasting bands of brownish red and purple against bands of white fossil rich rock. As we admire the view a large eagle soars above us and swoops down into the valley..breathtaking.
After scrambling across and down some fairly steep rocks we reach ‘Natures Window’. Once again we are the main attraction for the flies and John improvises with his Khmer scarf and hat...looks really do not count out here! Natures Window is stunning as you get a natural frame around the valley below. I am sure this viewpoint has been photographed a million times and we too do the cheesy ‘sitting in the framed window’
snapshot. Another hair raising drive takes us over to ‘Z bend’, where vertical joints have allowed the Murchison river to deeply cut into the rock layers and form straight river segments. Where the joints intersect each other the river course changes, creating a zig zag pattern(z bend) From where we are standing the gorge plunges 150m to the river bed so its a good idea not to stand too close to the edge!
Before too long we are back in the van and its foot down as we hit the unsealed road again. It seems far worse on the way back and at one point when the back of the van skidded towards the verge I saw John grab the door handle by his seat to brace himself (is he worried about my driving skills?) To say that I was relieved to get back onto the main road is an understatement and as we headed for the free rest stop for the night I think we both agreed that as far as unsealed roads were concerned we wouldn’t be doing them again in a hurry...even though it was worth it for the viewpoints.
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