WESTERN AUSTRALIA WE ARE HERE, GOLDFIELDS, WHEATBELT and MID WEST FINALLY HITTING THE WEST COAST

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia
June 9th 2023

Published: June 14th 2023

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John and Gloria Travels

HUTT LAGOON PORT GREGORY

So pink, it was absolutely beautiful!

Thursday saw us push through to Norseman to fill up and then a further 90klm up the road to our stop for the night Widgie Tavern and Roadhouse which is on the road heading towards Kalgoorlie. You may all think why we didn't turn left and head down to Esperance and Albany, we have been there twice before and thought we would give it a miss this time and concentrate on the northern areas. So Widgiemooltha is in the Goldfields region of WA and there were plenty of mine workers in for beers and a counter meal, in fact I was the only female in the place! Friday saw us go through Coolgardie and onto Southern Cross where we fuelled up and had some lunch, so now being in the Wheatbelt area, there are nine regions in WA and the Wheatbelt region is 2/3 the size of Victoria it is humungous! We spent two days driving through the Wheatbelt area stopping over night in Mukenbuden and hitting the pub for a couple of beers which was great, a beaut old pub turning 100 later this year. There are a lot of sheep in this area too, but mainly grain. Loving all

WIDGIEMOOLTHA TAVERN

In the middle of the mining area between Norseman and Kalgoorlie

these old farming towns...lots of character and NO tourists! Another night was spent in Morawa at the council run caravan park where you register and leave your payment in the box $26 a night with power and water. I tell you what WA has this caravanning stuff worked out, there are so many designated areas on highways where you can pull in for the night and stay and some even have dump points, the local councils, especially in this Wheatbelt Area, have also either caravan parks or designated areas to pull in and stay over as was the case in Mukenbuden....they are miles ahead of Victoria in that regard. After three days Sunday 11th finally hit the coast coming out in Geraldton, long weekend not a good time for getting spots in caravan parks so we had planned to stay in the 24hr RV parking area in the wharf area in Geraldton, after arriving earlyish about 10.30 whizzed in and got a spot (we thought we did) and after going to get groceries etc and came a guy next to us said how long you staying here, we said 24hrs, he said I am too but someone just told me

WIDGIEMOOLTHA ROADHOUSE

Great pub stop

these spots are only 5hrs.....geezz...the writing on the pavement was so illegible we hadn't noticed....so pack up and head somewhere...so about 35klm out of Geraldton found Coronation Beach, plenty of spots, there had been rain over the weekend and it was a bog hole, but at least we had a place to rest overnight...the manager/caretaker a very scary person...John thought it was a rough bloke but no she was a woman!!! Monday saw us arrive in Kalbarri, after visiting the Pink Lake being Hutt Lagoon at Port Gregory. Kalbarri is a beautiful area and looking forward to exploring this gorgeous place. The Kalbarri National Park is in two, costal and inland, we did the costal first day and it did not disappoint, stunning coastline. Next day did the inland National Park which is probably about 40klm out of town to the entrance and then a lot more klms running around the different spots to hike and take in the lookouts. It did not disappoint, stunning National Park, just a different rock formation every corner you turned! Breathtaking, that is all I can say, it was absolutely amazing! 186,000 hectares of beauty with the mighty Murchison River running through the middle

MUKENBUDIN

Street Art

of the national park, this river starts up in the Robinson Ranges and goes for 820 klms and then runs out to sea here in Kalbarri. We did a couple of different hikes Z Bend River Trail and the Ross Graham plus all the lookouts, exhausted but so happy we did it all! Have to admit Kalbarri has been a real surprise such a sleepy little town but seems to be growing fast with a lot of new houses being built, haven for people who love fishing, diving and beaches! You will note in the pics I have included a picture of a beast of a truck, you see all shapes and sizes, the young guy is English been in Aus for about six years and works and then goes on trips, his truck is an ex army truck a Unimog, he did it all up during the two years of COVID, he has everything onboard, his bed, motor bike that he can winch up onto the truck, all his cooking utensils, BBQ etc but John asked him how it goes on the diesel, he does 30lts per 100klm if he sticks to 80klm/hr but if he revs it up

MUKENBUDIN

The Mucka Pub, good cheap beer here

a bit to 100klm/hr it uses a 50 litres per 100klm...gee what an expensive piece to run! The other thing I should mention is that the roads in WA are magnificent, leaving Victoria to shame! shame! The weather is beautiful here 22 degrees during the day but the nights are still cold! Next stop on Friday will be Denham.

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Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name...more history