Our first day at Kalbarri we did the following:
– Went and saw the pelican feeding which is held daily at the foreshore at 8.45am. It started in 1975 when a shop owner on the main street used to walk across the road most days to feed the pelicans at the beach. Occasionally he couldn’t make it there to feed them, so they started to walk across the road to his shop instead, causing a traffic jam as people stopped and watched. So since then , different volunteers have continued the pelican feeding. The volunteer gives a talk about the pelicans for 15 mins or so as they all arrive and then the children can line up to take turns at throwing a bit of fish to them.
– Went for a drive into the northern part of the NP. There were a few different lookouts, but we just went to 2 of them – the loop trail lookout and Nature’s Window. Nature’s Window is a natural attraction pictured on many of the brochures of the NP. It is a protruding outcrop of rock with a hole in the middle large enough for a few people to sit in – if you sit in the hole, the surrounding rock forms a picture frame. We took some photos there.
Just the drive to the lookouts was lovely as we went past many lovely wildflowers.
– We went back to the van for a rest in the afternoon.
– Mid-afternoon we planned to hire a catamaran on the estuary of the foreshore, but the hire place was closed when we got there ( despite the sign saying it was open until 5pm). So instead we went for a drive to look at Jakes Point which is the surfing beach just north of the township. We found the beach, but it was quite rocky in places, so wouldn’t be good for beginner surfers (who might accidentally surf onto the rocks). We drove to the next beach along, but by now the weather had turned quite windy and the surf at this beach was quite rough. So we all just waded our feet and enjoyed the view of the Red Bluff cliffs.
– The kids were then happy to go back to the caravan park for a swim in the pool. And then it was into baths and dinner etc.
It rained quite a bit overnight, which was the first rain we had had in about 2 and a half months (since Qld).
On our second day in Kalbarri, the weather was a bit iffy. We had some showers on and off. So some of our plans changed. But this is what we did:
– Went for a drive into the southern part of the NP, stopping at a few of the coastal cliff lookouts – Red Bluff, Rainbow Valley, and Eagle’s Gorge. There was information about some of the shipwrecks on the cliffs in this area – the 2 most well known were the Zuytdorf and the Batavia. Looking out to the seas and cliffs, we could certainly see how it would have been (and still would be) a treacherous place for ships in a storm.
– Went to see about hiring a catamaran again – but the rain started up as we were planning to do the sail.
– We went back to the van to have lunch first. Then when the sun came out again, we went down to the boat hire pace again – he was closed up again ( and it was only 1.30pm) – how frustrating.
– So then the kids had a play at the playground on the foreshores and a swim in the calm water estuary area.
– Sam spotted a squash courts sign and suggested having a game of that with Michael. It turned out to be run from the pub and was only $7 per hour ( including hire of ball and racquets). So Sam and Michael did this, while Hannah, Bethany and I went for a bike ride along the foreshore and Lauren, who was feeling tired, rested at the van. Hannah, Beth and I enjoyed our bike ride as it was an easy path and the girls are both riding very well now without training wheels. We came back to the squash court after 45 mins, so that Hannah could have a turn of squash (which she’d wanted to try).
– Then it was back to the van park for another swim before dinner.