23 July 2024
As Nicole and I headed south from Denham towards Kalbarri, we could feel that we were starting to re-enter civilisation once again. We’ve spent a long time in fairly remote areas where it’s been around a 3-4 hour drive between stops, with very little in between except magnificent landscapes, rest stops and, often but not always, a Roadhouse. So, as we neared Kalbarri and saw some paddocks with actual grass, we realised we were moving from the remote to the rural.
Kalbarri sits at the mouth of the Murchison River and is a beautiful little town. It has pretty much everything you need, including very nice people (at least from what we experienced). I was feeling pretty run down after making our way through two weeks of pre-booked places to stay, as a countermeasure against WA school holidays. This pre-booking list included three nights at Kalbarri so, after checking in and seeing how nice it was, we quickly extended by two nights to have a decent break — a second Around Australia mini-break after our similar break in Broome earlier. As it turned out, we then extended by an additional day, as it has been one of the friendliest groups in a caravan park we have come across (more to come later in this post).
After doing very, very little on our first full day here, we decided to take in all the sights we could in one Kalbarri Mega Sightseeing Day.
Nature’s Window
We got away a little later than we planned, but somehow made it to Nature’s Window in time to watch the sunrise at Nature’s Window. It was very chilly when we left Kalbarri (around 8 degrees), and I did see the thermometer in the motorhome drop down to 4 degrees at one point as we were part way into Kalbarri National Park. Chilly burgers!
We thought we would have beaten most people there arriving so early, but not so. There was a fellow (a really nice guy we got to see on a few more of our stops) all set up with his big tripod and camera ready to take the money shot through the Window. Fair play if you get there that early. There were also quite a few younger people (Instagram crowd) that seemed to be with a tour, and all had to get what seemed to be the same photo on their phones.
As usual, the colours in the sky at that time of the morning were reward enough for braving the early hours and cold.
Kalbarri Skywalk Lookout
Next, it was a nice short drive to the Kalbarri Skywalk Lookout. This is a relatively new attraction (opened 2020) consisting of two cantilevered viewing platforms hanging 100m above the Murchison River Gorge. It has been extremely well done, plus has a coffee shop (yay!) which we certainly visited to help warm us up. Spectacular views!
Z-Bend Lookout
On to Z-Bend Lookout we went, where another stunning view awaited us. Some Rock Wallabies said hello to us on our way down too.
Meanarra Hill Lookout
On our way back through Kalbarri on our way to the Coastal Cliffs we stopped at the Meanarra Hill Lookout to take in Kalbarri, the Murchison River and the Indian Ocean from on high.
Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs
We then worked our way along the coast just to the south of Kalbarri, where a series of stunning sandstone cliffs awaited us. My impression was that it felt like a mini–Great Ocean Road. Once again, we had stunning weather which made the day very enjoyable indeed.
Jakes Point
Jakes Point
Pot Alley
Red Bluff Lookout
Castle Cove
Natural Bridge
Island Rock
So, while a very good day, it was also a very busy one. We try to make the most of our ‘out in the motorhome days’ to earn our ‘rest days’, and I think we definitely succeeded on this day.
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