Off to See the Wizard - Kalbarri Cliffs

We had initially only planned to stay for two nights in Kalbarri, and are so pleased we ended up staying for one more.

Kalbarri National Park is in two sections, one based around the Murchison Gorge and the other around some cliffs to the south of the town.

Our intention was to drive to the southern most and work our way back to town, but we were quickly distracted by some surfers.  This was at Jake’s Point, which is apparently the northern most place for surfing on the west coast. The point has some lovely Little Rock pools.

The surfers were fun to watch and some were really good.

We then reverted to our original plan.  Our first stop was “Island Rock”.  It’s kind of like a small version of one of the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.

And from the other side.

There is a beaut board walk that runs from Island Rock to the “Natural Bridge”.

Another fascinating feature in these limestone cliffs, as they gradually weather away. 

The heath like vegetation was quite colourful, with all the wild flowers.

The next lookout was called “The Grandstand”, which was rather appropriate, as we were able to see some whale cavorting, way out in the distance.  My phone would not pick them up, but Mick was able to get a couple of shots on his camera where you can actually tell it is a whale.  The tiny white dot in the middle of my photo is a splash and the best I was able to manage.

 I hoped they would come in closer, but no luck.  Fingers crossed we may see some when we are travelling past the Great Australian Bight on the way home.

Eagle Gorge was the next stop on the list.  I love the way the hill is layered.  It looks to me like a photo that has been stretched, but that is how it is. 

The wind must fairly whistle down here, as the little shrubs had a definite lean to them.

More pretty flowers in this area.  I was warned by one lady that we kept meeting that there are snakes in the area and she showed me the photo she had taken of one crossing the path.  Yugh!  I hate snakes. I had long trousers and enclosed shoes, not shorts and thongs, so I felt a bit more comfortable.   Fortunately, I didn’t see any.

The next lookout had stones that were overhanging and lots of signs not to go to the edge.  You could see why as you walked down a little way.  It was only a very thin layer at the edge.  I loved how at one spot there was a nice green plant growing under the overhang.

The next stop was Red Bluff lookout.  

This quite a large bluff that juts out into the ocean.

The rocks along this part of the coast have caused the demise of several ships over the years.  The Batavia is the first to fall foul, back in the early 1600s, then in 1712 the Dutch ship Zuytdorp, then in 1839 Captain George  Grey was surveying the coast and struck bad weather.  They tried to land at Kalbarri but the waves at the entrance to the river smashed his boats and they had to walk back to Perth, one man perishing on the way.

This area was a real hotspot for flowers.

We then returned to the beach where we had watched the surfers.  The tide was now out, so none around.  

There were some rather large “sea gulls”, much larger than the usual silver gull.  I’ll have to see what they are when we get home.

Back in town, that poor yacht maybe the latest casualty, or if they will be able to salvage it.

We were pleased to see that there was a van selling fresh local seafood.  The first we have seen on our trip.

Tiger prawns for tea, and “Sweet Lips” fish for tea the following day.  They were both delicious.

The highlight of the day was seeing the whales.