Day 77: Denham to Kalbarri

As we move South the weather looks like becoming more unsettled, but hopefully we will have some sunny days in Kalbarri. It will be a long drive (towing a van) of around 380 km. We are watching the diesel price rise as the excise relief has been lifted. Current prices at Denham is now $2.60 / litre.



 It is a long way back to the north West Coastal Highway, before we can finally turn South towards our destination. We stopped at the Billabong Roadhouse about 50 km down the highway from the turnoff to get some coffee, and fuel (as it is cheaper than the current prices in Kalbarri), but it is a bit of a moving feast on fuel prices at the moment.

The further South we go, the more the wildflowers are in bloom. The sheer variety prompted  us to stop at a roadside stop and have a closer look.

















After turning off the highway toward Kalbarri, new varieties appeared which we will check out over the next few days. Also large acreages of canola added further colour to the countrytdie before we entered the Kalbarri National Park.


Arriving in Kalbarri, we set up in our caravan park which is across the road from the Murchison River, and a short walk to the town centre. After lunch we opted to go for a walk away from the town centre and towards the main fishing wharf area. We have booked a trip out on a lobster boat for tomorrow, but it has been delayed because tomorrows weather forecast is a bit of a shocker with strong winds and rain. The skipper is concerned about crossing the river entrance and will give us a call tomorrow afternoon to reschedule once he can see how much the seas are whipped up tomorrow.


Across the road from the caravan park is the Murchison River Estuary


At the boating end of town there is a public wharf, with a few families feeding the fish and catching nothing.


The professional fisherman's marina is a little further along, and includes the tourist cruise boats. The focus in Kalbarri seems to be rock lobster, so we hope our trip out on a lobster boat is not cancelled because of the weather.


The professional fisherman's marina


Much closer to the caravan park, is the town centre. Our failure to find a cafe open to get a coffee after 2.30 pm extends our walk in this direction where eventually, the only place we could get a cuppa, was the Kalbarri Hotel ! We had also called into the information centre nearby to get info on how we might fill out the days we are here. It is clear there is plenty to do and the weather could be the problem in seeing the best of everything on offer.


The Kalbarri Hotel


Carole taking a photo of the river entrance with the "town centre' in the background.

Tomorrows plans will be very weather dependant, as there are good options that are both coastal and inland inside the National Park. We will make a decision in the morning after seeing how thew forecast evolves.











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