'Wherarwee' in Oz

Log 11-09 Kalbarri

Leaving the NP we stopped at Exmouth for water, supplies & a final cup of coffee, we met a couple of fellow campers from the park, Chris & Patty & they offered to let us leave Wherearwee at their place in Perth when we fly out, how nice is that!

Backtracking along the peninsular we passed Coral Bay & turned on to a sidetrack, 11K’s of corrugated gravel & sand to 14 mile beach where we stayed 2 days. We arrived late afternoon & the wind was fairly howling along. It has been windy for the last 10 days or so. (Our latest is ‘WA – windy always’). We thought it was just August but the locals say not so. We booked for 2 days but decided to leave in the AM if it was the same. Fortunately the wind dropped off a bit the next day & we were able to enjoy walking around the area & picking up myriads of shells along the beach. Another touch of paradise.

We spent the next 2 days at Quobba Point, a similar type of place but with the added attraction of the blowholes.

Then on to Carnarvon where we booked into the Coral Coast Caravan Park for 2 days as Libby wanted to get a haircut, unfortunately there was only one hairdresser in town & she worked from 9:00 to 12:00 Mon to Fri. We checked the towns sights & did the ‘food trail’ to all the growers. Bought bananas for $7.00 a kilo then found that they were $4.00 at the markets, not to worry as they were delicious (so were the chocolate dipped bananas we tried).

Moving on we next stopped at Gladstone Lookout for a night, not the best place in the wind but we had happy hour with some nice people, slowly the motorhomers are gathering as we get closer to Kalgoorlie & the rally.

Driving into Denham there were several nice roadside stops but they required a permit. So we went into town to obtain same & found that we had to pick one site & then only for one night. We picked Eagle Bluff, it sounded nice & was the closest to town. We also wanted to stay at Peron Nat. pk. But found we had to have a 4WD as it is very sandy. So we went on to Monkey Mia, we had found out that you can no longer swim with the dolphins & a trainer picks out 1 person (usually a child) to help feed them. Although, up until now, it has been free, there is now an entry charge. Truly not worth the time or effort to get there. Returning to Eagle Bluff we found it to be every bit as beautiful as the name. Unfortunately it blew a gale during the night & with the howling of the wind & rocking of the van, we never got much sleep.

Up early the next day we continued down the road to Galena Bridge, on the Murchison River, picked a nice spot along the bank & stayed for another 2 days, once again meeting up with the people from Gladstone Lookout.

Kalbarrie was our next stop, or rather Waggoe homestead wher we stayed the night. While in town we visited the national park as there were a couple of gorges there. Stopping at the entrance we asked the ranger what the road was like, he said corrugated but no trouble as a couple of hundred do it every day.

Well, there followed 64K’s of corrugated, potholed, sandy road. To try to smooth out the road we travelled at around 80 KPH, overtaking cars, bouncing around a bit but getting there & finding the gorges well worth the hassle. They were Round Gorge & Z Gorge, designated by the course of the Murchison River flowing below. The town itself (pop. 2000) was another pretty little seaside tourist town with its outdoor cafes etc.

Have I mentioned the flies, they must come with the wind, & by the million. In our eyes, up our noses, in our ears & so irritating that we’re wearing face nets.