Better than JohnM's WA mid-west circuit

[Major]

Reminds me of the movie "Red Dog"

What type of camera and drone are you using for those fantastic photos ?

 

[Daver6]

Reminds me of the movie "Red Dog"

What type of camera and drone are you using for those fantastic photos ?

Drone is the a DJI Mavic Air.
Camera pictures are from a Nikon D7000 and Samsung Galaxy S10 phone for the most part. A few are off MrsDaver6's Samsung S20 phone. I have a Olympus TG-3 (tough waterproof camera) but the image quality off that is the weakest. Only posted one or two pics from that in this TR.

 

[Daver6]

The next morning we had a lazy breakfast before going for a short 4km easy loop walk that took us down to the lake. The Kelpies decided to come along and show us the way.

 

[Daver6]

It was then time for the drive to Kalbarri which would take us about four hours. Heading towards the coast the landscape changed. Pretty uneventful and 110km from our destination, we were finished with unsealed roads. A quick high five to each other for not tyre blow-outs or punctures.

We had a room at the Kalbarri Edge hotel which is conveniently located in the centre of town just off from the main drag. Room was decent size but nothing fancy. Covid was being used as an excuse for reduced service. Ie, rooms would not be made up during the stay. Given the Covid situation in WA, that's purely a cost cutting exercise.

We dumped our stuff and went for a little walk to stretch the legs and a beer at the local. They had some interesting options on tap. I stuck to that other WA favourite, Swan Draught. We had dinner Upstairs restaurant. The food was excellent, but an average wine list. Of the four whites available, three were straight Sauv Blancs

 

[Daver6]

Kalbarri National Park is about 12kms out of town on a sealed road. About 9 kms there a warning light pops up. Low pressure in the right rear tyre. So we pull over and I take a look. All four tyres look good to me. Nothing obvious. I've never had a flat with a run-flat tyre before, so perhaps you can't really tell. We decide to head back to down at 80km/h and under as there is a servo as you enter town.

I figure I'll check the tyre pressure with the air pump. Three tyres are at 40 PSI and the one with the warning is down to 40 PSI. Top it up and wait a short while. Yup...dropped back down to 38. So a quick wheel change and sure enough, there is an obvious spot where there is a slow leak. Little unclear how this happened. Can only assume it happened on the dirt but given the tyres were hot, things held together until the next day.

Running an hour late, we head back into the park. First port of call is Z-Bend. There is a 4km hike that takes you down to the river from the car park. Pretty easy hike and great views.

 

[Daver6]

It was then on to Nautre's Window and the newly opened Skywalk.

 

[Daver6]

Just south of Kalbarri are some pretty spectacular beaches and cliff top walks. It was cool and blowing and absolute gale. We checked out Castle Cove and Island Rock. Would love to come back and spend more time hiking around here as well as the gorge area.



We then finished the day back at the pub for a beer and a pretty darn good seafood platter. Sunset over the car park wasn't too shabby either.

 

[Daver6]

Next morning it was time to drive back to Perth. However, less than an hour south of Kalbarri is Hutt Lagoon. The pictures will explain why we stopped...

 

[Daver6]

A stop in Geraldton for fuel and some lunch and back to Perth. Might have hit a swarm of something or other on the way. And that concludes the TR and a fantastic 9 nights away. Seemed like we were away for much longer.

 

[OZDUCK]

A stop in Geraldton for fuel and some lunch and back to Perth. Might have hit a swarm of something or other on the way. And that concludes the TR and a fantastic 9 nights away. Seemed like we were away for much longer.

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Thanks for the TR. Looks to have been a great trip.

 

[JohnM]

You, like me, went through swarms of alate (winged) aphids (Aphid - Wikipedia).

I was heading W on Great Eastern Highway a couple of days after you heading S from Geraldton. The cloud of them was clear to see in the air. I've never seen aphids that thick before - and I've spent a lifetime driving in the bush. But it wasn't as messy as going through plague locust swarms.

I stopped at Tammin, c. 180 clicks E of PER for fuel and cleaned the windscreen. They got really bad from then on as I headed further into the W fringes of the Wheatbelt. I had the disadvantage of heading into the setting sun around 1600-1800h. I had to stop twice to scrub the windscreen.

 

[VPS]

It was then time for the drive to Kalbarri which would take us about four hours. Heading towards the coast the landscape changed. Pretty uneventful and 110km from our destination, we were finished with unsealed roads. A quick high five to each other for not tyre blow-outs or punctures.

We had a room at the Kalbarri Edge hotel which is conveniently located in the centre of town just off from the main drag. Room was decent size but nothing fancy. Covid was being used as an excuse for reduced service. Ie, rooms would not be made up during the stay. Given the Covid situation in WA, that's purely a cost cutting exercise.

We dumped our stuff and went for a little walk to stretch the legs and a beer at the local. They had some interesting options on tap. I stuck to that other WA favourite, Swan Draught. We had dinner Upstairs restaurant. The food was excellent, but an average wine list. Of the four whites available, three were straight Sauv Blancs

View attachment 228204View attachment 228205View attachment 228206View attachment 228207View attachment 228208

Good to see they have decent South Aussie beer there - not sure about those whites on tap though.

Thanks for the fantastic photos and interesting TR - sad to think I had planned to be there now but it wasn't meant to be, so hopefully next year I'll get there.

The pink lake photos are superb

 

[SuePa]

Great photos, thanks for sharing. I love the colours.

 

[Daver6]

You, like me, went through swarms of alate (winged) aphids (Aphid - Wikipedia).

I was heading W on Great Eastern Highway a couple of days after you heading S from Geraldton. The cloud of them was clear to see in the air. I've never seen aphids that thick before - and I've spent a lifetime driving in the bush. But it wasn't as messy as going through plague locust swarms.

I stopped at Tammin, c. 180 clicks E of PER for fuel and cleaned the windscreen. They got really bad from then on as I headed further into the W fringes of the Wheatbelt. I had the disadvantage of heading into the setting sun around 1600-1800h. I had to stop twice to scrub the windscreen.

View attachment 228261

That's weird...you have the identical rego plate to me

 

[JohnM]

That's weird...you have the identical rego plate to me

Not any more...

 

[kookaburra75]

Thanks for the Trip Report. I haven't driven through that part of the world since the late 80's, and MrsK has enjoyed the photos. Maybe soon we can do a road trip to check it out ourselves