• Awesomes
Ağu – Eyl 2025

Kalbarri

Awesomes tarafından 10 günlük bir macera Okumaya devam et
  • Gezinin başlangıcı
    25 Ağustos 2025

    Day 1 Cervantes Lunch and Karda Campsite

    25 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Our first destination was Karda campsite at the edge of Lesseur National Park. This was to break the 6 hour journey to Kalbarri and to start our hunt for the elusive wild orchids.
    On the way to Karda, we had lunch at The Lobster Shack Cervantes with an old friend who used to babysit the girls. Wonderful catch-up and very good seafood.
    When we left Cervantes, we were met with a heavy downpour with periods of hail. At this point, we were wondering if we should find alternative accommodation in Jurien Bay.
    We decided to just get to the campsite and should the weather be favourable, set up the tent or if not to spend a night in the car.
    Fortunately when we got to the campsite, we had somewhat clear skies and a slight drizzle. We pitched the tent in record time, reheated our dinner and before we could sit to have it, the skies opened. We dashed into the car with our dinner and stayed warm and dry. This is the introduction to our road trip.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Day 2 Lesueur National Park

    26 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We were really hungry when we woke. So it was a hearty breakfast of eggs, ham on toast washed down with a big coffee.
    We headed to drive the Lesueur Scenic Drive. Stopped at Gardiner to do a 5km hike which includes a hike up Mt Lesueur. Yued Ponar and Mt Peron 6km hike was done after a hot lunch of instant noodles and veges from Ranford garden. It was good that we did not unpack the car due to the rain so we had all our cooking stuff still in the car.

    Dinner back at the campsite was cooked and eaten in the nick of time before the heavens opened again.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Leaving Karda Campsite

    27 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Awful taking down the sopping wet tent, with the blessing of no rain. The ground was made even more muddy and soggy from our walking around. We hoped for drier weather and campsite at our next destination, Murchison House Station, Kalbarri.
    We had lunch at Seaspray Cafe, Dongara. The sea was peculiar that day because instead of blue, or green water, it was a muddy brown water cascading in the waves.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Kalbarri Day 1 Murchison House Station

    28 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Before we set off for our day, we gave the camp host our surplus food and fresh vegetables which they received gratefully.
    Walked the beautiful Loop Walk from Natures Window with sweeping views of the Kalbarri Gorge. The route also took us down and along the river and required some rock scrambling and clinging onto the edge of the gorge. I had to take my backpack off to fit through a small ledge. The river was much fuller than the last time we did this walk in July 2020. The ledge that I was hauled up from the last time was totally submerged. We did find the temperatures higher in the gorge than at the top. Stopped 5 times to appreciate the wonderful views. Met a group of young grateful Italians that almost missed a marker and would have gone the wrong way. A 9km hike that would normally have taken us 3½ hours to complete took us 5 hours.

    We had dinner by the communal campfire lit by the lovely camp host, Rob and Tina from Gippsland, Victoria. Met some lovely campers telling us about hot springs in the Northern Territory and their adventures on the Gibb River Rd.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Kalbarri Day 2

    29 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Did the Homestead Tour at Murchison House Station this morning that finished with lovely morning tea. We were given a good history of the place. Here is the history from Wikipedia narrated by current owners Callum.
    "The property was established in 1858 by Charles von Bibra, who produced meat and wheat for the nearby lead mines at Galena[1] and bred Arab horses on the lease.[3] The original homestead was also constructed in 1858 from Tumblagouda sandstone and mud bricks using convict labour. The shearing shed was built in 1860 also using local materials and convict labour.[1] Von Bibra let the property to Charles Gill in 1869 then travelled to Tasmania. Andrew James Ogilvie acquired the property sometime prior to 1895[4] and it was put up for auction following his death in 1906.[5] In 1907 the property occupied an area of 99,423 hectares (245,680 acres) and had a 14-room homestead, stables, staff quarters and storeroom when it was purchased by Thomas Amos Drage and his brother, William John Drage.[3] The Drages paid £18,250, equivalent to A$3.08 million in 2022, for the station, including all of the stock, stores and household furniture.[6]

    Western Australia's first civil aviation fatality occurred near the property in 1921 when two people died in a Bristol Tourer crash.[7] An inquest into the crash was held at the station.[8]

    In 1934 the property was stocked with about 20,000 sheep and 150 horses.[9]

    An Indian prince, Mukarram Jah, the 8th Nizam of Hyderabad, acquired the property in 1972. However, his properties and business interests in India declined and/or were misappropriated in his absence, leading to Murchison House being placed in liquidation in 1996. Jah left Australia and took up residence in Turkey shortly afterwards.[10]

    The shearing shed was refurbished in the 1990s after it had fallen into a state of disrepair. The shed is now used for tourist accommodation.[1]

    The homestead was flooded in 2006 to a depth of over 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) when the Murchison River flooded; volunteers sandbagged covered the outer walls with plastic to waterproof it.[11]

    In 2017 the property was owned by Calum and Belinda Carruth. A small cache of guns was found in a cave on the property by a group of school children playing on a rock formation who came across a metal box containing a 100-year-old Browning machine gun and a 30-year-old Boito shotgun.[12]

    The 141,600-hectare (350,000-acre) property was stocked with 200 shorthorn cross cattle and around 7,000 rangeland goats in 2018."

    After lunch we did a small walk on the 350,000 acre property. Stopped at a rock with an overhang to write this entry for Penguins.
    It's been 4 days since we've had any reception so there has been no communication with Kai all this time. I hope she's not fretting about what's happened to us.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Kalbarri Day 3

    30 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Breakfast at 730am was at the start of the two trails. The first km to Z Bend Lookout was very slow because there were lots of spider and cowslip orchids.
    It was an easy path to the lookout. The challenging bits started after when rock scrambling, clambering up and down ladders and negotiating tight bends with uneven rock paths was the route to the river.
    We saw a young family with baby on dad's back and a knee high toddler confidently negotiating the treacherous rocks with his mum without fear.
    Lunch was had at the picnic area at the same table as breakfast.
    The Four Ways hike did not require scrambling but walking on a rocky dry river bed. Very uneven and stepping on rocks and stones that wobbled and moved unexpectedly. A different challenge to the walk.
    As there was no one at the river, we stripped off our pants and waded in the river. Water was icy cold which was a great for sore knees, ankles and feet.A family of black swans and their 5 cygnets fed and frolicked, ignoring us.
    Fortunately we only saw hikers as we were making our way back up the track.
    When we got back to the campsite, we found Warrick's mum Jane parked two campsite away from us. Practically neighbours. Coincidentally, she and a friend were visiting Kalbarri this week too, and we overlapped a night at Murchison House Station. We were surprised to also meet Maggie from Perth Bushwalkers.

    Our routine for the evenings was to have dinner and sit at the communal campfire till about 7.30pm . We would move to outside our tent to look at the stars till it got too cold and we retired inside. For 2 nights, it was just both of us around the campfire after 7pm. Tonight was particularly social, with us all leaving the fire just after 8pm. When we first got to the campsite, we were a bit concerned as we had never called so close to any body. At Murchison House Station there were 25 sites lined along the river, and it was full most nights. However, everybody was lovely, and it was nice looking at different camping set ups of rooftop tents, fancy large campervans, swags, etc. It was also interesting meeting different travellers and swapping stories and camping tips. Even the 4 young boys next to us were considerate, stopped their chatting just after 10am and left their site neat and clean. Never ever tell me only females talk a lot. These boys never stopped chatting away to each other.
    It was a most delightful camp experience.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Kalbarri Day 4 Gecko Lodge

    31 Ağustos, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    We had coffee one last time at Truncin' Good Coffee with Jane. Decamping was done without haste as we weren't racing the weather nor did the camp host Rod and Tina adhere strictly to checkout times.
    It's only 10 mins from Murchison House Station to Kalbarri town. We were too early to check-in to Gecko Lodge Accommodation so we parked at Meanara Lookout where we had mobile reception for the first time in 5 days, to catch up on messages and emails.
    As we were feeling a little peckish, we went to Finley's fish bbq ,one of the 2 restaurants open for lunch in Kalbarri, and shared a seafood linguine . No sooner had were put in our order when a massive busload of Asian tourists descended on the restaurant. We said to the waitress that she looked like she was going to be rushed off her feet to which she replied, "Good bye. I will never see the again, I think I migh die."
    When we got to our comfortable "penthouse" at Gecko Lodge, we did not want to leave anymore. We had initially planned to go to the beach, and walk in town but remembered the busload of Asians so had a bath instead. We only popped out briefly to a food truck called Wild Ocean Indonesian for beef rendang and mee goreng take away which was suprisingly authentic and delicious.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Kalbarri Day 5 Bigurda Trail

    1 Eylül, Avustralya ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    It was decadent to have continental breakfast and fried egg (pronounced by host as "egkers") provided at the Gecko Lodge Accommodation. We started at the north end of the Bigurda Trail and headed south. Followed the route of the humpback whales.
    Saw lots of wild animals on the trail. Wild feral goats, emu, whales, and a fisherman who climbed down a steep hill to fish at the wild rocks.
    The whales put on a spectacular performance of breeching, fin tapping, rolling, tail slap and two whales did what looked like a dance.
    Wild flowers were colourful and in abundance but not a single orchid petal or leaf.
    The first 5km took us 2½ hours due to whale, goat and fisherman watching.
    The return trip took only 1¼ hours.
    We came back to the apartment for left over Indonesian lunch from last night.
    Dinner was at Upstairs Restaurant, recommended by Jane and the Station owners.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Kalbarri Day 6

    2 Eylül, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Our 89 year old Uncle has very detailed memories of Kalbarri foreshore and fishing at Chinaman's Beach. We promised to visit those spots for him and did so early this morning. It was exactly as he had described, including the jetty and sandbank before the ocean. We met a lady fishing and she said that all she had caught so far was lots and lots of blowfish.
    Breakfast back at accommodation before the beach.
    Ruby left her snorkeling jacket in the car as the Blue Holes looked very shallow, and we thought the water would have been warmed by the sun. After about ½ hour in the water, Ruby was as blue as the name threatened. It took just as long of a soak in the hot bath back at the accommodation to restore her normal colour.
    It was a lazy afternoon in, with a simple bbq on the large gorgeous balcony.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Homeward bound

    3 Eylül, Avustralya ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We were packed and ready well before breakfast. As we had eaten all the food, there was alot of room in the boot of the car.
    When we said our last goodbyes to the owner of Gecko Lodge, she felt a kindred spirit to us and would have a meal with us when she is next in Perth.
    She and her husband had left a very comfortable life in China for her sons education. The eldest son is an ENT specialist and the younger was offered a direct placement in medical school. We thought it was very brave for the couple to run a hospitality business without any confidence in English. The son had composed templates for email replies where they just change the name and date. They wanted more help from the sons with the business, but the sons were too busy. This disappointment of migrant parents who feel that their sacrifices for their children is unappreciated, and the kids have Australianised and abandoned the Asian value of family, seems very common.
    The drive home was an explosion of colour from the wild flowers, and canola fields. We did the drive from Kalbarri all the way to Perth stopping only for a crepe lunch at Remi French Cafe in Geraldton. The drive took 9 hours in total to Yip Noodles.
    Met Kai and Warrick at Yip noodles before we got home.
    Okumaya devam et

    Gezinin sonu
    3 Eylül 2025