Kalbarri

From Sandstone we drove a big day to finally reach the West Coast. We picked Kalbarri as it was surrounded by national park, rivers , beaches and seemed to have it all.
Unfortunately for us they experienced the worst weather in a year. Storms. Lashing rain. Howling winds. We barely got to see much of this gorgeous spot. Last night my life in a swag took on a whole new look and feel..
The rain came in sideways—needles of water flung hard by wind that was unrelenting. I was laying cocooned in my swag, sleeping bag pulled tight around me, the world outside a mix of noise and movement. I could feel the ground going soft beneath me, sponge-like, hopefully not soaking through. Too late now.
Each gust of wind made the trees groan and the tent flap on the ute pop in and out. Hope Jan was okay and doing better than me. Somewhere in the distance, the ocean rumbled loud and angry. My swag rippled under the force of the gale, zippers straining. It honestly felt like we were in a hurricane.
Sleep? That was a joke. I lay wide-eyed, counting the seconds between the rain squalls and the wind gusts ( 65 kms per hour)!Then it stopped. Should I make a dash for the toilet? Could I just open the side flaps to let in some air? I must have fallen asleep for minutes when I felt water sprinkling and running down the inside of the canvas and onto my mattress. I shifted, pulled the blanket tighter, tried to will my body to relax, long slow breaths, to let the noise become background.
The wind howled, the rain lashed and in that moment, alone and horizontal in the dark, I felt vulnerable and completely at the mercy of nature.
Eventually, exhaustion won out. The storm didn’t let up, but I got up. It was about 5 am. Dark, wet and blustery. Made myself a chai and sat in the camp kitchen waiting for first break of day. Needless to say we packed up in the wet, shoved everything in the Ute and hightailed it north to warmer drier climbs. Geez what a night.
Before anyone asks the answer is No! No skywalk, no gorge, no cliff top walks! No no no.Читать далее