CAMPING!
Ahhhh! FINALLY. Last weekend we went on our first camping trip since our arrival in WA.
Only a bit more than an hour's drive north of here there's a little sign by the side of the highway to Kalbarri just before a National Park pointing to a dirt road that says "Wagoe Chalets" beside a bit of odd scupture with a quad bike and a reindeer. Did a bit of Googling and discovered it's a little spot used mostly by fisherman on holidays from Perth.
This is so different than what we're used to seeing around NSW. If you haven't been on the West coast of Australia before, you might want to know that the Kalbarri NP is one of the most spectacular parts of the Western Australia.
On the way, you pass the beautiful Hutt Lagoon "Pink Lake"
(sorry, but we didn't actually take this picture, but found it on someone else's blog! (jagjourney)
(sorry, but we didn't actually take this picture, but found it on someone else's blog! (jagjourney)
Kalbarri NP - Z-Bend lookout
In particular, we love the Murchison River gorges that is located in the NP. These gorges have been developed over millions years to its current dramatic look - colorful landscape that is formed from layers of sandstone cliffs. A good thing is that you can walk around and get down to one of the Murchinson River bank. However, you need to leave very early in the morning as it might not be a good idea to stay in the gorge in the middle of the day as you can suffer from heat stroke any other times .. as it happened to me previously. Further, you might encounter any number of unwelcome inhabitants crossing your path...
Murchison River gorge
As this was our first camping trip, we decided to take it easy, and spend all weekend chilling out. Believe it or not, Rob didn't even take his kiting/surfing gear! But, he did have two fishing rods with him .. and he caught a fish.
We stayed in the Wagoe Chalets (we'd call them shacks) and camping area. This place is located on the top of the hill and it's quite exposed to the wind .. which were privileged to experience on Saturday night. Luckily, the owned had erected a number of windbreaks to set up tents behind to keep your tent from getting blown off the hill. YES, it's really windy in WA most of the time in summer!
Chalet or shack ...?
Wheat field ready for harvesting
One of 200 bird species
On Sunday morning, we drove down to Wagoe beach.Even more beautiful than any other beach I've seen so far in Australia. It actually felt like we were in a paradise! White sand, turquoise water, empty beaches! Like Hyams beach near Jervis Bay but many times larger! WOW. As per the size - think of the Stockton beach (near Port Stephens, NSW) and multiply that space (40km) by two!
Rob fishing from Red Bluff - Kalbarri
At Wagoe Beach. This is an 11kg Mulloway with two
fisherman from Perth who came up for the weekend
fisherman from Perth who came up for the weekend
"Chalets"
Quad bikes
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| Lucky Bay, about a 15km drive down the beach from the Chalets |
Lucky me relaxing at Lucky Bay
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| Our trusty Prado. Goes anywhere and takes us to lots of magical places! |
On the way back, we drove via the Chapman Valley region that offers much more scenic landscape than if we're driving via NW Coastal Highway. This area has a few olive farms, a winery, the Lavender Valley farm, and covered in wildflowers.
View from the Lavender Valley farm
All in all, GREAT weekend. Still much to be explored in the region so many more trips will be required. And all so close to home!
