Road Trip - Kalbarri, Western Australia

Another road trip in Western Australia! This time up north to Kalbarri, a coastal town in the Mid West region located 592 km north of Perth. 

The town is found at the mouth of Murchison River which flows from the southern edge of Robinson Ranges to the Indian Ocean. It is the second longest river in WA at around 820 km long, with the last 80 km of the river carving the Murchison River gorge located in Kalbarri National Park.

Day 1: We began our road trip from Perth to Geraldton (another city on the coast) on 25th June 2016. It's about 424 km drive up north. We spent the night in a nice little airbnb cottage all to ourselves at $34 SGD. A sweet deal.

Geraldton is a good place to stop and stock up on groceries before Kalbarri as the prices up there are much dearer.

Day 2: On our way to Kalbarri, we passed the Pink Lake or formally known as Hutt Lagoon, a salt lake located near the coast just north of the mouth of the Hutt River.

The lake is about 14 kilometers in length along its northwest-southeast axis, parallel with the coast and around 2.3 kilometers wide

The pink hue is created by the presence of carotenoid-producing algae Dunaliella salina, a source of beta/carotene, a food-colouring agent and source of vitamin A

One of the lookouts near Kalbarri town - The Natural Bridge

We arrived in Kalbarri that afternoon. Our airbnb accommodation was really nice and clean. Private entrance, spacious bedroom, large shower and it even had a jacuzzi tub! 

View of Indian Ocean from Kalbarri town

Beach in Kalbarri town

After dropping off our luggage, we drove to the National Park, which is just about half an hours drive away.

The entrance fees to the park costs $12 AUD per car/day. We didn't have enough time for a proper trail, so we checked out the most iconic natural attraction there; the Nature's Window. An 800 m return trail from the car park.

Short trail from the car park to Nature's Window

Stunning view of the sandstones

Nature's Window

Murchison River through Nature's Window

Day 3: Kalbarri National Park - Z Bend Lookout 1.2 km (return) & River Trail 2.6 km (return), Ross Graham Lookout & River Trail  700 m (return), and Hawks Head.

Z Bend Lookout - overhangs the Murchison River

Z Bend is a very scenic trail in Kalbarri. We hiked down into the gorge to the river bank with stunning views of the Tumblagooda Sandstone (a geological formation deposited 400-500 million years ago) along the way. We climbed over boulders, loose rocks (scree) and went through some narrow passages, nothing we couldn't handle and we weren't even in proper hiking gear.

Tumblagooda Sandstone

 

It's so peaceful and calm down by the river, and the weather was perfect too.

Taking a selfie with Alex in the background

Love the reflection

:)

You can see which way the river flows by looking at the dead branches that are caught at the base of this tree

Red sandstone on the rivers edge

Ross Graham Lookout

Where the river bends

Sandy beach along the river

Wild	Watermelons

River Trail

Speckled sky

Wild flowers at Kalbarri - Flame Grevillea?

According to the Heath app on my phone, we walked 15,690 steps and climbed 37 flights that day. Note: A flight is counted as approximately 10 feet (3 m) of elevation gain which equates to approximately 16 steps/flight. In short, we made good use of the jacuzzi that night!


Day 4: On our last day at Kalbarri National Park, we decided to take The Loop trail. An 8 km trail that begins and ends at the Nature's Window car park. It takes you on a walk on top of a ridge, down to the river where you walk along the rivers edge on sandstone and sandy beaches and loops back uphill to Nature's Window.

8 km Trail

This is also a very scenic trail. It's a little tougher than the Z-Bend river trail but definitely worth it. Just make sure you bring lots of water, a hat, sunscreen and a picnic basket as there are some nice shaded areas on the rivers edge for you to rest and soak in the beauty of nature.

Magnificent view of the river, a little dry though

Wefie

Walking on the ridge

View of the river on The Loop trail

Carved Murchison river gorge reveals the red and white banded rock

Yikes! Large Ant Mound

Tumblagooda Sandstone & the Murchison River

Calm & Peaceful

We heart Kalbarri

Sandy beach along the river before the trail climbs back up

Trail back up to Nature's Window

Another panoramic shot

Sunset at Nature's Window

The Loop takes us back up to Nature's Window where we enjoyed a lovely sunset before heading off to Geraldton for the night. This time, we recorded 17,354 steps and 36 flights climbed!

Eagle Boys Pizza @ Geraldton for dinner!

HMAS Sydney Memorial

The next day, we visited the HMAS Sydney Memorial & Geraldton Marina before our drive back to Perth.

Did you know? this is the 3rd largest city by population in Western Australia after Perth and Bunbury at just under 40,000 people.

Geraldton Marina

Boardwalk at Geraldton Marina

Goodbye Geraldton

A summary of our itinerary:  

Day 1: Perth to Geraldton

Day 2: Geraldton to Kalbarri (West Loop Lookout, Nature's Window)  
Day 3: Kalbarri (Z Bend Lookout & River Trail, Ross Graham Lookout & River Trail, Hawks Head)  
Day 4: Kalbarri (The Loop 8km) to Geraldton   
Day 5: Geraldton to Perth

Special thanks to Alex's sister and brother-in-law for having us in Perth and letting us use their car, without which these road trips in Western Australia would not have been possible.