Kalbarri

25 – 27 September 2018

On the way to Kalbarri, we stopped for coffee at Dongara and found a lovely café at Seaspray Beach. Continuing north we stopped for photos at the pink lake – it was the pinkest pink lake I had ever seen. We made it to the caravan park and had lunch in the camp kitchen before setting up. Like most places on the west coast, Kalbarri was very windy, and the caravan park was fully booked. We considered ourselves lucky to have scored a spot – and a great one looking over the Murchison River!

Pink Lake

The Murchison River mouth.

Sunrise on the Murchison in front of our camp.

Sunrise on the Murchison in front of our camp.

We ventured out in the afternoon to look at the sea cliffs, visiting Eagle Gorge, Natural Bridge, Castle Cove and Island Rock. There are short walks that take in the magnificent views – each a little different. Although windy, all these spots are worth a look.

Looking towards Natural Bridge.

In the morning we set off very early and drove out to Red Bluff before heading into the other section of Kalbarri National Park – the inland gorges. There is a park entry fee for this section – a modest $13 per car, which is paid at the entrance station.

Our first stop was Nature’s Window – a spectacular formation that is a photographer’s dream. From there we went to The Z Bend and Loop lookout – again spectacular scenery. The walk to the lookout is a Grade 3, not difficult but definitely one for good shoes, water and hat. From there we went over to Hawk’s Head where we had lunch. Unlike the previous two places we had visited, this was almost deserted. The views were still spectacular, the walk was easy and there were picnic tables and toilets.

Photo ops everywhere.

Nature’s Window

The very popular Nature’s Window. Hard to get a shot without tourists in front of it.

Christie at Nature’s Window.

Being school holidays the caravan park was full of families so two nights was enough for us. We headed off the next morning, bound for Wooramel Station which we hoped would be less crowded.

Perth and Nearby

Toodyay

19 – 21 September 2018

Where to next? We headed west towards the coast, and hopefully, warmer weather. After lunch in Merredin, which had a terrific car park suitable for lots of caravans and long vehicles, right opposite the shops, we decided that Toodyay sounded like a nice spot. We had met someone from there many years ago, so had heard of it. That seemed like as good a reason as any to go there.

There were lots of eye catching wildflowers by the side of the road.

We were so happy to be able to see drifts of wildflowers after being told by many people that we'd be too late.

Western Rosella. My first WA endemic for the trip.

We found the perfect caravan park, in a bush setting, with lots of bird life, friendly locals and heaps of flowering plants. Naturally we decided to stay two nights. Mick spent most of the time wandering around the park with the camera and was rewarded with photos of three new birds for the trip.

Another new bird for me; Carnaby's Black Cockatoo.

Rufous Treecreepers were common around the caravan park and posed obligingly.

A nest building Striated Pardalote.

This bird came almost too close to focus on.

Another new bird; Western Thornbill.

Tree Martin

Grey Shrike-thrush

We went into the town for coffee and visited the op-shops, coming out with a haul of very reasonably priced books, and also visited the Christmas Shop.

The Christmas shop.

It’s a nice little town, and one we would happily stay in again. While we were there, our mate in Perth suggested that, as we were so close, we should visit. Being a long weekend, and the start of the school holidays it seemed like a good idea, so after 2 lovely nights in Toodyay, off to Perth we went.

Perth

21 – 24 September 2018

We set off for Perth, headed for Kings Park to spend some time there at the Botanic Gardens. After getting lost in the park looking for suitable parking, we found a nice picnic area and had lunch. We eventually found the bus parking area where we were told we could park with the trailer and walked the short distance to the Botanic Gardens and their wildflower display. We killed a few hours in the park, and then headed over to another spot Mick had heard about – Herdsman Lagoon.

Kings Park

Perth city and the Swan River from Kings Park.

Eucalyptus flowers

A drift of spring flowering native flowers.

Native flowers at King's Park.

Black Swan cygnets

Australian Wood Duck

Freckled Duck

Australian Shelduck male

Australian Shelduck female

Glossy Ibis

Dusky Moorhens

Little Egret

Nest building Great-crested Grebe.

Full frame Great-crested Grebe

Blue-billed Duck

Musk Duck

Over the course of the weekend, as well as spending time with friends, we made a number of visits to Herdsman Lagoon, as well as Jackadder Lagoon and Lake Monger. All are known birdwatching spots.

Herdsman Lagoon is an iconic Aussie birding location. Many waterfowl that are usually very shy can be seen close up around the lagoon. This is because of its location in suburban Perth and the constant human traffic in the surrounding park. Australian Shelduck are usually unapproachable but I was able to get full frame shots of the male and female. In many areas there is lawn right to the waters edge allowing a nice low point of view. My favourite place on the trip so far! Mick.

After an early morning visit to Herdsman we shopped, fuelled up and tidied up the car ready to hit the road again on Monday morning, taking our chances with the school holiday crowd. We called a couple of caravan parks on the coast north of Perth, but most were full. We did get a booking at Leeman, so that’s how we decided where to stop next. We had booked a campsite at Cape Range National Park near Exmouth for 1 October so had a week to fill in.

Leeman

24 – 25 September 2018

We made our way out of Perth via the Indian Ocean Drive and called in to a number of the places we had hoped to stay at. We thought it was worth checking them out for the trip back this way. We visited Lancelin, Cervantes and Jurien Bay. All look like great places to stay – out of school holidays. We found a quiet spot for lunch at Thirsty Point at Cervantes – the rest of Cervantes was very crowded and there was no parking for the trailer close to the beach.

Cervantes. A beautiful day for our drive north.

The jetty at Cervantes.

We arrived at Leeman, and it was not as crowded as the places we had visited on the way, perhaps because it’s smaller and the beach isn’t as beautiful as some. We went for a short walk on the beach near the caravan park, but there didn’t seem to be much there. Only when we were leaving in the morning did we see the parks and walks further north along the beach.

Leeman. Some of the beaches we visited were covered in dead seagrass.

While we were in Leeman we rang to try to get a place to stay in Kalbarri. We lucked out as the caravan park had just had a cancellation. Good timing.

Western Australia's Goldfields - Kalgoorlie and Boondi Rock

Kalgoorlie

17 – 18 September 2018

We hadn’t decided whether to have one night or two in Kalgoorlie, but on arrival, we both agreed one would be enough. Getting there at lunch time meant we could get a load of washing done, as well as some shopping and sight-seeing in the afternoon and then move on to somewhere nicer. Kalgoorlie is unmistakably a mining town.

Although hoping to see some WA endemics all I found were feral Laughing Doves in the caravan park.

We went for a nice walk in Karlkurla Bushland Park – a lovely bushland park on the edge of town. Crisscrossed by walking paths, this seems to be well used by the locals. On the way home, we stopped for the obligatory look at the Superpit mine. It is enormous and a hive of activity. You can check at the visitor centre in town for the blasting times each day if you want to see that particular bit of theatre. We didn’t.

A very large hole.

After fuelling up, we set off early for the relatively short drive to our next campsite at Boondi Rock.

Boondi Rock – Boorabbin National Park

18 – 19 September 2018

After a short and unsuccessful search for a coffee shop in Southern Cross, we found our way to the campground at Boondi Rock. The only other campers were wearing fly veils so we knew what we were in for. We left the table and chairs inside the camper trailer tent and made our lunch inside. This campground is beside a dam, and looked like it might be a very popular spot but there was only us and one other couple so it was quiet and peaceful.

Information signs.

Red-spotted Jezebel

We did a bit of exploring, including a walk up the rock. There is a simple but very effective system of channels around the rock, consisting of short walls, which directs the rainfall into the dam. Very clever and not something we had ever seen before. The views from the top of the rock were fabulous and there were lots of flowering plants around, but not too many birds.

We came across a pair of Splendid Fairy-wrens on the rock.

Singing Honeyeater was one of the few species of bird around. They were very common through most of our trip.

Grevillea. We started noticing more wildflowers in the landscape.

Wild daisy

More flowers.

Water falling on the top of the rock flows down these channels to a dam.

On top of Boondi Rock.

Ornate Dragon

Part of the catchment system.

Lichen

We lit a fire, cooked a camp oven stew for dinner and once again we endured a cold night but the afternoon and morning were glorious. Unfortunately the number of flies around had us packing up after only one night.