Kalbarri was a small-town seaside escape for us. A chance to take it a little slow for a few nights, finish the school year and see some of the natural beauty in the area. From our first day we thought it was a place we could come back to. The combination of the National Park, ocean and lovely little community made it rather nice.
Kalbarri had been hit hard by Cyclone Seroja and the effects were still obvious. Plenty of damaged, destroyed and partially repaired buildings dotted the town. Getting the number of repairs required so far from a major centre must be a nightmare for the community. The place seemed to be humming regardless.
Coastal Gorges
The coastal gorges of Kalbarri National Park are something special. Having only recently seen our first ocean connected gorge at Cape Range, Kalbarri has plenty. All along the coast starting a few minutes out of town are a series of spectacular gorges, cliffs, rocks and coastal landscapes.
Starting with the Red Bluff, it’s then Mushroom Rock (complete with a walking track), Pot Alley, Eagle Gorge, Island Rock and the Natural Bridge. The walk from Island Rock to the Natural Bridge is one of the best of the coastal walks, only narrowly beating the loop to Mushroom Rock. There is also Shell House and Grandstand Rock to be seen. The best thing about this section is it very close to Kalbarri and can be done in a few shorter trips. The walks too are relatively short and easy, but very spectacular.
This list doesn’t include the Blue Holes, reputed to be quite a nice snorkelling spot. We gave the snorkelling a miss due to the strong winds and heavy seas making it a dangerous proposition. We did stop to see them from the beach and would happily have given it a go in calmer weather. There are also the dunes and lookouts in town itself.
We made two or three trips down this coastline and each time we enjoyed ourselves. Visitors really are spoilt here.
Inland Gorges
The inland gorges of Kalbarri couldn’t be more different from their coastal cousins. They are more like the other gorges we’d seen on our trip so far. They felt like a cross between Geike Gorge (with the larger flowing Murchison River) and the more traditional high sided gorges of Karijini.
This section of the park has two very special icons in their own right; Natures Window and the Skybridge. Nature’s Window is pretty self-explanatory, a small window formed by the rock, it frames a stretch of the Murchison River.
The Skybridge is an engineering feat that we certainly didn’t expect to see in Kalbarri. It is two huge, cantilevered platforms that extend over a section of the river. It has open mesh floors and allows both views up and down the river and gorge, but also to the dizzying drop below. More importantly it tells the story of the area and it’s Traditional Owners. It gives views that could only be seen by taking one of the long and difficult multi-hour hikes in the park.
We had considered doing the Loop Walk, as it would give the best picture of the area, taking you from the top of the gorge all the way down to the floor at various points. Unfortunately, being so late in the season meant the heat was a risk and we (wisely) passed. Our visit to this section of the park was very hot, even with an early start.
We were still able to see the lookouts (including Hawks Head, Ross Graham and Z Bend) as well doing the longer Z Bend River Trail. It was a great walk and reminded us of some of the more challenging walks in Karijini. Unfortunately, there was no swim at the end as the water looked far from appealing with such little flow.
Pink Lake
The Pink Lake (just south of Kalbarri) is the first of its kind for us. Since hitting the Western Australian coast we have seen quite a few salt lakes or hypersaline bays. It seems to be a Western Australian thing. This one though is the first one that is pink.
It’s a huge lake as well, stretching quite a distance along the coast near the town of Port Gregory. It certainly is pink and depending on the time of day the colour appears slightly different. We stopped there mid-morning and it was very bright.
The pink colouring is caused by the presence of certain bacteria. It turns out these bacteria are a source of beta-carotene (used in food colouring) and there is a processing plant that works to extract the colour. Takes a little of the shine off the attraction though. We watched others dip their feet (and stand) in the coloured water. We decided not to, the bacteria can have the water to themselves.
Pelicans
Kalbarri is famous for its daily pelican feeding on the foreshore. It’s tradition that seems to stretch back many years to the former owner of a café. These days it’s volunteer run, with a bit of story telling, pelican facts and some feeding thrown in. It’s fun. We did it three times, with the girls getting to throw a few fish for the giant birds.
Turns out it can be more of an extreme sport than expected with some of the bigger birds getting rather aggressive in their pursuit of a free and easy feed. It makes for a good show and given they ask only for a small donation a pretty cheap start to the day./
Kalbarri was great. Between the National Park, the coastal and the attractions in town we easily filled our time there. We could see ourselves returning for a week to relax and re-enjoy the sights. If only it was not so remote, although that’s part of the charm.