Wild About Flowers

Kalbarri National Park and Geraldton

Western Australia

November 22 - 30, 2015

We rolled into Kalbarri at the end of wild flower season, but the national park was still displaying some brilliant colours. It's a magnificent park surrounding the town of Kalbarri, with gorges on one side and sea cliffs on the other, all formed about 400 million years ago. Just a selection of flower pics, then I'll plunge into gorges and tumble down sea cliffs.

Isn't the black spear the grasstree's flower? I think so. 

Natures Window is one of those iconic tourist photo opportunities. It overlooks the Murchison River, Western Australia's second longest river at 820km. The river is not flowing at present, with just a few pools trapped behind sand and rock, but the gorge formations are still stunning. We smiled for the camera and played at being tourists.

Where's Wally? Hiding in the shadows.

A selfie using the camera's timer. They are so much fun. Giggle, giggle. 

From the Z Bend lookout.

Down to the riverside.
It was such a serene spot - no one else around, just some black swans way, way in the distance.

Another selfie. Giggle, giggle.

And then to the sea cliffs. We dodged the wind and meandered the rocky heights, dipping down into craggy bays.  It's a rugged old coastline, home to many ship wrecks. 

Local lads: Pacific Gulls looking for a feed of sea urchins.

Not so local lad: Hiker Garry contemplating that big blue ocean.

Two appealing rock formations following. There's a story behind them but I can't recall what it is. They are just very old, quite fragile and to be admired for their unusual textures and shapes. 

 Kalbarri the town sits on the point where the Murchison River meets the Indian Ocean. It's a lovely little town of about 2000 people which in a few weeks will swell to 7500 as the holidaymakers swarm in. We're glad to be missing the peak season.

On the beach at Kalbarri. Oooo, those toes again! 

Garry fishing off Kalbarri Point.

Oh my. What's he filleting? A North West Snapper. His catch?  

Sadly, no. Here he is buying it from the fishing boat. Still super fresh and delicious.

After six days, we packed up and moved on to Geraldton, a bustling port city with loads of character. Garry was fascinated by the activity: trains full of iron ore, trucks brimming with wheat, ships loading all manner of produce and minerals. Busy busy. 

In the midst of all this busyness lay some slothful sea lions on a breakwater at the harbour entrance. Just amazing how some of our wildlife can adapt to intense human activity .... and thrive.  Look how fat this fellow is. Good fishing along this coast.

Who goes there? The ship sounded its horn as it came into harbour and these two reared up.

Garry watching tugs manoeuvring a ship ... 

... and a train unloading its cargo.  

The Geraldton Fisherman's Co-operative is the largest rock lobster (crayfish in WA) processor in the world.  With lobbies selling for more than $100/kg in Asian markets, it's a huge, professional business.  We went on a live lobster tour through their facility. Fascinating. So many lobsters and I failed to smuggle even a teeny-weeny one out of there. 

Very attractive photo of Jen in hairnet with lobsters in hand. They had to go back into the tank. Grrr.

Just a couple of sightseeing spots worth mentioning. The HMAS Sydney II memorial is stunning. The dome's canopy is made up of 645 intertwining silver gulls - one for every man lost when the cruiser sank after engaging the German raider Kormoran in November 1941. The exact location of Sydney's final resting place off Steep Point was not discovered until 2008. The bronze sculpture Waiting Woman, with a look of such intense anguish it brings tears to your eyes, was erected in 2001. Incredibly, we now know her gaze follows the exact bearing to Sydney's grave.  

A very beautiful, moving and spiritual memorial.

Continuing on a spiritual note. Two Catholic churches, one in Northampton and the other in Geraldton, both designed by Monsignor John Hawes. Very different but gorgeous. 

St Mary in Ara Coeli in Northampton using the local red sandstone. 

St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Geraldton using the local yellow sandstone.

The cathedral's funky interior. 

That about wraps it up for now. Toodle pip lovelies!