Kalbarri, WA.

While travelling North we had to pass through the town of Northampton, we stopped there for our lunch break. This town was, very recently, evacuated because of a major fire in a premises on the Main Street. The business was a hardware and fuel retailer and the fumes from the fire were highly toxic as well as the water 'run off' from the fire fighting effort. The smell from the burnt out premises was very evident during our visit several weeks later.

While our BT50 was parked near the Foreshore when visiting Geraldton, some person placed a Top Tourist Caravan Park brochure under our wiper blade. This offered a 4 day deal for the price of 3 and over the ANZAC Long Weekend here the deal was doubly attractive, so here we are!

The very first morning in Kalbarri required a 5:30 AM wake-up alarm so that we could attend the ANZAC Dawn Service. The attendance at the Dawn Service was very good with a wide range of "Ages" in attendance. The School Children made their own wreaths to lay at The Cenotaph which was a great personal contribution.

Later that day we visited Kalbarri National Park which borders the town area. The Gorge was formed by The Murchison River over many millennia. The walk trails are steep and rough but well worth the effort involved.

If you are a "Fisherperson" then Kalbarri is the place to come to. Maybe some other time for me.

The 'Burnt-Out' premises in Northampton. The smell emanating from the site was quite over powering.

People laying Wreaths at The Cenotaph during The ANZAC Dawn Service.

The Dawn Service is almost complete now and the day is brightening.

The view of Kalbarri and The Murchison Estuary from Meanarra Hill on the out skirts of town.

The mouth of The Murchison River from The Zuytdorp Memorial. The Zuytdorp was an early Dutch three masted Trading Vessel that foundered on the coast here in 1712.

The beautiful town of Kalbarri from The Zuytdorp Memorial.

Part of the lobster fleet in the marina.

Part of the rugged coastline South of Kalbarri.

Z Bend Gorge and The Murchison River in The Kalbarri National Park.

Notice the people far below on the River Bank at the bottom of the photograph. We were soon to be down there!

Part way down and time for a 'breather'.

We made it! Only need to get back up again!

"Natures Window" in another part of The Kalbarri National Park. All the climbing in the NP is over quite rough terrain and care is required to prevent injury.

There are Warning Signs everywhere advising against getting into places like this but that doesn't apply to me!

At the Tudor Caravan Park, where we are staying, they have a Pet Long Billed Corella named Fredrika. She talks very clearly and is quite friendly, particularly if you have some fruit to feed her.

Southern Flinders Ranges, S.A.

We have turned a corner in our travels, we are now heading towards home, although we won't reach there anytime soon! Mainly we are biding or time waiting for the School Holiday patrons to clear out of The Flinders Ranges before heading there ourselves. We pulled into the small caravan park at Crystal Brook to fill in a couple of days and found ourselves camped beside a couple from Bundaberg. Australia truly is a small Country. A little piece of Trivia, apparently Crystal Brook has the most train movements of any country town in Australia.  ANZAC Day came about while at Crystal Brook, so we rugged up to attend The Dawn Service with about 300 others. The local RSL was astounded at the turnout, the largest for many years. The previous ANZAC Day, 2013, there were only 4 remaining RSL members and 3 of those passed away during the ensuing twelve months. The local community rallied around to support their RSL Club and the organisation now boasts 70 Members!

Made a few more kilometres north along Spencer Gulf and pulled into another small town, Port Germein. This port is potentially great for fishing and especially for Blue Swimmer Crabs. One distinctive feature is the 1.5 kilometre long timber jetty. Officially, 1532 metres as it stands currently. There was another 150 metres to the jetty until it was storm damaged. The Jetty was originally constructed to load sailing ships with bagged wheat grown in the area.

Moved another 170 kilometres closer to The Flinders Ranges to make camp at Hawker. We can now see our destination. Hawker is a small town now totally geared up for the tourist traffic heading to The Flinders Ranges but it was once a railway station on the Old Ghan Line between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. Jeff Morgan, an artist in the town, has painted an awesome Panorama of Wilpena Pound in The Flinders Ranges. It took 4000 hours to complete the art work in The Panorama. If you are ever in Hawker this Panorama is a MUST see attraction. If the weather is kind to us we plan a 30 minute aerial tour of Wilpena Pound. Hopefully you will see photographs of this in the next Blog Post.

The pretty shopping centre at Crystal Brook.

The gardens and Memorial Pavillion in Crystal Brook, the venue of the ANZAC Dawn Service.

It is only a short walk from the caravan park to this historic railway bridge at Crystal Brook.

The old bridge makes way for the new!

A commemorative sculpture depicting the shipping history of Port Germein.

At 1532 metres, the Port Germein jetty seems to stretch out of sight. It is great exercise, over 3 kilometres out and return.

Arrived at the end of the jetty to find this large fellow waiting for scraps from the fishermen on the jetty.

The final 150 metres of the jetty is storm damaged and little remains. These piles wobble around in the swell so I guess they will disappear in due course.

Looking back towards Port Germein from the seaward end of the jetty with The Southern Flinders Ranges in the background.

The old Original Lighthouse was once positioned on the end of the jetty. After the storm it was rescued and is now secure on dry land.

The Hawker Hotel.

The Booking Office for Bush Pilots Australia aerial flights over Wilpena Pound. Hopefully, weather permitting, we will get to use their services.

The Flinders Ranges from the fringes of Hawker.

The Old Ghan Railway Station at Hawker.

The water tower that was used to refill the tanks on the Old Ghan Steam Engine.

One of the Murals that is also on display at The Jeff Morgan Panorama of Wilpena Pound. This outstanding mural is 15 metres across. I hope they didn't mind me snapping this copy.