Back to Kings Park

On a beautiful sunny day, a friend mentioned she was going to look at the wildflowers in Kings Park. That’s a good idea, I thought, lots to see on my own doorstep!

Kalbarri Yellow Bells

Bush Flame Pea

From the glass bridge, the view is towards South Perth and the hills beyond, with the old Swan Brewery in the foreground:

Boab trees

Pink Cluster everlastings

The everlastings looked particularly healthy, being cared for in the botanic garden:

Blue Leschenaultia

Western Flora

Western Flora Caravan Park is my last stop before heading home. The accommodation is very basic (donga style rooms) but the surroundings make up for it. When I arrived, there was a blue tongue lizard sunning itself on the roadway. Ron, the owner, picked it up and threw it into the bush but I pursued it to get a photo:

He is no longer doing the 4.30 guided wildflower walks, but instead provides a sketch map. I chose the longer (5.5 km ) walk and was fortunate enough to follow another couple as my navigation skills are not the best. There are many sandy tracks and firebreaks to follow, but it is not easy! The following pics are a selection of what could be seen this afternoon:

Next morning I was up early and walked round the pond at the back of the units. It is said to be a home to many varieties of frogs and some of them could be heard during the night. I didn’t see any frogs, but there were plenty of birds around. This is the bird hide overlooking the pond:

Kalbarri zero day

Today I needed a rest after my full-on search for wildflowers, but there is always something more to do! A daily feeding of pelicans takes place just across the road at 8.45 am. so of course I had to go and watch the action:

The seagulls were also waiting for a feed!





Apparently this was started by a local fisherman cleaning his catch and has been going on for 40 years. Now local volunteers maintain the tradition. I have always wondered why we never see pelican chicks. It seems they breed on offshore islands to be safe from predators. Pelicans are huge birds but they have lots of air pockets inside their bodies and hollow bones, which all enables them to fly long distances. Who knew?

After breakfast, it was time for a little excursion. I drove on the coastal road south to Red Bluff with spectacular views:

This was the site of historic shipwrecks:

I spotted a few wildflowers; the next pic is smoke bush with Red Bluff in the background:

In the afternoon, after a long siesta (it was 27 degrees today!) I drove along the river road and found a few more:











I was driven away from this area by mosquitoes and retreated back to my unit in Kalbarri Seafront Villas to enjoy a Peroni as the sun went down. This is the view at night:

It’s a beautiful spot.

Kalbarri N P

Another full day of sightseeing with a lot of ground covered. There are several sites in Kalbarri N P with long drives between them. Of course, the prime one now is the Skywalk, but more of that later. First stop was the Ross Graham lookout,  named after the first headmaster of Kalbarri Primary School:

Then onto another lookout, Hawks Head, with the Murchison Rivet down below:





Finally it was time to drive back to the highway and inland again to the Skywalk:

It was really windy today so I had to hold on tight to the rail and to my iPhone as I posed for a photo!

Inside the refreshment kiosk were some photos showing the construction in 2019: an amazing feat of engineering. Walking out to the end, it seemed impossible that such a thing could hold up without support. There were a few wildflowers around, but they didn’t receive much attention from visitors intent on the Skywalk:

The final step was Nature’s Window, the subject of many photos: not easy to get to as it entails scrambling over the sandstone rocks with no guard rail. Some people chickened out, but this is what I came to do!