Good friends of ours "The Rougets" from Yarck near Alexandra (hello to you all!) visited Kalbarri on the last September school holidays, they flew to Perth, hired a 4WD and drove up to Kallbarri. I remember at the time feeling so envious of their big journey, it all sounded so wonderful, so exciting and so far away! So we were all really looking forward to seeing this place that the Rougets had told us so much about. And we weren't disappointed….
As we do every new town we visit, we headed to the Information Centre. These centres are the wealth of information about what to do and see in the town, and we always are so thankful to the people who guide us to the best places to see. Usually they are like a Pandoras box of information, ready to spill every detail they can. Not so here in Kalbarri. My usual first line is "What can you recommend?" She looked at me like I had two heads or was speaking another language. Her comeback line was "Recommend what?" To which my obvious answer was " Can you recommend places to see in Kalbarri". Slowly I was able to draw blood out of a stone but her blood must have been thick because it wasn't running very well!! Note to self for future interactions with Information Centre staff - even if I am standing there in clear view with Mark and the 2 kids I need to say " What can you recommend for a family of two adults and two children to do for the "x" amount of days we are staying in "town x"!!!
We stayed at the Big 4 in town and it had the best pool. Emshia learnt to snorkel in this pool and we had trouble whenever we weren't sightseeing, getting the kids out of the pool!
Sightseeing highlights –
· Rainbow Valley – This place is regarded as Australias most beautiful parrot habitat and "one of the wonders of Western Australia". We would have to agree. When you first walk in you s ee some parrots in cages and think 'gee we have just been ripped off', but then you wander through a giant open aviary with parrots flying all around, then into landscaped tropical gardens with waterfalls, fountains, stained glass windows, lily ponds and a lookout tower and amongst all this is some of the most amazing parrots from Australia and all around the world and it truly was magical. Well worth a visit for sure, it is like an oasis in the middle of arid desertland.
· Kalbarri National Park – "Natures Window" would have to be Kalbarris most famous landmark. It is a natural rock arch that frames the view of the upstream Murchison River that winds through the big gorges below. It was one of those places that you only ever see in pictures in a book and you feel very privileged to actually see it with your own eyes and bring the picture alive. We did a short leg of the walk that progresses past natures window along the top of the gorge but it was closed up ahead and the temperature was quickly beginning to climb so we turned back and headed to the " Z- bend". This is a lookout which looks over a gorge that plunges 150 m to the river below, where the river redgums provide a lush contrast to the redness of the rocks. This was spectacular, but once again, the temperature was getting very warm and even though it was just before midday, the temp would have been hitting mid thirties and the kids were almost melting in front of our eyes!
· Seahorse Sanctuary - This place was great. Obviously the passion of the owners, this "breeding stable" showed in tanks all aspects of seahorse culture from newborn to adult and you get to push a button to get a running commentary on what you are seeing . Fascinating to learn that the males actually deliver the babies, and not just 1 or 2 but up to 1000! They began breeding the seahorses because people were taking them out of the ocean to be pets and they were only living for a few days because they didn't know how to eat food that wasn't live and swimming in front of them. So they breed them and basically train them to eat the pet food, and then they will be able to live as pets for up to 5/6 years. Another interesting fact is that seahorses are actually fish but just don't have the tail fin, so they are the slowest swimming fish in the ocean.
Find it at www.seek.com.au Your Future Starts Here. Dream it? Then be it!
