I ended my last entry with a sunset with this one I will begin with a energetic 1073 meter high walk in Stirling Range on Bluff Knoll. In the tour book the walk is described as being long and strenuous however is suitable for most people of reasonable fitness. It is also went on to to say 20,000 people attempt the climb every year but only half make it to the top. We all felt up to the challenge an embarked on our walk. What the book failed to mention was that a good portion of the climb would involve stairs made from the mountain side itself. This would have been fine however the stairs were designed for 7 feet tall basketball players. Most often for Katrina and myself the height of the stair was past our knees. Many times on the climb we all had to remind ourselves to use our other leg when stepping up. Upon starting the ascent we were all bundled in our warm clothing after a few rounds with the stairs the clothes started coming off. The view throughout the walk was impressive and beautiful. One could see the coastline near Albany and the eastern peaks of Stirling. The waterfall that was mentioned in the book gave us a giggle though when we saw it. Having grown up with the Niagara Falls one has a certain expectation. In this case I think someone turned off the water tap. This is not the first time in Steve’s and my travels we come across a write up or big sign about a waterfall and discover that our shower has more water flowing. I think the people of Mount Barker would be blown away with Niagara Falls. After two hours we made it to the summit and quickly put our clothes back on as it was unbelievably cold up there. Food always tastes terrific when eaten outdoors this time after our stair fitness walk our lunch seemed like a gourmet meal. The only thing that was missing was a nice hot cup of tea to keep us warm. Since we had none we quickly packed up as our fingertips were starting to go numb. Going down was just as strenuous as going up which meant it was not long before we once again started taking our clothes off. I am sure if anybody was watching us they would have thought Canadians are a strange bunch their either taking off layers of clothing or putting then on. We have come to realize it’s not so much we can tolerate the cold better we just know how to dress for it. Good thing unlike Australia Canada has extreme temperature changes which gives us no to time adapt hence we always dress in layers. Though Aussies are willing to tough out their colder weather nothing scares them more when you mention minus ten to twenty degrees. Then they start throwing more wood on the fire and look at you with great pity. But I digress, all in all our walk including our lunch break took about 5 hours. What we saw that day was worth every step we climbed. Mind you we all felt a few twinges in our leg muscles the next day. We were happy to spend the following day in Albany planning for the next leg of our northern of our trip. Which for us meant getting up at 5:45 in the morning in order to bring to Steve back to Perth. As he was flying out to Cairns for the Coral Reef conference.
After dropping Steve off at the airport we continued on with our nearly 800 km odyssey to Dongara/Port Denison (Shire of Irwin). We managed to find a place in a Caravan Park. Dad and Derek had the squeaky bunk beds while Katrina and I slept oh so soft double bed. It did have a fairly nice sized kitchen but more importantly it was clean. Having endured such a long drive the only thing we unpacked was our food with team effort we produced a wonderful pasta dinner. All four us hit the sack pretty quick our 5:45 wake up and long drive made 9:00 pm seem like 1:00 am (we are such party animals).
Our lodgings was not too far from Irwin which made for a nice after breakfast walk the following day. Water birds and ducks were in abundance they were enjoying the sunshine just as much as we were. Towards the end our walk we came towards a rock cliff made of sandstone. This type of stone is fairly porous allowing for many small creatures to create a home or in this case a bee hive. The hive was totally exposed to us we watched the bees zooming in out not in the less bothered by us being there. To me bee hives are a remarkable craftmanship an inspiring sight the only thing missing was the honey and I wasn’t asking the bees for any.
Aside from the Irwin rive Dongara is also know for it many fig trees as well as coral reefs. When I looked at the map showing all the reefs, it was no wonder that so many shipping vessels wound up on the bottom of the ocean.
After two days we continued our journey northward to Kalbarri. On route we stopped off at Geraldton too see the memorial for the HMS Sydney. A light cruiser class ship originally owned by the British she was bought in 1933 by the Australian Commonwealth. Sent to action during World War II to the Mediterranean on June 21, 1940 . Between June 28th and July 19th she sank the Italian Destroyer Espero, disabled the Italian Cruiser, Barolomeo Colleoni and set off in pursuit of another ship having to give up as they had little ammunition left. Her last battle was fought on November 19, 1941 returning home from the Sunda Straits. HMAS Sydney encountered the German Raider HSK Kormoran an clash that would result in the loss of both ships. 645 crew members gave up their lives to which the memorial is dedicated to in memory of their valiant effort. With each wartime memorial I visit I often wonder if the men and women who gave up their lives to ensure a better future for all who were to come next. Are not in some way disappointed in what we have done with the lessons they have taught us.
By early afternoon we arrived in Kalbarri where we went to the Visitor Information Center to inquire about accommodations. Here in Australia the Info Centers are where you find out what’s available, the staff will enquire on your behalf if the price can come down, do booking and sometimes pay for your accommodations is done through them as well. The lady who helped us found a very nice place and enabled us to get the 5 night discount price even though we were staying for 4. After settling in, cooking and eating we wonder over to one of the local cafes. What do I see on the grass but a large flock of Galahs I went into action immediately. But back to the cafe, one thing we have discovered in the last two weeks if you do not get to a cafe before the magic hour 4 or 5 pm you are out of luck. This has proven to be frustrating but on our second day in Kalbarri we were not disappointed that missed the magic hour as we then decided to walk along the beach to their lookout. Within in about 15 minutes of staring out onto the ocean we were told there was a whale jumping up into the waves. Well I spun around faster than you can say Whale and waited. Then all of sudden fairly close to shore up she/he cam and then down with a big splash what a wonderful moment that was. It ended our day beautifully and is was the start of an amazing 2 days of hiking.
Our first hike was the Murchison Gorge in Kalbarri National Park. We walked a 8 kilometer loop where we saw the spectacular Tumblagooda Sandstone carved Gorge. At one point we were climbing along the ridge of the gorge like mountain goats. I am sure at the point my dad thought we were trying to do him in. Another part of the walk was down by the the Murchison river where we enjoyed a picnic lunch while being watched by a small lizzard. The kangaroos also kept their eyes on us when walking by. In all the walk took us about 5 hours.
The next day instead of doing less we did more. I am thinking we must have suffered sunstroke at the gorge. How else can you explain us doing a 16 kilometer coastal walk. We spent 8 hours walking in the sun, feeling the ocean breeze, spotting whales and dolphins in the distance. As tired as we were we enjoyed every step we took and yes we did a picnic lunch. Seems since we have been on our northerly road trip all our lunches have been outdoors and tasting great. You can imagine we were pretty hungry after our 16 k walk but we sussed out a local fish and chip eatery which was packed with customers. We definitely understood why after eating our fish dinner, the best part they provided a gluten free pan fried fish for Katrina.
Next stop Denham.
Green Quest 