Spectacular, spectacular… Travel into the wild, wild west of Australia and be blown away by the wild wonders and the rough beauty of Western Australia. The Kalbarri National Park is filled with opportunities and is one of the most exciting and beautiful National Park. A park that needs to be experienced for yourself.
 |
| The Murchison River. |
Kalbarri is an amazing national park hidden in Western Australia around 8 hours north of Perth, depending on the route you take. The absolute best way to get here is by car. It gives you the freedom of stopping along the way up the coast, and the opportunities of exploring the less touristy parts of the park, and at your own pace. While you drive in the park keep an eye out for the inhabitants of the park. They have a tendency of not respecting stop-signs and can often be found at the side of the road. Every time I see a roadkill I become immensely sad that we do this to live, even if it is not on purpose. While we were driving around Kalbarri we met this little fellow, a native Australian Echidna and probably one of the cutest animals on earth. He was just chilling along the road and curled up like a porcupine and started hissing when we came out. He quickly became happier when we gave him a bit of water and otherwise left him alone.
 |
| Little Echidna |
Kalbarri National Park is known for its spectacular landscape and scenic gorges shaped with red and white striped sandstone and its flora diversity. Just after the wet season you can encounter and admire the bloom of more than 800 species of wildflowers located all over the park.
The Kalbarri National Park surrounds the lower reaches of the spectacular Murchison River, which has, over millions of years, cut magnificent gorges in the sandstone cliff. Marvel at nature's ability to create and shape the landscape.
The Kalbarri desert is the stage of some of the aboriginal Dreamtime stories. One of them goes like this. A gigantic frog once drank all the water in Australia in one mouthful. It was hard. Lakes, rivers, and gorges were all dried out and turned into empty craters. All the animals in Australia panicked, of course, and had a gathering to find a solution to the draught. At the gathering, all the animals decided to try to return the water to the land by taking turns in trying to make the frog laugh.
 |
| Setting out on the Loop |
There are excellent lookouts all over the park but Nature's Window is probably Kalbarri's’ most famous attraction. It is an opening in the layered sandstone that frames a view of the river and the beautiful red gorges surrounding it. Depending on your preferred season you can see a more or less filled river and a more or less green/red landscape. It is just a short walk from the car park. Here you can consider how Australia may have looked like a lifetime ago as you glance into the vast eternity.
When reaching Nature's Window you have the possibility of continuing onto the Loop trail. This loop starts and ends at Nature's Window with eight kilometers in between. Remember to bring a lot of water as you are walking in the scorching merciless sun, with no chance of shade for cooling off once you set out for it. While you are sweating and dying don’t forget to enjoy the astonishing dark red panoramas of rough utter beauty. Rippled surfaces and banded rocks make for a strikingly fascinating sight, and you can imagine how it has taken nature millions of years to perfect the looks. The ripples in the rocks were formed during ancient times by waves moving over tidal flats in a shallow sea. When gazing at this remarkable creation of nature, it is easy to see how the Dreamtime stories first came to life. While trekking here it is hard to remember to enjoy the view and think of Dreamtime because what you mostly think about is water… How much you would love to be at the bottom of the gorge to just dip in the Murchison River. How nice it would be to chill at the beach and cool of in the ocean. The extent of which you wished you had brought more ice-cold water.
 |
| The View from Natures Window |
For a short walk, you can take the Z-Bend to the most dramatic and dazzling scenery. Here you can see the river cut through the stunning red landscape and watch life everywhere. You can hear the birds in the air and where ever there is a bit of shade you can meet the animals who live in this park. Hawk’s Head and Ross Graham Lookout are two other lookouts that offer easy access and minimal walking. There is something for every level here from one-day excursions to four or five days extended hikes, just remember to register at the park office.
Sounds like an adventure?
 |
| he Murchison River. |
*All photos are private and taken by me.
Comments