Sunday 29th April 2012 River Gorges

Sunday 29th April 2012

Kalbarri National Park River Gorges

Just a short drive from Kalbarri we entered the dramatic ancient gorge country of Kalbarri National Park. But first we had to travel 27 kms on a dirt corrugated road ... OMG talk about shake rattle and roll... we had to travel speeds of 90km to try and make it a smoother ride..But once there it was well worth the ride...

 Here we saw the marvel at nature’s power, carving the landscape over millions of years ago.  We were able to explore the depths and heights of these huge gorges and admire the  vast sand plains. This spectacular scenery and red rock gorges  were cut from the landscape by the Murchison River.

We first visited "The Loop" where we walk a short distance to some awesome views..

No I have not put weight on its my tummy problem that makes me look pregnant !!!

You can walk  down to the "Natures Window" which is down in the valley.... we didn't do the walk because I had my tummy problem, which is hard to walk with at the best of times..and it was also very hot..John didn't go either because he didn't want to leave me..but he should have gone as I'm sure the view was awesome...

Natures Window is a natural arch carved from red rock, perfectly framing the upstream view. Peer through for a spectacular look at the Murchison River and the gorges that line it.

We then drove on to the Z Bend which is a lookout into the gorges that plunge 150 metres below into the Murchison River that forms the letter Z.

John walked down to the gorge to take these pictures I stayed up top...it was 35 degrees too hot for me to walk down there..

On the way back we stopped off at the "Red Bluff" and had fun in the water... I didn't intend to get wet but it was so hot who cares...

26th - 27th April 2012... Kalbarri

Thursday 26th April 2012

Heading out today to Kalbarri... a little town blessed with unique coastal, river gorge and marine landscapes, plus almost year-round sunny weather.

Beautiful clean  swimming beaches sit beside  awesome surf breaks, surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs, coastal reefs..... Dolphins and whales frequent the coastal fringes, and thanks to warm off-shore currents once again the fishing is excellent all throughout the year.

While here we visited the doctors...John has been suffering from a throat infection for a week now, so we decided to go to the doctors to see if he needed medication...While there I spoke to the doctor of my on going problem of my tummy expanding out making me look about 9 months pregnant.. Hummmmm....I have suffered from it for the past 12 months or so.. it usually comes up late afternoon and gone down by the morning...but it has been up now for 3 days..the doctor was quite concerned and advised me to go back to Geraldton for CT Scans.(Kalbarri too small for major things) and he ordered several blood tests...I was reluctant to go back 160km to Geraldton as I didn't think anything would be found..but both John and the doctor insisted...

Friday 27th April 2012

We went to Geraldton the next day as I was fitted in as an urgent patient... we went the coast road which was a very pleasant drive...had the scans etc and on the way back decided to make a day of it and check out the lookouts on the way back..they were amazing... Here the wind, waves and salt spray from the Indian Ocean have helped carve a remarkable coastal landform.

The steep cliffs of layered rocks that rise from the sea are made of 480 million year old Tumblagooda Sandstone. These were deposited as layers of sand and silt by rivers and on tidal flats.
The riddly white rocks that form the upper part of these cliffs are made of the much younger Tamala Limestone. This was deposited during the last 2 million years as wind blown sand dunes that were later converted to limestone.

Natural Bridge

It was starting to get late and the sun was setting making the views even more delightful, and the sun on the rocks making them more red...

And of course everywhere you looked little heads started to pop up as dusk approached...

And of course the day could not be finished until I got my sunset....

24th April 2012 ... Geraldton

Today we went for a drive into Geraldton..which is about 70 kms from Dongara..


The city is perched near beautiful coastline to the west and rolling hills and breakaway ranges to the east. The Chapman and Greenough Rivers frame the city to the north and south. 

While driving into the main town, you see lots of floral gardens with  many different colours..

Geraldton a host of holiday activities, especially water sports. Windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing, fishing, diving and swimming or relaxing  on the white sandy beaches,or strolling the shorelines.

Geraldton also has a strong maritime feel, largely because of the Fishermen's Wharf. The boat harbour is a hive of activity during the fishing season when a multi-million dollar fishing fleet brings in yummy rock lobster. It is also a great spot to fish and enjoy an ocean sunset.  At the nearby Geraldton Port occasionally you see tug boats guiding huge vessels into the port - which is viewed from the city shores.

The one place we really wanted to see was the hill top memorial to the 645 lost sailors of the HMAS Sydney II's maritime disaster in 1941. This stunning memorial overlooks the city and harbour.

November 1941, the HMAS Sydney was lost off the coast of Geraldton whilst engaging the German Raider 'Kormoran'. which also went down.

The memorial has a concave  Wall of Remembrance which bears the names of all 645 men who lost their lives. 

The centre-piece is a dome surmounted on seven pillars, representing the seven states and territories of Australia. The dome is made up of silver gulls that form a beautiful canopy.

There is also a stainless steel  bow representing  the HMAS Sydney... which flies the Australian Flag. 

A bronze figure of a woman also stands at the memorial. She is holding her hat against the sea breeze. She is anxious, tense, her gaze forever fixed patiently on the horizon. She is eternal, the figure of a Waiting Woman, grieving for her lost loved one. 

The mystery of what happened to the Sydney has haunted the surviving relatives ever since the vessel went down. Especially the young women who in wartime romances had married or promised to marry sailors from HMAS Sydney. Betty Bell, a nurse at Royal Perth Hospital  married Fred Schoch, an officer engineer. The ceremony was held at her local church  just days before Fred's ship sailed from Fremantle on its last final voyage. Although Betty re-married after the war, she never stopped worrying about her first husband's fate. Her greatest wish, repeated over and over again, was that his ship be found in her lifetime so that her mind could be set at rest.


She got her wish...On 17 March 2008 it was announced that the wreck of HMAS Sydney had been found. It brought a measure of peace to thousands of grieving relatives of the Australian and German servicemen who had sacrificed their lives all those years ago. 


Amazingly the figure of the Waiting Women which had been placed in position years before the ship was found..had infact been placed looking at the exact spot where the ship was eventually found many years later..


They have recently added a circular water fall showing the  position of where the ship was found placing a gull at the position of the wreck... It's a beautiful Memorial and well worth seeing.

We had lunch on the outside verandah at the Dome Restaurant overlooking the seafront before we returned back to Dongara...